Seeds: Calendula

Seeds: Calendula by Halley Strongwater Bobbe Besold

This was originally published in the SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal #24

Seeds: Calendula: Bobbe Besold

Seeds like eyelashes, thick

Petals paper thin

Orange slices reaching for the sun

Resinous, sticky green leaves beneath

Many an herbalist has fallen in love with Calendula officinalis. Also called Pot Marigold, Scotch Marigold, or Common Marigold (though it is not a true marigold), Calendula is a garden favorite. This orange-flowered plant grows just about anywhere and will send up gigantic orange, red, and multicolored blossoms with a little water and the right soil. The most resinous calendula, Alpha, is one of the most potent varieties of the plant. Recently (and about 100 years too late), western medicine caught on to the topical healing benefits of this magical flower in wound care. To use calendula in wound healing topically, dry the entire flower head (not just the petals) out of the sun in a basket or paper bag. Once the flowers are dry, add them to an oil of your choice for 4-6 weeks. This oil can be used directly or in a salve made with beeswax. Turn to this for cuts, wounds, rashes, and more. Throw a few seeds around your garden. And, with a few drops of water, they will sprout and grow and come back year after year. 

Bobbe Besold is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, educator, grandmother and activist. A creative catalyst and community collaborator, her work focuses on ecological and social issues in: public art projects, visual art, street theatre, film, performance art and more. www.bobbebesold.com

 Halley Strongwater is a certified clinical herbalist trained at Milagro School of Herbal Medicine in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her business “Loam Earth” provides herbalist-formulated bio-regional products to cultivate wellness and joy. By sharing her knowledge of plants, she empowers others to an understanding of their connection to the Earth. A lifelong gardener, self-trained botanist, mama to two littles, she has spent countless hours with her hands in the earth, nurturing plants and trees. She can be found on Instagram at @loamearth