By CJ Puotinen

Calendula: Herb of the Year

This easy-to-grow herb offers your dog almost limitless benefits.

Picture a flower with such intense orange or yellow petals that it brightens moods and gardens both. Give it significant healing properties for internal and external application, then add a zesty flavor that makes it a culinary herb as well. Calendula officinalis (pronounced cal-EN-du-la) fits all of these descriptions and more. No wonder it’s been named 2008 Herb of the Year by the International Herb Association. This cheerful plant belongs in your garden and in your herbal medicine kit for the benefit of every member of your family – especially your dog. Vermont herbalist Rosemary Gladstar treasures calendula. “I love how beautiful it is,” she says, “with its golden head rising forth in the garden, a bit of sun on earth. In early winter, this brave little bright light is often the last flower to bloom in my gardens. I’ve often seen it rising out of a fresh dusting of winter snow. I also love it, of course, because of its medicinal power. Calendula tea or tincture is my favorite herbal treatment for lymph system support, and used externally it is an awesome healing aid for every type of skin condition.”