Honeyvine Homestead and Botanicals

06/18/2026

The Maypops are popping! Does it seem early to anybody else, or is it just that now that I’m 50 time seems to be going faster than ever? 🤔

I’ve wanted to have a big perennial stand of Passionvine, passiflora incarnata, since I rediscovered it again in 2020. I can look back into my childhood and remember walking the prairies, passing time on lazy summer afternoons, playing with Maypop fruit and using Passionflowers for all sorts of things with my dolls (skirts, umbrellas, hats, etc.).

At our last house I planted dozens of starts, only to have almost all of them die on me (not enough sunlight). When I finally had what I think would have become a perennial patch, we up and moved in late 2023!

But God is good. And when we moved here I was delighted the next spring to find a small area of Passiflora on our fence line. It’s taken 3 years of making sure our patch is safe, and trying not to mess with the flowers or fruits in order to improve our chances of growing the population, but I think we may have a patch I can stop worrying so much about and even start harvesting small amounts of flowers from (pro tip: the flowers are flashy but the leaves and vines are just as medicinal). We’ll see how much of a patch is left once the Gulf Frittilary caterpillars find the plant and use it for their purposes (they come first).

Growing things, and simply protecting what already is growing, has taught me so much about the joy of patience. [Please remind me of that joy next winter when I am missing the spring!]

06/18/2026

One of the ways in which I feel I have “arrived” is that I can go out and pick a bouquet of flowers from my own property whenever I want. It’s a simple thing that brings me joy. Here’s a handful of bouquet I’ve created over the past few years.

Wishing you abundant blessings today. 🌼❤️🌼

06/17/2026

Have you made switchel before? I used to do something similar with vinegar, lemon, and water, but I’m going to try this with the ginger to get the fizzy fermented action. Think I’ll go make a batch right now!

Everyone’s spending a fortune on fluorescent sports drinks and fancy gut-health sodas lately. It always makes me laugh a little. Long before we knew what an "electrolyte" was, farmers out cutting hay in the blazing heat relied on a very specific, simple jar of something completely different to keep going without passing out. My dad used to keep a big glass jar of it sitting in the creek to stay cold while he ran the chainsaw all afternoon. It takes exactly four common pantry ingredients and a day sitting on the kitchen counter to get just a little bit fizzy. The combination sounds incredibly odd until you take that first swig. Then, it completely clicks. Your stomach settles, your thirst actually disappears, and there's no cloying fake sugar coating your teeth. I stopped buying the expensive plastic bottles years ago and just make a batch of this when the weather turns hot. You probably have everything you need to start a jar right now. (Oh, and I also shared what happens when you pour two ounces of good bourbon into it after the yard work is actually finished. You won't regret that either.)

06/17/2026

Yes!👏🏼 Slow medicine is the best medicine! Do we need heroic western medicine sometimes? Absolutely. But part of the magic of working with plants is watching your body come into balance over time. ❤️

06/17/2026

Very cool! I love adding Angelica root to my broths. It’s actually quite yummy.

There used to be a skill passed from mother to daughter involving angelica root. It's nearly gone now.

Standing in the freezing ocean mist on a black volcanic coastline, an ancient Nordic explorer wielded a heavy, iron-bladed knife. They sliced straight through a massive, towering green stalk that looked remarkably like giant celery.

They would take a thick piece of the intensely aromatic root right there in the biting wind and begin to chew it.

Here's what most people don't know... this massive hollow plant was so revered in Viking culture that it was actually used as official currency. Ancient Norse archives document how sailors traditionally chewed this warming, grounding botanical to maintain their vitality during grueling, frozen voyages across the sea.

It fills you with profound awe to imagine ancient explorers carrying this wild plant across freezing oceans just to survive. We completely forgot the raw, untamed power of the earth that once gave your ancestors the endurance to conquer the cold.

Tag someone who would have known exactly what to do with angelica root.

06/17/2026

Catnip!! It’s not just for cats!

I remember when I hoped for a big patch of catnip to grow at our last home, and every year it would Peter out on me (LOL—my 50 yo brain chose this moment to realize why we say “Peter out,” but I digress). I finally have a sunnier property and a nice, perrenial patch going.

It’s an herb you can harvest several times in a season by cutting back after it flowers. It’s always covered in pollinators when in flower. Right now the wasps and leatherwing beetles are especially enjoying it, along with the bumble bees. 🐝

This calming nervine is a beautiful option, along with chamomile, rose, tulsi, or lemon balm, as a relaxing cup of tea for children or adults before bed. Catnip is known to aide digestion, easing tension (antispasmodic) and inflammation in the digestive tract.

And yes, the cats love it too.🐱

*My statements are for educational purposes only; they have not been assessed by the FDA. Please do your own research and speak to your healthcare provider before adding new herbs to your regimen. ❤️

06/17/2026

Yes! I posted a photo of my Honeyvine with these aphids on it in the past day or two. It’s part of growing milkweed that I almost look forward to, because I get to watch nature’s Calvary come in to use these little aphids however they can. I’ve never had them hurt a heathy milkweed.

06/16/2026

Yesterday I got to put a travel kit together for a friend who is traveling to Europe. This is why I do what I do. First of all, it’s an absolute joy to get to formulate remedies for others. But also, it makes me feel good that I can, in one day, put something like this together for someone, from my personal apothecary of mostly foraged herbs. Oklahoma is a state abundant with native, invasive, and introduced plants that can be used for medicine. I am so thankful.

06/16/2026

This is my reminder to make better use of all the abundant green food I have in all the lambsquarter we grow!

Did you know that Lambsquarters Chenopodium album) is our native ancient quinoa? The leaves, seeds and root are edible and packed full of nutrition! Just ONE cup of greens, contains 73 percent vitamin A and 96 percent vitamin C! It is also a fantastic source of Iron as well as 8 essential amino acids including, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. We love making Lambsquarter quiche, spanakopita, scrambled eggs and more. You can add the mild greens into just about any dish from pasta to banana smoothies. It’s certainly in my top 3 favorite wild greens!!!