GMG's Friday Find: Mums the Word for Healing Tea

It's that time of year when summer blooms give way to autumn's famous flower, the chrysanthemum, affectionately referred to as 'mums'.

There are many varieties of mums, some hardy, some not, but one thing they have in common is the healing benefit of the petals when steeped for tea.  Chrysanthemum tea has many medicinal uses and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.  This tea is used as a relaxant,  helps to relieve head congestion and strengthen the lungs.When drunk with meals, especially greasy food, it helps to aid digestion. It can help relieve certain types of headaches, dizziness and blurred vision, with recent studies suggesting it can have a beneficial effect on high blood pressure. It can help increase calcium and even reduce cholesterol. This tea has got some clout!

Now you can easily browse online for pre-packaged Chrysanthemum tea, but I'm thinking of just foraging my neighbors yard.  Pick some petals, heat some water and viola! A tea that sooths, comforts and heals. And if that's not enough, according to feng shui, this flower is believed to bring happiness and laughter to the home, so I intend to make gallons!

So don't just watch your mum bloom and fade, put it to good use.  Drink it!  Bottoms up!



~Peggy
Garden Media Group

The Year of the Experimental Gardens "TAKE 3"

Well, here's part 3 of my “Year in the Experimental Gardens”. In the two previous posts I shared my gardening experience with my containers and raised garden. Today, I will share with you my experience with Topsy Turvy® planters and my attempt at pond hydroponics.

The six Topsy Turvy® planters I planted are hanging on my children’s wooden play set that they don’t use anymore and unfortunately the plants are not faring so well. One pepper plant has died, two are hanging on with no fruit, two are so-so and one tomato plant looks lush with leaves, but still no fruit. They were planted in the same mix as the raised garden – ½ top soil and ½ Organic Mechanics Planting Mix, and I added some Dynamite plant food. Surprisingly the TT’s plants that are doing the best are the ones getting the least amount of sun.

The most fun garden experiment for me this year was my pond hydroponics. Why not? The fish love to eat the roots and plants don’t need soil to grow, just sunlight and water so it was a win win situation.

I planted one green bell pepper and one beef steak tomato plant. So far, they are doing “ok”. These are strictly experimental and will not be consumed due to the pond chemicals we’ve used to clarify and make the water healthier for our fish. They say they are 100% natural but I am not 100% sure they are safe for human consumption even if in the fruit of a plant. The tomato plant is much smaller than all the other tomato plants in my menagerie with no fruit on it but it still looks healthy. The pepper plant is much smaller than the other plants however it does have two fruit growing on it.

The plants I am pleased with most in my pond are the pond plants I purchased at Gateway Garden Center in Hockessin, DE last month. They look amazing and my fish are happy with the new additions. The white water lily is beautiful and it seems as though there are new leaves daily which are making a wonderful canopy for the fish. The white bog plant is doing well and the shoots are above the water line so I am excited to watch them spread out. Finally, I have my water hyacinths that are multiplying like crazy and am awaiting their exotic blooms.

Thank you for visiting my gardens! Please let me know what you think or any feedback to help my gardens grow happy and healthy! I’ll keep you posted with any developments.


Tracey - GMG