Happy Spring! (or Imbolc)

Imbolc is now several weeks passed, the cross quarter of the season which represents in the Celtic calendar the first day of spring! For us here in the Northern Hemisphere spring does not start until March 21st, with the Spring Equinox as our marker for the event. This designation is based off of the Gregorian calendar, which has never really worked for me when witnessing your local plants. The Celtic calendar, which is much more agrarian based portrays a clearer vision of how the flora cycles work here in the Pacific Northwest. In this type of calendar we look at the heights of the season, the quintessential moment when we know we are fully in the season to be the peak. These would be the Equinoxes or Solstices. To mark the beginning and end of the season we cut the four points in half calling them the cross quarters. That being said we have just passes the cross quarter of February 1st, Imbolc, the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox thus the beginning of the spring season. At the spring equinox we will be fully burst into spring with an abundance of blossoms. And now that spring has just started here, we have begun to see the first whispers….
Tulip and daffodil leaves are popping up, Iris leaves are becoming green, Winter Daphne is starting to bud and bloom and for my most favorite marker of the first day of spring— the sweet smell of the blooming Violets!


Plant of the Month: Viola odorata

Violets grow in my front yard as a ground cover under some of my native bushes. I love February for this is the time when the leaves begin to uncurl and their little scrumptious purple flowers bloom. The flowers are simply one of the sweetest most delicious smells effervescently wafting through the spring breeze! Violets are one of those old forgotten sweet herbs that are incredibly healing, nutritive and helpful for releasing our winter sludge. With nutritious leaves, rich in Vitamin A and C; Violets make an excellent infusion to strengthen the eyes, the nerves and the blood. Wonderfully mucilaginous you can also crush the leaves and flowers steep them in room temp over night and have an excellent soothing drink for an inflamed intestinal tract, bronchitis, asthma or coughs. Externally, violet flower infused in oil adds an extra special touch into my Elder Flower Eye Cream.













Summer Violet Drink Recipe:

Red Raspberry Leaf
Lemongrass
(Or Nettles, Alfalfa, Lemon Balm & etc.)
Colorful frozen fruit
(i.e. Raspberries or Strawberries)
Violet flower ice cubes