Tam's Gardens

07/09/2026

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06/09/2026

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10:00 AM Sat 19 Sep at Wonderland Retreat, Padbury, . Common Culinary Herbs for First Aid and Medicine Workshop

05/09/2026

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18/08/2026

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17/08/2026

Calendula: One of the Most Underrated Medicinal Herbs ~

If you had to choose just a handful of herbs to grow, Calendula (Calendula officinalis) should always make the list. It flowers almost all year round, bringing bright splashes of golden orange to the garden even through the colder months, and right now it's absolutely flourishing, attracting many beneficial insects into the garden.

Calendula is one of the very best herbs for inflamed, damaged, or slow healing skin. It helps stimulate tissue repair, supports healthy circulation to damaged areas, and encourages the growth of new skin. Use it for cuts, scrapes, burns, bruises, insect bites, cracked hands, rashes, eczema, and minor skin infections. You'll find Calendula infused into many of the healing balms and moisturisers because it's so wonderfully soothing and restorative.

Its actions include:

* Anti-inflammatory
* Antimicrobial
* Antifungal
* Antiseptic
* Vulnerary (supports wound healing)
* Lymphatic
* Mildly astringent
* Emmenagogue (supports healthy menstrual flow)

Much of Calendula's anti-inflammatory activity comes from compounds called triterpenoids, along with flavonoids and carotenoids, all of which have been well studied for their beneficial effects. The flowers are the part most used medicinally.

Calendula is also a nutritious edible flower.

The vibrant petals are rich in antioxidant compounds including lutein, beta-carotene, and flavonoids, along with small amounts of vitamin C. These colourful pigments help protect our cells from oxidative stress while supporting healthy skin and eyesight.
The petals have a mild peppery flavour and can be scattered through salads, stirred into rice dishes, baked into cakes and biscuits, infused into vinegars, or sprinkled over almost any meal to brighten both the plate and your day. Even the young leaves are edible, although they're a little more bitter.

Fresh flower heads can be infused into tea, while dried flowers are perfect for storing and using throughout the year. I most often dry them before infusing them into oil to make healing balms and moisturisers, but they can also be made into herbal teas, skin washes, compresses, bath soaks, and soothing gargles.

Calendula is also one of the easiest medicinal herbs to grow. It happily self-seeds, flowers prolifically, attracts bees and other beneficial insects, and makes a fantastic companion plant in the vegetable garden.

11/08/2026

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10/08/2026

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After many wonderful years as Gaia’s Organic Gardens, I’m excited to share a new chapter: Carla’s Organic Gardens.

While the name and focus are evolving, the heart of this work remains the same: sustainable gardening, education, community and helping people feel more connected to nature.

This next chapter will bring together:

🌿 Sustainable organic garden design
🌿 Workshops
🌿 Consultations
🌿 Education
🌿 Practical guidance for gardens that truly belong here

Thank you to everyone who has been part of the Gaia’s journey. I’m so excited to keep growing with you as Carla’s Organic Gardens.

Beautiful gardens. Sustainable futures. 🌱

04/08/2026

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10:00 AM Sat 03 Oct at Wonderland Retreat, Padbury, . To restore stability to our planet, we must restore its biodiversity. In these uncertain times, it is more crucial than ever to cultivate resilience and self-sufficiency. At Wonderland Retreat, we bel...

09/06/2026

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Every gardener loses plants.

Every gardener deals with pests.

Every gardener makes mistakes.

The difference is that gardeners keep learning and keep growing.

That's how better gardens are built.

09/06/2026

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Last fall I dug a 4-foot wide, 8-foot long, 2-foot deep trench in my backyard and filled it with everything most people throw away. Logs from a dead apple tree at the bottom. Branches and twigs over the logs. Fall leaves over the branches. Grass clippings over the leaves. Six inches of topsoil over everything, mounded into a curved hill.

That's a hugelkultur bed. German for 'hill culture.' My grandparents would have called it 'using what you have.'

Total cost: $15 for a yard of topsoil to finish. Everything else was free yard waste.

I planted it this spring with squash, melons, beans. The bed retains water like a sponge. Everything growing on it is double the size of my normal beds.

The decomposing wood inside feeds the plants for 7-10 years.