A couple of weeks ago I finally replaced the spherical tea infuser that broke years ago. Once again, we have an easy way to enjoy an herbal tissane from our own garden. Since the day I purchased two little heart-shaped metal infusers, Haiku has run down to the garden in the afternoons to gather herbs. Today we enjoyed a blend of rose petals, spearmint, chocolate mint and lemon balm. I thought the tea would be deep pink from the rose petals, but instead it was a lovely, translucent aqua. Other days we have included lavender and cat mint and skipped the pretty roses, which were not yet blooming. We served our tea over ice today, and the boys joined us to commemorate the last day of school, and the beginning of summer vacation. The whole kitchen smelled lemony and fresh, and Tanka kept saying "cheers" and tapping his glass to mine (though carefully!)
When I was a young girl my favorite play place was under the arching canes of an old-fashioned rose shrub. When the rose was blooming, my little hide-away smelled like heaven on earth. My brother's forts were pine-scented or mulberry stained, and we all liked to press down the tall field grass into little "rooms." Lavender, lily of the valley, yellow and purple iris, and roses are all tied to the memory of a certain place or a certain someone from my past, and just one whiff of the fragrance carries me back in time.
photos by Haiku, June 8, 2007
9 comments:
What a lovely scent-imental post. I enjoyed reading how you described the scents and colors of the day and your memories. Now, I am going to go pour myself a glass of iced green tea with fresh mint. My last day of school celebration will have to wait however, as we (at university) still have another week of exams.
Catherine Mary, Cute play on words: scent-imental! *grin* The green tea with fresh mint sounds so good! Do you grow the mint?
Aisling, no my "fresh" mint comes in little plastic packages I buy at the organic food store! I did grow mint years ago but when we changed our little city garden we pulled it up. We no longer have a vegetable/herb bed except for two tomato plants this year. Although, I've been thinking of planting an herb container. I guess I'd have to plant the mint in a separate pot as it "takes over" (as you probably know)any where you plant it.
Love the heart shaped infusers. It's always amazed me how a scent can stay with us and when we least expect it, can bring back memories we'd tucked far away. I love it when that happens!
Robbin, I love it when that happens too. It is as close as we'll get to a time travel experience in real life. *grin*
Catherine Mary, I think an herb garden in pots is really pretty. And yes, I guess the mint needs its own pot. I have one garden where it takes over and another where the mint is quite mannerly. It must be a difference in the soil, as the light is quite similar. Either way, the mint in green tea sounds like a lovely refreshing combination!
Aisling, those heart-shaped infusers, and the lovely pictures you took of them, just took my breath away! I can almost smell the scents from your kitchen...mmm!!
What a lovely post. It brought back memories of playing house in the arch of a huge collection of honeysuckles that were in our neighbor's yard. Their granddaughter and I would spend hours out there, smelling the sweet blossoms and sucking their delicate "honey".
Rapunzel, Thanks for such a sweet compliment on the photos. The credit goes to Haiku, who not only grew the herbs and roses, but also snapped those lovely photos for me! :)
Grace, What a nice memory you shared about playing under the honeysuckle! My brothers and I used to sip the nectar from the wild phlox in our field. :)
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