Calendula

For us it is the end of the 6th week at home. No school. But fortunately still work for me and my husband. At least we have no financial worries. And we got into some kind of rhythm and keep up to the challenge of working, taking care of the kids and home school. It's not easy but we get through.

In my private garden I like to grow plants that are of some kind of benefit for us (although nice flowers that are "just flowers" are good for the soul :-).
One of the things I sow in late autumn is calendula. The flowers are wonderfully orange or yellow and bloom during late January up until the end of April in our region.

collected seeds

I pick the petals of the flowers in the mornings and use them fresh or dried for tea, salad garnish or occasionally also for salves. Calendula - or pot marigold as it is also called in English- is great for protecting the skin, for small wounds, for rashes and many more things. I made this salve last year. It was easy to make and I liked the creamy texture.

dried petals

Calendula is fairly easy to grow. As mentioned I sow in late autumn (this is true for our Mediterranean climate with mild winters). They need water - but since it is rainy season here I hardly need to irrigate them. I cut off wilted flowers so the plant will produce more. As soon as the days will get too hot and dry the calendula will start to suffer- that's the time to collect seeds for next season.