To own a farm is a blessing

Every time I harvest honeysuckle flowers I feel blessed. I love the alternative lifestyle. It's so fresh with light sweet aroma, the taste is so good with immediate soothing effect. Usually I infuse it in hot water a few minutes and let it cool down a while, if there is too much I'll put them in refrigerator and take it to farm the next day. It can clear the heat in my body in this low pressure weather condition. Besides, it's also very refreshing when it is chilled.

There is a secret in harvesting honeysuckle flowers. I study the planting skill and medicinal benefits of each type of herb by doing research in library. In Chinese medicine, not only different parts of a plant have different medicinal uses but the harvesting time is also crucial for gaining the best healing result.

I try to harvest as many white flower buds as possible because it is said to have the most beneficial substance in this flowering stage. The white flowers will turn yellow in full bloom the next day and the beneficial substance will be faded out. I've built a row of bamboo trellis for honeysuckle, as it is a climbing plant and can grow vigorously in Hong Kong spring and summer, it's length is 20 feets and height 8 feets, I don't harvest the flowers on the top as they can attract bees to my farm. At the end the day, organic farming is all about biodiversity and sustainability.

#alternativelifestyle #tlgliving #thelittlegardenliving #cynthiawong