It’s a beautiful sunny, summer day and my garden is rocking right now. I’ve been in a fairly lazy mood pottering around, taking some photos, pulling some weeds. It’s been a great day. My St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is looking fantastic . The bright yellow flowers are looking resplendent. Today I’m going to bottle some of that golden goodness and make a tincture.
St John’s wort has been used centuries as a healing and magical herb. It’s been talked about a lot over the last decade due to it’s use as a treatment for depression. St John’s wort is also incredibly effective as an antibiotic and to heal neuralgic headaches and external injuries, burns and bruises. And that’s what I’ll be using my tincture for.
More on St John’s wort, how to grow, harvest, infuse and use it with lots of pretty pictures after the jump….
One of my favourite garden chores is watering. There is something incredibly therapeutic about coming home from a hard day in the office to go out and take water to your thirsty little plants. And they look so pretty when they’re all wet and shimmery.
Drinking or giving Ata Rangi’s Crimson Pinot supports Project Crimson and cleverly combines two of my personal great loves into one activity.
Always looking for new and novel ways to garden and eat, I’m thrilled to have found these great kits fromMushroom Gourmet. Complete with really good instructions and everything you need to be growing these little blighters. I’ll let you know in about 2 weeks just how fabulous this kit is. Yum, I can’t wait! I’m super excited at being able to cross something else off my weekly shopping list.
Beautiful botanical and bird prints on teatowels or t-shirts would make a wonderful gift for the plant lover in your life. This very talented Kiwi lass prints strong images of NZ native plants and birds to make striking pieces. I think she’s choice!
This is so much better then having piles of plastic plants pots cluttering the garden shed. Make individual seedling pots from recycled newspapers when you need them with this great little set.
One of my botany heroes is Tony Foster. He’s been studying, caring for, guiding through and teaching about the New Zealand bush for over 30 years. I’m sure that this long-awaited book will be brimming with the same kind of quality content and beautiful images that his 
I know they have a weird name but these big, bright flexible tubs are so damned useful and good-looking that I’ll take three, please. Not only can a Gubba tubtrug carry everything around the garden but when the day is over you can fill it with ice and use it as an attractive champagne or beer bucket.
It’s the time of year for list-making – lists for Christmas, lists for 2008, lists for 2009, lists, lists, lists. And of course it’s time for gifts, gifts, gifts. So my natural inclination has been to combine the two and get all festive. We’ll be looking at one a day in an attempt to solve those pre-Christmas shopping blues. So if you’re stuck for Christmas present ideas, there are some fantastic gift ideas coming up for the gardener or plant-lover in your life. Hope you love them as much as we do.