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Making gifts from the garden is one of the simplest and most satisfying ways to share your garden with others. Michelle DeFord, owner of Crimson Sage Nursery, an organic medicinal plant nursery in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, makes a salve with comfrey her family christened "Boo-Boo Salve." She says she used it on her children when they were small, and now that they are grown, they still prefer it to any thing else on the market. Used on any scrape or cut, it really speeds up the healing.
Boo-Boo Salve 2 cups olive oil 1 ounce (about two tablespoons) fresh comfrey leaves* 1 ounce (about two tablespoons) fresh lavender flowers* 1 ounce (about two tablespoons) fresh calendula flowers* 1/2 cup beeswax *or 1/2 ounce dried
Put the olive oil and the herbs in the top of a double boiler. Gently cook for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently—little bubbles around the edges of the oil are okay; bubbling throughout the mixture means it's too hot. Pour the mixture through a strainer to remove the herbs; discard the herbs and set the oil aside. Melt the beeswax in the top of the double boiler. When the beeswax is melted, add the strained oil and stir until completely blended. Pour the mixture into jars or salve tins. When it is cool, label and date it. The salve lasts about a year, more if it's kept refrigerated.
