Sleep Pillows

Back when I posted about my lavender harvest I mentioned making sleep pillows. Finally put a few together tonight using a blend of chamomile, lemon balm, rose petals, lavender flowers, hops and passionflower. I added a few drops of organic lavender essential oil and filled the pillow loosely. They're about 5"x 6" and one's already tucked in my pillow case. It's an experiment! Combined with my nighttime tea, I'm sure I'm in for a dreamy night!

Nighttime Tea

So I made my first herbal tea blend the other night, a variation of Mountain Rose Herb's Fidnemed tea mentioned earlier. Upon placing my order for the tea, I sadly learned that it was out of stock, so I decided to make my own! I purchased all the ingredients in bulk, except skullcap (also out of stock) and replaced it with chamomile. The beauty of blending your own is how easy it is to adjust. The first blend had a pretty strong valerian odor (which isn't pleasant), so I added a bit more hibiscus and lemon balm to even it out. The brew was a beautiful shade of red and didn't taste too bad either. Had a cuppa and went to bed to test it out. I have to say that it was a great night of sound sleep and woke feeling quite refreshed. Yay! Successful blend on first try. While I can't give exact amounts, only because I don't measure, here are the ingredients I used:

• Lemon Balm, a mint with lemony scent
• Hibiscus Flowers 
• Chamomile Flowers
• Passionflower
• Hops Flowers
• Valerian Root
• Lavender Flowers