Charlotte, North Carolina USA

Thursday evening, Friday morning or Friday evening would be the best times to harvest the material for making fresh tussie-mussies at the Saturday morning Farmers Market Herb Day event. Material should be cut at least a day in advance, trimmed to 4 or 5 inches in length, stripped (i.e., the bottom 3 inches of stem stripped of all foliage), then put in clean water in jars. This conditioning is what makes the nosegays last a week or more. It is almost pointless to cut herbs just before you plan to make a tussie-mussie. It is better to cut several days in advance than just before. Contrary to past instructions, do not place your harvested material in the refrigerator.

The following herbs and other plants are good for nosegays and should be prepared as described above:

Asters (especially Kalimires pontifida), Artemisias (each different kind gives a different look to the tussie - pick several if you have them, especially A. pontica and A. 'Silver Bouquet'), Boxwood, Calamint, Catmint, Chamomile blossoms, thread-leaf Coreopsis foliage, Erigeron, Feverfew, Germander, Globe Amaranth, Gypsophilia, Ivy (especially larger leaves with long stems and distinct veins), Lavender foliage and blossoms, Lemon Balm (tends to wilt FAST, so cut thicker stems and put them into water the minute you cut it, then trim it down after the stems are firm), Lemon Verbena, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Salad Burnet, Scented Geranium leaves with long stems, Southernwood, Spiraea, Sweet Woodruff, Thymes (especially if blooming), Yarrow, etc.

Bring all the small blossoms from your garden, as these are what bring all the green herbal material to life. Remember that tussie-mussies are usually rather small, so keep in mind the proportions of the material you cut.

Some other herbs that need special treatment follow:

Lamb's ears: Each tussie-mussie usually takes 7 Lamb's Ears leaves. Use only clean dry leaves about 3 inches long that are slightly fleshy with a stem at least 2 inches long. If you cut lamb's ears when they are wet or try to wash them off, they will continue to wick up water after they are in the tussie and you will have a drippy mess.

Roses: You want to use only firm buds that are showing full color in a tussie as open roses will shatter or deteriorate more quickly. Cut them and put it in cold water in the refrigerator. Old-fashioned small roses work well also - varieties like 'Perle d'Or', 'Cecile Bruner', etc. - but after they are cut they should be almost submerged in cold water.

Tansy, Yarrow, Ferns, Fennel: These leaves are great and can be stripped as previously described, although they don't look like it. If you have no lamb's ears these leaves make a good ruff around the outside.

Once all of your material is prepared, collect your other supplies. You will need soft white cotton string (the plain kind you get at the hardware store or the grocery), small plant clippers, one or two clean jelly jars for your finished tussies and scissors. Bring an apron- you will drip! CT

7/20/2005