herbal shampoo

for one reason or another, my gardening sensibility has always revolved around growing things that are useful.  to me, when speaking of gardening, useful most often means edible.  and this is probably why i have little interest in growing plants that are merely pretty to look at (though, this has been changing a bit in the past few years).  beyond edible, however, there are many other practical uses for plants.  plants can be used for medicinal purposes, in body care products, for dyes, among other uses.  and, as a bonus, many of these plants are also pretty to look at.

when we moved into my house a year and a half ago, i was not so interested in the two rose bushes that were planted in the perennial bed in our backyard.  aside from some childhood memories of my grandfather tending to his rosebushes at their old house in new jersey, i have no attachment to roses.  but then i started to think about what uses those roses would have.  and they survived the summer.  i picked the roses and dried them and have been using the petals as ingredients in bath soaks and batch after batch of herbal shampoo.

as you think of what you'd like to plant in your garden this year, maybe take some time to think of what you'd like to make with your garden at harvest time.  and plant accordingly.

rosemary rose herbal shampoo
{adapted from methow valley herbs}

ingredients:
8 oz boiling water
2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
2 teaspoons of dried rose petals
4 ounces liquid castile soap
3 Tablespoons aloe vera juice
¼ teaspoon of jojoba oil
30 drops of pure rosemary essential oil 

place the rosemary and rose petals in a jar and fill to 8 ounces with boiling water.  cover immediately and let it stand until the jar has cooled.  strain out the herbs, and pour the water into a bottle or whatever container you will be storing your shampoo in.  add the castile soap, aloe vera juice, jojoba oil, and rosemary essential oil.

*note: this shampoo is much more watery than the kind you buy in the store, so it takes some getting used to.  i've found that it works best to give the bottle a gentle shake before each use to make sure it's properly mixed, and then squirt a little bit straight onto my head (i used to pour some shampoo in my hands, lather it, then put it on my hair--this doesn't work so well with this type).

i will say, i've been using this shampoo for almost a year and it works great! i love not having to purchase shampoo every few months, knowing exactly which (very few) ingredients i'm putting on my head, and reducing packaging waste.  not to mention, taking advantage of the usefulness of my garden.