Harvesting large and small - Mullen and Self-Heal

It's that time of year to start harvesting our wonderful plants.

Mullen (Verbascum olympicum) is in full bloom and looking rather stunning. The plant in the picture is over six feet tall and I have been harvesting flowers for the past week. I use the fresh flowers and dry leaves for my tinctures. Mullen leaves take a long time to dry so this year with the high humidity I used a dehydrator.

I have also been harvesting Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris). Sometimes it's only 6 inches tall and it gets overlooked.

I like to dry the Self-Heal and use it for a tea or a wash. It is a very useful astringent.