Calendula officinalis, Calendula is one of my favorite herbs. It will save your skin, and make you beautiful. When I make a tea to drink or for use as a hair rinse I take the strained out flowers and rub them directly over my face, it gives me a golden glow and the circulation seems to immediately improve.

Every year the Calendula patch in my garden is getting bigger and bigger. It is an annual, you have to plant it again every year, so let a few go to seed. The flowers are bright yellow and orange, like the sun, some have lots of petals, like the picture, some have less. The harvest goes on all summer, the entire flower heads or the petals alone are used. I have found that it is best to store the dried herb away from bright light, which seems to fade away the golden color sooner.

Calendula flowers contain antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that promote healing. Studies have proven that calendula flowers promote the metabolism of proteins and collagen---in other words help to grow new, healthy cells. You can use it to make a compress or poultice, or as a tea for drinking or for bathing or soaking any part of the body.

It is a classic for baby use, and lots of calendula preparations are on the market for babies. But I find the simple herb itself prepared fresh to be best. Calendula is good to reduce inflammation, heal wounds, and as an antiseptic. As a tea it is soothing to the stomach. Use a well strained tea for the eyes, and for the inside of the nose, or as a gargle and mouthwash.