I've always liked to make my own Valentine love letters....all handwritten and colored with leaves and sticks and twigs and rocks and plant dyed spots, or whipping up my own chocolatey and sticky and sweet confections, and irresistible luscious liqueurs....but this year, I'm stringing wild jewels too. A little something special for my girls. They're easy enough to be a children's project but I'm keeping this one a secret because I'm making these ones for my Valentine girls. I will say though, that my fingertips didn't go without the occasional needle poke so some children my need help with this one.

Somebody asked me yesterday what my herbal path was, my story. Here's a smidgin about me (so far anyway) for those who wanna know......

Mallow is one of the earliest cited plants in recorded literature. Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea, me malvae" ("As for me, olives, endives, and mallows provide sustenance")

“A glass of absinthe is as poetical as anything in the world, what difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset.” - Oscar Wilde

I tend to have interest in anything historical and/or herb related and I'm a great fan of herbal liqures, wines, beers, sodas etc. I’ve made beer, I’ve made wine, I’m working on sodas and I’m intrigued by liquors. I’ll probably never make this but non-the-less very interested by the medicinal history. I’m also deeply intrigued by some of our most controversial and self-impoverished artists, writers, poets, musicians, free-thinkers, and the like and find it fascinating that this herbal drink was the "beaverage du jour" or drink of choice among these great thinkers in the mid to late 19th century. It inspired many and appeared in works by Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh, it was drank by the scandalous playwright Oscar Wilde, the eccentric Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the poets Charles Baudelaire and Edgar Allen Poe, and the famous 20th century author Ernest Hemingway, just to mention a few....intriguing right? I’d say so.

Common names can be a source of confusion. Frequently the same plant has more than one name: butterfly weed, for example. Because it was once used to treat pleurisy, butterfly weed is known by pleurisy root in some areas. Bouncing Bet, a common roadside wildflower brought to America by European settlers, is also known as soapwort: its leaves and rhizomes boiled in water make a lather for laundry and bathing. But, not so fast, other names for bouncing bet are fuller's herb and lady's washbowl...hmmm. Just as confusing as having a plant with more than one common name is having the same name applied to two or more different species. Marigold for example: Calendula and Tagetes share this common name.

To avoid such confusion, scientists use a standardized two-part naming system called binomial nomenclature.The first part of the plant's name gives its genus, the group to which it belongs and which it shares many features. The second part of the plants name tells it species-the particular kind of plant in the genus such as Rosa multiflora is the specific name for the mutliflora (many-flowered) rose. Also, the second (species) part of the name more often than not, describes something specific about the plant. Sometimes it tells the color of a plant's flowers; alba for white, rubrus for red, purpureum for purple. Or it may describe foliage; grandifolia for large leaves, rotundifolia for round leaves, millefoliium for thousand- or many-leaved. Or it may describe some other salient characteristic, erectus for upright, hirsutum for hairy, odorata for fragrant, myrtilloidies for myrtlelike. Some species names describe where a plant is typically found; montana- on the mountain, maritima- by the sea, aquatilis- in the water. And others tell how people have used the plants; edulis for edible, cathartica for cathartic and so on.

Basil, beyond being one of my most valued culinary herbs, is also one of my most valued medicinal herbs. Basil is known to be a great source of vitamin K, calcium, and other nutrients, as well as being abundant in antioxidants.

There are many different varieties of basil used for their medicinal and culinary attributes, but two of my favorites are the simple garden basil (Ocimum basilicum), and Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum) also known as Tulsi. Ancient cultures have long used basil to treat various stomach and respiratory problems.

There are so many flowers that can be eaten. The culinary use of flowers dates back thousands of years to the Chinese, Greek and Romans. Today there is a resurgence of interest in edible flowers, and I can see why. Flowers add texture, interest, and beauty to dishes that could otherwise be simply boring.

Collect your flowers at the optimum time. Pick them when they are fully open in the coolest part of the day. Flowers that are not fully open (unless buds are desired) or those starting to wilt should be avoided. Sample a flower or two for flavor before harvesting. Remove the pistils and stamens because the pollen can detract from the flavor of the flower as well as cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals. After harvest, place long-stemmed flowers in water and then in a cool location. Short stemmed flowers should be placed between layers of damp paper toweling or in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Immediately before using, gently wash the flowers to remove dirt and check for insects.

Damiana is a native of the Gulf of Mexico and regions of southern California and is also found in the wild throughout Mexico, Central and South America, the West Indies and Africa.

Turnera diffusa is a relatively small shrub reaching a height of 3-6 feet, and produces small, aromatic yellow blossoms and sweet smelling serrated leaves. It blossoms in early to late summer and is followed by fig like fruits with a similar taste. Damiana leaves smell alot like chamomile but is best blended with other herbs for tea, as the taste is rather bitter.

Marrubrium vulgaris is one of the first non-native herbs I learned when I was working as field biologist for Cal State Stanislas to protect native species. I knew the plant as a cough remedy and a candy, but didn't have much experience recognizing the plant back then. In college as a horticulture student we studied landscaping plants rather than "wild" plants; which is truly where my heart was. But none the less, I learned a lot.