Happy Spring! Garden Clubs, Plants & Lip Balm

Happy Spring! I love this time of year when things start to turn green and I can plant things in the ground. I had a lovely start to this new season as was invited to attend a meeting of The Rogue River Garden Club, in Rogue River Oregon. If you have ever visited this town you have seen the beautiful planters and hanging baskets. This is the work of this group. They also provide scholarships to local students, wishing to pursue plant based studies. I love how plants not only make us happy and healthy -- they also can help grow communities!

I shared my love of Garden to beauty plants and recipes and ideas from my book Natural Beauty from the Garden. I also made a batch of basic lip balm to share. Here is that recipe:

Basic Lip Balm for a group

This is my basic batch recipe that can be customized for your group depending. I usually start with this one just to demonstrate how easy lip balm is to make and also it is the start of other products like salves and lotion bars. You can use your own favorite oils or infused oils and even add a bit of natural color or flavoring.

1 /4 cup grated beeswax

1 /4 cup grated cocoa butter

1 /4 cup coconut oil

Place all the ingredients in a heat resistant jar or bowl and place in a water bath. (I use a small crock pot filled with water). Heat gently until the all the ingredients are melted and stir well. Pour into lip balm tubes.

Note: For filling a number of tubes you may want to tape the empty tubes together or place in a dish. You can also purchase Lip balm trays that the tubes clip in and make it easier to fill. This recipe usually makes about 50 tubes.

Yield: 6 ounces

I wish all of you a beautiful spring! I am getting ready now for the next Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville, NC April 27-28 If you have a garden club I would love to visit!

xoxo Janice