A week & a half ago on Facebook I saw a picture from a local herb shop of some canning jars on a downed tree with a caption of “Fresh Batch of Cottonwood bud oil soon to be decanted!” I love how these things get me thinking… I wonder what that’s used for? Maybe I should make some? 
So here’s to my 1st forray into making natural home remedies!
- Cottonwood buds all ready.
In one of the ditches along my parents property there are a few unwanted cottonwood trees. Right now the buds are just starting to fill with a pretty, red resin before they leaf out. These trees aren’t very big so the buds are rather tiny… it took quite a few to fill up a small wide mouth jar.
After snipping the buds into the jar, trying not to get too much sap on myself, I filled it with organic lime olive oil. Wouldn’t need to be lime but it was one I wasn’t too keen on for cooking and the smell complimented the cottonwood buds, so why not?
Soaking away!
I will stir the oil every day for a few weeks and then remove the buds. This oil is great to massage onto soar muscles or use on cuts & scrapes. It can also be mixed with bee’s wax to make a salve, so I might have to try that!
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Do you have any wild plants or flowers that you pick for natural home remedies? Please share, I’d love to learn more!
