Adventures in Elder...

... which one are we on now? 3? 4?

Okay, let's call it this:  

You Know I Had to Try It. 

I've done elderberries, jelly making and syrup along with the foot-soaking, mosquito-biting foraging. 

Elder flower cordial? Check.

Elderberry wine?  Not yet but I'm still hopeful!

And now,  I happened upon a use for elder bark: a salve.

And since I found those bushes hiding on my own property, well,  You Know I Had To Try It.

Of course I did. I'm me, after all. They were just sitting out there waiting for me for discover something new to do. 

I peeled the bark and let it dry out for a few days. I only took smaller branches as I only had a little saw. Peeling the bark I was surprised to find it had the same scent as the berries.

Then the olive oil infusion, twice. Oops. Camnesia. Picture bark swimming in olive oil on stove, strained and then infused again. (Gotta love these illustrated tutorials!)

Beeswax was then melted and added to the re-warmed infusion (1 oz to *8oz oil or until you have the consistency you like) and a little lavender essential oil and voila!

It looks greener in real life. In fact, it matches the green walls in our living room. How about a paint chip called Salve Green?  Not so enticing?

Elder bark salve is good for bruising and inflammation.

I'm going to give some to my mum, who has thin, elderly skin that bruises very easily.

I've asked my immediate family members  to check for bruises so I could anoint them!  None so far and I'm not hoping to see any soon but I am curious to try it.

Meanwhile, if you are interested in a more thorough tutorial, I found the salve here at Comfrey Cottages and it's companion post, all about bruising and how it worked here.

 

 

 

Comments

[Jane]

Sounds an interesting idea - we use the arnica cream for bruises. i like the sound of your homemade salve. Jane x

[Dorte]

interesting use of it. i really like the juice of the blossoms ... wonder if you have tested the salve by now :)

[Gill]

It was super to talk with you today and I can so glad you left a comment on my blog, as I want to add a link to my post tomorrow.

Gill

[Francesca]

Never heard of that! I've been patiently waiting for the berries this year, to make a dye, but we had a very dry summer and a late August heatwave: when I went berry picking I found they'd all shriveled and dried up! No Elder adventures for me this year ... yet, bark is available all year round :)