Miel et Roses (Honey & Roses)
Magical Herb Craft, Storytelling, and Gardening fun for the children ( young and old!) in your life.
So here is what I know will be the first of many magical herb crafts for children young and oldā¦. Inspired by my favorite flower and my sweet young Scottish friends Fable and Auphealia, here is a special Rose infused honey recipe thatās as good for your heart as it is for your tummy. I hope that all of you will enjoy these recipes and rememberā¦Rose infused honey is an always welcome gift! If you make it and pair it with shortbread and clotted cream itās absolutely delicious!
I hope that you have so much fun making this with all of the wee bairns in your life!
With lots of love and rosy sparkles from your Magical Auntieā¦
When it comes to fragrant historic roses, we all have favorites. Mine is the beautiful and ancient Rosa gallica officinalis, more commonly known as Apothecaryās Rose.Ā Ā
The Apothecaryās Rose is just a joy, a rose older than the Renaissance (pre 1310) and used for medicinal purposes during Medieval times. It is extraordinarily beautiful to see and glorious to smell when blooming. Its intense, deep pink to light red coloring, love vibes and luscious old rose fragrance make it a must in any good witches magical garden. If you want to see one growing, ask your mom to take you to a botanical garden that has a historic rose section. They usually bloom in May and June and they are even more beautiful in person than these pictures!
I have always found the Apothecary Rose easy to grow, which may be the source of its longevity and popularity. It only blooms once in a season, but itās a very generous rose. Mine often blooms abundantly for more than a month. I return to it time and again for its petals to make rose waters, jams and jellies.
It gives me a real thrill of connection to my medieval sisters to be able to use this ancient rose to infuse intoĀ my rose honey and other rose preparations. I find rose-infused honey to be ever so helpfulĀ when I have a sore or scratchy throat and although you can buy it,Ā it is just so easy to make. Stirred into a cup of hot water, or simply taken by the spoonful, the anti-inflammatory properties of the rose petals and the antibacterial properties of the honey seem to relieve any irritation quickly.Ā Itās a very easy recipe and I know that youāll enjoy it.
Rose Petal Honey
6 cups organic fresh rose petals (4 cups dried)
2 cups honey, room temperature
1-quart glass jar with lid
Add petals to the jar until half full and firmly packed.Ā Pour honey over rose petals and stir to remove air pockets.Ā Cap the jar. After several hours stir petals and honey.Ā (I use chopsticks for this.)Ā Add more rose petals and stir. Leave the jar in a cool dry place for about two weeks, stirring from time to time.
After two weeks, warm the jar in a pot of hot water (do not boil). Strain the warmed honey through a cheesecloth into a clean jar. Press the petals to remove all the honey. If you want to leave the petals in thatās alright too, just break them up with the chopsticks so that they are finer.
Cap the jar and enjoy on toast, over yogurt, with ice cream , in tea and in cocktails. Iād refrigerate this after itās ready for use.
Rose Petal, Lemon Balm & Spearmint Honey ~ a magical blend for a happy tummy and a very full heart.
This honey must be made on a Friday. Fridays are so special for they are the day of Venus, the Goddess of love! All three of these herbs will blend their energies together to create a honey that is soothing to both the heart and soul.
6 cups organic fresh rose petals (4 cups dried)
1 cup of organic fresh Lemon Balm leaves (1/2 cup dried)
1 cup of organic fresh spearmint leaves (1/2 cup dried)
4 cups raw honey, room temperature
1 large glass jar with lid
Mix all of the petals and leaves by hand, all the while imagining special moments of joy, love and fun. Then raise your hands above the petals, rub them together and say āHappiness, Fun and Love follow me wherever I go!ā three times and then quickly plunge your hands back into the bowl of petals and imagine the happiness and fun of these thoughts while charging the petals with a beautiful pink glowing light that you see in your mind. Then raise your hands above the bowl and make the shape of the heart like the picture above with your fingers and say ā I am loveā , 3 times.
Now the petals and leaves are ready to be mixed with the honey!
Using a wooden spoon, add them to the jar until half full and firmly packed.Ā Pour the honey over the petals and leaves and stir to remove air pockets.Ā Cap the jar . After several hours stir petals and honey.Ā (I use chopsticks for this.)Ā Add more rose petals and stir. Leave the jar in a cool dark place for about two weeks, stirring from time to time.
After two weeks, warm the jar in a pot of hot water (do not boil). Strain the warmed honey through a cheesecloth into a clean jar. Press the petals and leaves to remove all the honey. If you want to leave the leaves and petals in thatās alright too.
You can use this honey in tea, or drizzled over toast, bread or ice cream. Iād refrigerate this after itās ready for use.
Are you Ready to Paint or Draw?
Now for more fun, why donāt you draw or paint one of the flowers in this beautiful picture of Apothecary Roses and other flowers? This will become a part of your gardening journal that youāre going to learn about keeping in my next article for you!
Go find some crayons, colored pencils or paint and something that you can draw on and have some fun!
Iād love to see your beautiful artwork so please feel free to share it with me via Facebook or Instagram messenger ( your mom will help you!)
For More Funā¦
Watch this video called The Little Prince, youāll love it!
Parents: note, this is about one hour and 45 minutes. You can watch it all at once, or a little each night before bed! Also, when you start the video, be sure to click on the square icon in the lower right to make it full screen - itās wonderful!
Thymeless Quotes:
If you have questions about the thoughts here, please feel free to comment/ask questions or DM me on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook.