Like a mini burst of sunshine in the garden, Calendula is a darling amongst herbalists and gardeners. Calendula has amazing skin healing properties and is primarily used topically in salves and oils for cuts, bruises and burns. The petals are edible, too, and make a delightful addition to salads.
My very first salve I made used calendula petals infused in olive oil with comfrey, lavender, and beeswax. It was divine, lasted forever, and we called it “Green Stuff”. I haven’t made it in awhile but I promised my niece Maya that I would make her some soon. I better get on that—I see a calendula salve class in our future! We’ll let you know how it comes out next time we make it.
But for now I’ll introduce a few simple recipes you can try right away with basic ingredients from your kitchen pantry and garden.
Since Calendula is great for wound healing I would recommend always keeping some sort of calendula first aid product close at hand.
This first recipe is basically a calendula tea that you apply to wounds.
To make a Wound Wash:
1 tbsp dried or 2 tbsp fresh calendula blossoms
1 cup boiling water
Boil water in pan and add calendula blossoms/petals. Cover and steep for 15 minutes.
Let cool to room temperature before applying to wounds.
To Make Skin Soother:
This Calendula infused oil provides soothing relief to irritated skin.
Fill a clean (preferably boiled in water) wide mouth glass mason jar with calendula petals. Cover petals with olive oil and place in a sunny location for 2 weeks. Strain oil, and reserve. Refill jar with more calendula petals and then recover with reserved oil and top off i necessary. Cover jar with a paper bag and place back in a sunny location for another 2 weeks.
Strain and store in a dark glass jar. To preserve freshness, add 800 IU of vitamin E oil.
Apply calendula oil to sunburned skin, minor skin irritations, and skin abrasions.
There are so many healing applications you can do with this medicinal herb so enjoy exploring and we hope you will start a new love affair with Calendula!!