I just love lilac blooms. They are perfectly elegant, colorful, and a sign that warmer weather is here to stay (well for a little while anyways). While I’ll always leave a bunch of blooms for the bees, I do enjoy cutting a few of those gorgeous blooms to bring in the house for some much needed early spring color.

Sadly, lilac plant have a short window where the blooms are at their prime. So for two-ish weeks we have a wonderful color show and then it is gone until next year.

Did you know that the lilac flowers have medicinal properties?

I will link a scientific studies at the bottom for you to check out, but lilac has been known for years to boost the immune system, help fight diseases, and even decrease fevers.

The blossoms are perfectly edible, so go ahead and add them to your cakes, teas, tincture, scones….the list goes on and on.

I like infusing my local raw honey with lilac blossoms as a great way to get the health benefits of the lilac plant along with the delicious florally taste.

Yum.

 

1. Harvest a few lilac blossoms.

Make sure that the plant you are using has not been sprayed with any type of chemical for weeds or fertilization.

2. Pull off all the lilac blossoms from the branch and the flowering head itself. Then gently rinse with cold water and allow to air dry for a few minutes.

3. Add the rinsed petals to the bottom of a glass jar and pour in your local raw honey.

4. Give the jar or container a stir and then cover and let it sit for 1-3 weeks. The petals will naturally rise to the top, which is okay, but if you want you can stir them in occasionally.

5. Once you are satisfied with the level of florally lilac flavor of your honey it is ready to enjoy! You can scoop off the petals if you wish, or leave them to add to your drink/recipes as well.

 

This is so simple and delicious it’s silly. You can also use lavender to infuse honey, once that lavender starts blooming!

I enjoy it mainly in tea and even my mid day coffee. It makes my coffee a sweet florally treat after an entire morning pulling weeds. Which this newbie gardener really looks forward to.

Well, it’s time to head back to weed pulling and compost shoveling. If you are interested in the health benefits to lilac blossoms the links are below.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to hang out here!

 

 

Effects of Phytochemically Characterized Extracts From Syringa vulgaris and Isolated Secoiridoids on Mediators of Inflammation in a Human Neutrophil Model