Mother’s Day gifts from the garden.

“ To be a Mother is the most beautiful blessing. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mothers.”

Here in America we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday. I thought I share with you all some inexpensive ways to gift those special ladies in your lives in celebration of their nurturing and mothering of others. It could be any woman that loves, and mentors another child.

These are only items we have in or around gardens in our neighborhood. We share with each other, so what one doesn’t have another neighbor may.

Cherry tomatoes from our friend’s garden.

Eggs-

Start Mother’s day by cooking mom breakfast.

Scrambled egg tacos-

corn tortillas

onions

red, yellow and green bell peppers

mushrooms

cheddar cheese (optional)

fresh salsa (optional)

6-7 eggs ( depending on how many people are in your family, we have 4)

Warm up tortillas on pan with about a tsp. of Olive oil. Cover and set aside warm corn tortillas. We cook in cast iron. Add a little olive oil in pan then add diced onions, and bell peppers. Cook for awhile until softened, then add chopped mushrooms and cook those in mixture until soft. Beat 6-7 eggs ( I was taught to add a small amount of milk to my scrambled eggs, this is optional) add eggs to mushroom/onion/bell peppers, and scramble together. You can add extra ingredients to your egg tacos like fresh avocado, or garden cherry tomatoes. Add salt and pepper for taste and top with salsa of you choice.

Another thing that eggs can be used for are for beauty products. Egg whites can be used under you eyes for puffiness and fine lines. Just brush some under your eyes being careful not to get it in your eyes, let it dry, and wash off with some warm water. Put a bunch of fresh eggs in a pretty basket with instructions for egg masks. You can use it on your whole face. Save the yoke for your pets, they usually love eating raw eggs. It’s good for them.

Egg and carrot eye mask:

1 egg white

1 Tbsp finely shredded carrot

1 tsp. Aloe Vera

Beat together until frothy, then brush under eye area carefully, leave on for 15-30 minutes. It will tighten and brighten under eye area naturally without using harsh chemicals. Much cheaper too.

Lavender-

I love Lavender. So much can be done with this flower. Such a calming and relaxing fragrance.

We haven’t had the best luck with our lavender. But we still keep trying every year. We used to have a Lavender bush that had lasted for years and then it died. We have a plant growing in our garden now and so far it has been doing well for the past two months.

Lavender infusion oil-

Fill a glass jar with lavender buds, then fill the rest of the jar with your favorite carrier oil like Olive, Sunflower or Sweet almond. Store in airtight jar in cabinet for 4-6 weeks. After infusion is finished strain and store in dark glass bottle. You can add your infusion oil to soaps and lotions or use to rub onto restless legs, or bug bites.

I picked up this little glass cork bottle from the dollar store, before the prices went up that is. They are perfect for small garden gifts. You can still find all kinds of glass jars at second hand shops.

Rosemary-

Another great herb to have in the garden that can be used for so many things. You can cook with it and use it for beauty products.

Tie up rosemary in little bouquets and hang up to dry in warm areas for 10-14 days. Once dry strip stems then store leaves in air tight jar.

Make sure your plants are fully covered by oil.

Rosemary olive oil- fill a glass jar with fresh rosemary and olive oil with an airtight lid. Refrigerate as soon as possible.

Rosemary/apple cider facial spray.

Boil ¾ cup water then add 1 fresh Rosemary sprig to it. Once water cools down transfer it to a spray bottle and add 2 Tbsp of Apple Cider vinegar. Spray on clean face to help with inflammation and to help reduce blemishes. I like to refrigerate my sprays, especially in the summer. Very refreshing.

Mint-

If you don’t grow this hardy plant in your garden then you will probably be able to find it in the wild. It grows like weeds up north where it is cooler. My grandma used to plant her Mint by her leaky hose in the back yard.

Dry mint leaves can be stored in glass jars for hot teas later.

Mint water:

Add ¼ cup mint leaves to 1 cup of boiling water, seep for 15 minutes. Stir in two ice cubes until water is lukewarm. Pour water into a pitcher and add 7 cups of cold water, refrigerate. You can add some honey for sweetness if you like. Should last one day.

Mint ice cubes look pretty and are also refreshing.

Flowers-

My pansies are struggling right now as our temps are getting warmer. I still have some though, for now that is. They make the prettiest little bouquets.

We all know that mom’s love their flowers. Even if you only have tiny flowers in your garden, they will look beautiful in a little glass vase on your mom’s breakfast tray. Some flowers are even edible or can be used as food décor on sweet treats like a tiny cake I made a few weeks ago.

Aloe-

I love, love, love this plant. My favorite plant that my Nana introduced to me years ago when I was a little girl. You will be amazed at everything this plant can do.

One of the DIY’s I need to try out is Aloe Vera soap. My to do list is getting bigger and bigger. Put some gel in a mason jar and keep in the fridge for a week to use as a moisturizer, for cuts and burns, and even as a conditioner for your hair. If you have pets, make sure not to leave out where they can get into it, it is poisonous for our dogs and cats.

Houseplants-

Add a pretty houseplant to your moms bag or basket of garden gifts. It doesn’t matter what kind, just something alive that they can keep month after month. Don’t forget to add pretty recipe cards with all your garden gifts. Tie your cards to each plant explaining what they can be used for and how to prepare them.

I also like to add small accessories to the pots. I purchased my original Spider plant from a farmer’s market. The woman who sold me the plant grows them from her own collection at home. This is a third generation baby from her plant.

Jasmine-

Night blooming Jasmine makes my garden smells so pretty at night. Jasmine is such a powerful fragrance, it makes the whole backyard smell like an explosion of pretty. You can collect Jasmine to dry and make into an infusion oil ( Same as Lavender infusion above) to add to soaps or use for your hair as a moisturizer. Jasmine oil is great as a hair conditioner and helps with split ends.

Jasmine rose water-

1 firmly packed cup of Rose and Jasmine organic petals, pour 2 cups boiling water over top. Cover and steep until liquid is cool. Strain and squeeze liquid from petals. Put in small pray bottle and store in refrigerator.

That’s it from my little city garden that’s mostly grown in pots. We did harvest some honey a week ago, just a little though. A jar full of honey would also look pretty in a basket. There is a really nice facial scrub that you can make with sugar and a little honey, or you can take a Tbsp of honey and cover face as a natural face mask, then remove with warm water after about 15 minutes. We have other edible things in our garden but I wrote this post up in one day and took 90% of these photos in the same day, I just ran out of time to find other items in our garden to add to a Mother’s Day basket. I didn’t realize Mother’s Day was this Sunday until my husband told me. I hope all you mom’s out there have a beautiful Mother’s Day. Stay safe and God bless you all.