Out and About : In the Garden

Happy July! I'm exhausted, my little sister turned 21 Tuesday, ( June 30th) and we partied hard. Not in the usual sense for a 21st ( she doesn't drink.) it was a lovely party with some great friends, and water balloons. Cause' it's summer. So anyway we're tired from running around like we're 10. As the title states above, I feel like since it's summer time, I'll go out and about and take photos of interesting herbs, flowers and veggies, oh and of course just awesome nature pics.

Like this pretty flower! Of course I plan on telling you all about the veggies and herbs :) the flowers are just eye candy.


Fruit and Veggies: 

This is my adorable watermelon growing fast. :) Watermelon is an excellent source of nutrition. Watermelon flushes the kidneys and has anti-cancer properties.

This is a Lipstick Pepper Plant, it's growing it's best, I can't wait for it to start blooming! Lipstick Peppers are long, red sweet peppers! Full of vitamins and amazing for your body.  You can buy seed here : http://www.rareseeds.com/lipstick/

Forgive some of the mess, It's cabbage harvesting time ( we cut a new head every few days). But in this picture there is cabbage and green beans and in the far left is a butternut squash plant. Cabbage is known for being anti-cancer and full of Probiotics ( when made into Sauerkraut). Green beans are amazing for the skin, and are very low calorie. 1 cup of green beans = 31 calories!  Butternut squash is low calorie, full of vitamin A and other essential vitamins, it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant support.

Here is our Corn and Tomatoes ( we grow lots and lots of tomatoes). Non-GMO Corn is the best kind, it's full of antioxidants, antioxidant phytonutrients such at beta-carotene and can even help normalize blood sugar. Tomatoes are amazing, they make great sauces, salsa, are amazing to eat on their own and perfect on sandwiches, not to mention such rich creamy soup. However they're full of awesome vitamins such as vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, B3 and B1. Just to name a few!

If your not from the south, you might not recognize this plant. This my dear friends is Okra. It's amazing, I love it fried and I love it in soups. It's full of vitamins and only 33 calories per cup!

This is our adorable Cucumber Patch! Cucumbers are known for detoxing. In spas the reason they put the cucumbers over your eyes is because cucumbers draw toxins out of the skin. Imagine what power they have when you actually eat them. Cucumbers main vitamin is vitamin K, and they're full of  Flavonoids, Lignans, and Triterpenes. Basically cucumbers have Antioxidant , Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Cancer properties. 

Lastly this is our beloved Apple tree! We make lots of apple jelly and apple butter once the apples are ripe. Apples are all fiber and vitamin C, they're packed with amazing Polyphenols. Apples have Cardiovascular benefits, Blood Sugar regulation benefits, Anti-Asthma and Anti-Cancer benefits. So an apple a day really can keep the doctor away! 

Here's a full list of all fruits and veggies we grow : 

Corn
Beans
Cabbage
Broccoli 
Onions
Lettuce 
Tomatoes
Peppers
Okra
Cucumbers
Watermelon
Grapes
Strawberries
Apples
Raspberries
Sweet Potatoes 


Medicinal Herbs: 

This is Peppermint. Peppermint is excellent for heart burn, and upset stomach. It's also wonderful for cold and flu. It's also a nice insect repellent. 

  
Aloe Vera, the gel is great for sunburn, burns, bites and stings. Aloe vera is also a laxative if ingested. 

Great Burdock, a wonderful Liver tonic herb, the root is consumed in many Asian dishes.  

Rosemary is amazing for culinary use but also memory loss, gas, and headache.  

St. John's Wort : Often used as a mild anti-depressant. Also great for bruises and cuts. 

Chicory is used much like Dandelion as in it is a nice liver/kidney tonic and a diuretic. 

Sage is basically a cure all. Sage is amazing for head aches, cooling fevers, and purifying the blood. 

Basil : Although an amazing culinary herb, Basil is a great medicinal herb for Sore throat, Cough, Fever, Kidney Stones... Ect. 

This is a young Chamomile plant, but once it flowers, it will be used for tea. Chamomile tea is amazing for sleep issues, anxiety, and skin issues. 

This is Comfrey, it's used mostly for healing broken bones, cuts and sprains. 



Flowers: ( Just some eye candy )

Hope you've enjoyed this post :)