Urban Herbs #7 - Rose Buds

My Urban Herb series is a collection of posts describing my experiences infusing and drinking plants that are growing around my house. Today I'm featuring rose buds, an herb that some sources say may aid digestion and relaxation, and may contain a fair amount of vitamin C. I have tasted several rose bud infusions from China and found them to be very pleasant but this will be my first time drinking local rose buds.

I have an English rose bush in the front yard that is at least 10 years old. It is very productive and flowers several times a year. Its buds are plump and pink and they open into pretty little white roses. with wonderful aroma. 

For this tasting I picked ~20 buds and let them dry on a windowsill for a week. I steeped them for five minutes in six ounces of boiling spring water.

The resulting brew had a clear yellow-pink color liquor. The smell was a little bit rosy but also buttery and fishy. I took a few sips. Yuck. This is just awful. The flavor is stale, earthy, fishy, and bitter.

Maybe it was the particular rose varietal or maybe they would have tasted better if I'd infused them right after plucking? Who knows? I may do some more experiments someday but this first attempt has put me off home-grown rose buds for the time being.

Flowering Tea Plant

This photo shows the healthiest of my three backyard tea plants. It is currently flowering. You can see two pretty little tea flowers and five or six more blossoms soon to open up.

Daddy-Daughter Tea Picnic

These last few days the weather here in Seattle has been amazing. Today, during my son's nap time, my daughter C and I went outside for a little tea picnic under the cherry trees. We spent a glorious, barefoot hour sipping Bai Mu Dan (白牡丹) and nibbling raisins and muffins. A gentle breeze stirred the wind-chime, while occasional blizzards of white cherry petals fell from above.

Bug's eye view.

C sips her tea.

Checking on the Tea Plants.

They appear to be happy.

Apple tree is in full bloom.

Cherry blossom snow.

Broccoli

Yesterday I harvested a head of Broccoli that had over-wintered in a garden bed. It, and all its pretty yellow flowers, were so delicious and beautiful baked on a vegan pizza with white bean sauce for dinner.

Sweet Baozhong Fragrance

My wife and I have slowly been trying to learn the names of more plants and trees. We are starting with our own yard (which should keep us busy for many years to come).

We have one particular bush in our backyard that blooms once a year in early to mid-June. We always called it "Sweet Baozhong Fragrance" because the aroma of its pretty white flowers reminds us of Wenshan Baozhong tea (文山包種茶). These blooms usually last for one to two weeks, and during that time it is so wonderful to sit out on the back deck and let the breezes carry the sweet scent up to our eager noses.

I've seen these bushes around Seattle but I'm really not sure what they are. Anybody know?

Kubota Garden in the Spring

There are many reasons why I love living in America's most diverse zipcode. One of them is Kubota Gardens, the gem of Rainier Beach.

This afternoon my buddy, his son, my little girl and I went for a beautiful afternoon walk throughout the garden. The rhododendrons are blooming right now which made for an extra colorful visit!

Here are a few shots of our beloved South Seattle garden:

The welcome rock

Pretty in pink

Little waterfall

I see a bee

Original skyscraper

Reflecting pool

Red Bridge in tree-filtered sunlight

Red hot Rhodies

My favorite tree at Kubota

The old lantern

Sweet pink Rhodies*

Beautiful white speckled Rhodies*

On a bridge with an amazing Japanese maple behind us*

*Photos by Jon G.