Alchemist Mother Apothecary

Seasons · September to December

Autumn

The cupboard fills. Roots, hips and berries, the last flowers before frost, and the first warm drinks of the year.

Autumn is the busiest season in an herbal kitchen, and the most generous. Everything that grew all summer has to be gathered, dried, steeped or cooked down before the cold comes. The window ledges fill with jars of oil. The rack above the stove fills with peel and bundles of herbs.

In the old Eastern European calendar there is a warm spell in mid-September called babye leto — "women's summer" — the last soft days when the harvest was brought in and the spinning began. By the feast of Pokrov in October, the saying went, the first snow would cover the ground.

In the garden

  • Last calendula and the final cut of lemon balm
  • Rose hips colouring — best picked after the first frost
  • Planting garlic for next summer
  • Saving seed from the strongest plants

In the wild

  • Elderberries along creeks and field edges
  • Hawthorn and rose hips in the hedgerows
  • Pine and spruce, gathered year-round
  • Mushrooms — only with someone who truly knows them

In the kitchen

  • Candied citrus peel for winter baking
  • Rose hip and apple pastila
  • Spiced apple cups for cold evenings

In the apothecary

  • Elderberry syrup for the winter shelf
  • Calendula oil straining into salve
  • Drying linden and lemon balm for tea

The folk calendar

  • 22–23 SeptemberAutumn equinoxDay and night in balance. The turn toward the dark half of the year.
  • Mid–late SeptemberBabye leto"Women's summer": the last warm spell of the year in Eastern European folk tradition.
  • 14 OctoberPokrovThe Feast of the Intercession. In village tradition, the end of field work and the hoped-for first snow.
  • 31 OctoberHalloweenPumpkins, apples and the American evening of lanterns and costumes.
  • Fourth Thursday of NovemberThanksgivingThe American harvest table.

Recipes

Films

Plants

Stories

From the garden