NOTES from. nature's larder // calendula

Recipes and remedies to nourish, heal, and style – July is the month for harvesting calendula with which to make skin-soothing bath soap, sunrise soap and rainbow flower summer rolls

Sunny-flowered calendula, known as pot marigold adds a welcome burst of uplifting colour to the garden right through late spring, summer, autumn and ‘sometimes in winter, if it be mild’ (Nicholas Culpeper, Complete Herbal, 1653). Calendula also has myriad uses – as an edible flower and aromatic leaf, a skin-soothing essential oil and a saffron-like food colouring or dye. No surprise then that this popular and cherished ‘pot’ herb has continued for millenia from the days of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Persia and India to modern times. Herewith a few things you can make from my book The Heritage Herbal (British Library Publications, 2020).

HEAL // Skin-soothing Bath Soak

Combine the healing power of calendula flowers – used for centuries as a traditional first-aid remedy – with similarly soothing oatmeal, Epsom salts and lavender for a restorative and skin-calming bath soak. Harvest calendula flowers (in fine weather) and lavender buds (before full bloom) and dry in a warm place – or source pre-dried flowers from a store.

Makes 2 x 500g (171/2fl oz) jars

175g (2 cups) organic oats

200g (1 cup) Epsom salts

2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp dried lavender flowers

4 tbsp dried calendula flowers

5-10 drops lavender essential oil

Muslin sachet bags

1 Gently grind the oats using a pestle and mortar, or whizz slowly in a blender. Ensure some texture remains. Place in a bowl.

2 Add the Epsom salts, bicarbonate of soda, flowers, and essential oil.

3 Stir gently until combined. Pour into a muslin sachet bag. Secure by tying the ends, then place the bag in the bathtub to infuse. The sachet can also be used to wash, massage, and exfoliate skin.

Other uses

• Prepare a batch of calendula-infused oil as the base for calendula soap, body butter, lotion bars, lip balm, or salad dressing.

• Use calendula-infused tea as a sore-throat gargle, digestive, face wash or to help regulate the menstrual cycle.

NOURISH // Rainbow flower summer rolls

Add calendula’s glowing orange petals to a fresh summer roll of aromatic herbs, crunchy vegetables, bean sprouts, and noodles.

Makes 12 rolls

1/2 cucumber

1 carrot, peeled

4 garden radishes

2 spring onions

150g (1 1/2 cups) bean sprouts

1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

juice of 1/2 lime

100g (3 1/2 oz) rice vermicelli noodles

1/2 tsp sesame oil

12 round rice-paper wrappers (around 200cm/8in diameter)

Mixed small bunch of Thai basil, coriander and mint

2 tbsp fresh calendula petals, washed

Peanut or soy dipping sauce, to serve

1 Finely slice the cucumber, carrot, radishes, and spring onions. Cook the bean sprouts for 1-2 minutes, then drain.

2 Whisk the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and lime juice in a large bowl. Add the chopped vegetables and bean sprouts and toss.

3 Break up the noodles and cook as per the pack instructions. Coat in the sesame oil in a bowl.

4 Soak the rice-paper wrappers for a few seconds in cool water to soften. Fill each one with torn basil, mint, and coriander leaves, and calendula petals followed by equal parts vegetable mixture and noodles. Fold in the ends and roll. Repeat until all the mix is used.

Other uses

• Fresh calendula petals, goat’s cheese and rocket is a great salad mix or pizza topping.

• Make natural orange food colouring by steeping dried calendula petals in boiled water.

STYLE // Calendula sunrise soap

Calendula’s skin-soothing properties and pretty orange petals, plus uplifting sweet orange essential oil, make a lovely child-friendly soap. Source a soap base that’s free from sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and palm oil.

Makes 6 small bars

450g (1lb) vegetable based (shea butter, argan oil or oatmeal) melt-and-pour soap

1tsp shea butter

1 1/2 tbsp calendula-infused sweet almond oil

1/2 cup dried calendula flower petals (removed from flower heads)

Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle

Silicon soap mould (6 small cavities)

1 Place the soap mould on a solid surface such as a chopping board.

2 Cut the soap base into cubes and place in a bowl. Add the shea butter. Heat over a pan of boiling water until melted. Remove from the heat.

3 Stir in the sweet almond oil, sweet orange essential oil and calendula flower petals. Then divide the mixture evenly between the cavities in the mould. Wipe away any spillages before the soap sets.

4 Immediately spray the top of each surface with a little rubbing alcohol to minimise bubbles.

5 Allow the soap to set for 1-2 hours at room temperature. Remove from the mould, wrap in wax paper and use or gift as desired.

Other uses

• Give cocktails an earthy blush with a simple syrup of calendula flowers, honey, and water.

• Grow eye-catching Calendula officinalis cultivars such as the ruffled ‘Pink Surprise’, ‘Neon’ with double blooms, or black-centred ‘Golden Princess’ for a dazzling display.