There is something incredibly uplifting about working with plants. I’m not sure if it is the beautiful colors, mood-boosting fragrances, the eye candy factor, or the knowledge that these humble ingredients carry powerful qualities that will soothe, calm, invigorate, and even help heal.

Many plants come up all by themselves offering their goodness without the least bit of prompting. A lot of folks call these weeds, but in some instances, I beg to differ. One example is dandelions with all their amazing properties.

Whether they are weeds or carefully sown and tended plants, I seem to be able to find beauty in all of them - even the ones that require protective gloves to work with (I’m looking at you, stinging nettle).

All this comes to mind quite by itself during the simple process of starting a calendula infusion.