It's almost New Year;s day
Is anyone using herbs to bring good luck, ward off bad luck or cooking special dishes that include herbs or spices

What an interesting question. Are you using anything special @Mindy03?

I need to research this......I'm really curious now

No Linda I don't do anything with herbs fir any occasion. I'm just curious whether anyone else does.
New Year's Day is usually spent giving my house a good cleaning since it gets neglected for two months except fur basic cleaning while I make gifts. Pi do know some people fix creating dishes fir good luck though so wondered if they used certain herbs as part of the tradition.

February brings us Valentine's Day
Who uses herbs in love potions to ensure their loved one returns their affections

I love avocado egg rolls on Valentine's Day, but not sure if they use herbs. Maybe the restaurant will give me the recipe next time!

It is almost Easter and I'm wondering what everyone is using in the way of herbs for their Easter meal.
What is your traditional use of herbs for this holiday?

Are you using herbs to dye your Easter eggs?
Here are some I've come across that can be used to dye eggs
For gold use yellow onion skins
For yellow use turmeric, marigold, goldenrod, cosmos or carrot tops
For green use coltsfoot
For blue use woad or red cabbage leaves
For pink use beets
For purple use blueberries
For brown use coffee grounds or black tea

What other herbs do you use to dye eggs?

My eggs are all various shades of tan to dark brown so I won't be dying any this year. I did see an interesting idea of placing a leaf or flower on the egg, wrapping with strips of nylon stockings, then boiling the eggs in water with one or more of the natural dye plants Mindy notes. They were quite stunning.

Try a few of the lighter brown eggs anyway Deb and see what happens.

Not exactly an herb, but I've been wanting to try using the water from cooking my purple green beans to dye some eggs -- the beans turn green and the water ends up having a green tint, but it leaves purple splash marks in my (white) sink when I drain the beans, so I think the eggs will come out some shade of purple... maybe!

@weedwhacker--that sounds like a lot of fun to try. Keep us posted!

Memorial Day is May 30 2016 this year and I thought I would see what I could find out about any herbs connected to this holiday.

Rosemary is mentioned because it is said to be the herb for rememberance but the one most mentioned as a direct connection to Memorial Day is Flanders Poppy.
Here is a link to an article about the poppy and Memorial Day.
http://www.classbrain.com/arth...

Thanks for posting this, Mindy03. I always remember my dad buying the fabric poppy's for each of us every year.

June is traditionally the month for weddings so I thought I'd see what herbs were associated with weddings.
Turns out quite a few are.
Angelica = protection
Calendula = health and joy
Carnation = admiration and pure love
Heather = admiration and protection
Ivy = fidelity
Larkspur = joy
Lavender = love and devotion
Marjoram = joy, happiness, marital bliss and blushes
Mint = warm feelings
Myrtle = true love, marital bliss, and fidelity
Oregano = joy and happiness
Pansy = thoughts of loved one
Parsley = festivity
Rosemary = rememberance and fidelity

My former daughter-in-law did a nice thing for their wedding - she had individual bouquets made for each bridesmaid with flowers & herbs with attributes she associated with each lady, which was printed out on the program. It was quite nice; although my cousin (who did the flowers) was a bit disconcerted as she is very traditional and had a hard time preparing one bouquet using big blowsy hydrangeas as the main event, and others using much softer and delicate flowers. It was a lovely touch though, and the wedding was rather casual so it all fell together. Too bad the marriage went kaput!

What a great list, MIndy.

Deb--love that your DIL incorporated herbs into her bouquets! What a lovely gesture.

and Sweeet. I've got a lot of "love and devotion," "joy and happiness" and "festivity" growing here.

Deb, I thought that was a really awesome idea for a wedding... until the very last part. Well, it was still a great idea, not the fault of the herbs!

Mindy, love the list! I have

Calendula = health and joy
Marjoram = joy, happiness, marital bliss and blushes
Mint = warm feelings
Pansy = thoughts of loved one
Parsley = festivity
Rosemary = rememberance and fidelity

Looks to me like things should be pretty good around here for another year!

Glad you all are enjoying the list of herbs for weddings.

Sean you made me smile with your list of what grows in your garden. It sounds much more interesting that way.

Another fun thing about my son's wedding: both mothers, a grandma, and my sisters all put together the table flowers. It was so much fun! We started out being very cautious and critical (of ourselves) but by the time we finished, we were tossing things willy-nilly into quart jars (there were a lot of tables to cover...). We raided my flower beds, my herb garden, and a couple neighbors' gardens. I tell ya, these extravagant wedding 'events' these days drive me nutso -- so much angst, tension and expense for...what?? A couple hours of perfection I guess. Not for me.

" these extravagant wedding 'events' these days drive me nutso -- so much angst, tension and expense for...what?? A couple hours of perfection I guess. Not for me."

I couldn't agree more, Deb!

But, it does sound like putting the flowers together turned into a very good time for all of you