Elderberry

Elderberry grows local to me and I was blessed to have a friend call me when her backyard tree was overflowing with blossoms and berries. If you have never seen an elderberry bush or if you have reminisce with me as I share her beauty. As I wondered through my friends jungle-like yard I see the 15 foot tree standing tall and plush in the back right corner. She is covered in clusters of beautiful deep blackish purple berries and on the north side of the tree clusters of dainty little white flowers are glowing. They reminded me of those tiny doilies crocheted long ago by our great great grandmothers. My dear friend helped me gather and I filled a bag of berries and got a handful of flowers to bring home. Once home the normal evening routine began and by the time I got to my bounty it was deep into the evening. I rinsed the berries and set them on towels to let the garden bugs and spiders break free and then spent hours de-stemming the berries from her branches. It’s a labor of love and once night turned into day I made my way to the dream world for a good nights rest. A day later the labor of making syrup began. Boiling, simmering, setting intention for my health and the health of others who will be using my creation took place and the house smells of deep dedication and a mildly sweet and earthy smell fills my space. Over the next few weeks and maybe months everyone in the house will take a spoonful of syrup every day to hopefully ward off any colds or flus. According to Folk Medicine, Elderberry is known to help the immune system, headaches, and inflammation and so much more. I love the taste and as a mother, wife, daughter, and granddaughter I want to make sure my family are all healthy and our bodies nourished. So our morning pancakes will be covered with ELDER syrup and adding a spoonful over my evening ice cream are a few extra ways we get her in our bodies. I love making syrup and also sharing my knowledge with others because our plants want to connect with us and this is an easy and tasty way to do that. Blessings!
Information contained in this article is not to diagnose, treat or prescribe any medicine. Use of this information is for informational purposes only.