Life and Spirituality

Recently when my daughters visited they informed that they consume neither tea nor coffee anymore. However when I suggested a floral tea they agreed. They loved the cuppa. I explained to them how to create their own. This method is shared with all now in view of its usefulness. Dear reader you could create your own wonderful floral tea for free or very little expense in this manner Discovering suitable flowers: The first step is to make a list of flowers that are available in reasonable abundance in your area. These may be available in the wild in due season or in your own garden. Some dry flowers may be available at reasonable prices in your local market and you may add these to your list. Flowers from some trees are also great. Trees produce these in great abundance in season. Now note, not all flowers in your list will be suitable for tea. Some may even be toxic as for example larkspur and oleander. Discovering what flowers are suitable for a tea is the nex...

The Feast of Achelous by Peter Paul Rubens A ll life has been created from the same pool of genes, different life forms having different sets with many common ones across different life forms that inhabit our planet. Humans share some genes with sheep and numerous other animals. It is not surprising therefore that they tend to exhibit some of the same behavior. Thus when someone started to drink the tea that most humans do, most others followed ditto. It is an excellent brew but that does not mean that there are not other leaves, flowers, fruits, barks and roots that cannot make an excellent cup when dried and used similarly. This blog has described several other leaves and flowers that can lead to an excellent cup. Presently a Five Element Tea is described here that includes equal amounts by volume of dried   root, bark, flower, leaf and fruit of different plants, all known for their health giving properties for most and such a tea consisting of these five co...

  Still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert   (1573–1621 ) W hile the common green and black tea is popular, it is by no means the only herb or flower that can prepare a good cup. Flowers not only add joy and beauty to fields and gardens but many are full of medicinal value too. A huge number of flowers are edible and many make an excellent tea from fresh or dried flowers. Very many have excellent health giving and tonic properties too and a few have been discussed in earlier articles of this blog. Prepared with a proper selection and process it may be regarded as the tea of the gods. A floral tea may be prepared from a single flower or a mix of two or more. While a few floral teas are available in the market, it is a better idea to prepare your own from flowers you have grown and picked yourself and discover your own mix just as long as you know which flowers are edible and pleasant in tea. Try different flowers that grow in your area to see the ones you like b...

C hrysanthemums are blooming in the garden and I took a picture of some white ones just a little while ago. They are delightful flowers to have around the garden because they come in so many shapes and colors and bloom profusely. After the season is over, one can cut them down and they will come up again the following year. Chrysanthemums sometimes called mums belong to the family Asteraceae, the most widely prevalent flower family on the planet. In many parts of the world these flowers are connected to peace for the soul after departure from this life and are therefore an ideal gift for funerals and caskets of the departed. Therefore it is not recommended that these be gifted to anyone on other occasions unless one wishes to rush them to their graves. In some countries they gift this to mothers but it would be wiser to gift pink roses or carnations in any color to a mother. The flower petals may be used as a garnish in various recipes and in China they eat both...