Growing and Using Calendula for Skin Balms

Why calendula belongs in a cottage garden

Calendula is one of those plants that earns its keep twice over. The pot marigold — Calendula officinalis, not to be confused with the French marigolds sold for bedding — is a hardy annual with sticky, resinous petals in shades of apricot, orange and pale lemon. Sow it in spring and it will flower from early summer right through to the first proper frosts, opening in the morning and closing as the light fades. It seeds itself obligingly, so once you have it, you tend to keep it.

For the wildlife gardener, the single-flowered types are the ones to choose. Open-centred blooms give bees, hoverflies and lacewings somewhere to feed, and because calendula keeps going late into autumn it bridges the hungry gap when much else has finished. Leave a few heads to ripen and the goldfinches will come for the seeds in September. For the skin, the petals are rich in soothing, anti-inflammatory compounds that make them a cottage classic for chapped hands, cracked heels and windburnt cheeks. Grown in a pot by the back door, it is a small apothecary you can reach without putting your boots on.

Sowing and growing in pots

Start under cover in March or sow direct from mid-April, once the worst of the cold has passed. Push seeds about 1cm into damp multi-purpose compost and keep them at around 15–20°C; germination takes seven to fourteen days. Calendula has a taproot and resents being moved, so either sow straight into the final pot or use deep modules and plant out while the seedlings are still young.

A single plant is happy in a 30cm pot; three will fill a 45cm trough. Add a handful of horticultural grit to the compost for drainage, and position the pots in full sun — they will tolerate a little shade but flower best in the open. Water in dry spells, but never let them sit in a saucer of standing water. Pinch out the growing tip when plants reach about 15cm to encourage bushing, and deadhead every few days to keep the flowers coming. Watch for aphids in early summer and powdery mildew in dry weather; a consistent watering routine and a mulch of compost prevents most trouble. Slugs adore young seedlings, so raise pots onto feet or run copper tape around the rim.

Harvesting the petals

Pick on a dry morning once the dew has lifted and the flowers are fully open. Either snip whole heads and pull the petals off later, or pinch the base of the flower and strip the petals away in one go. Use fresh petals in salads and short infusions, but for oil you want them properly dried — any lingering moisture will turn a jar mouldy.

Spread the petals on a tray in a warm, airy room out of direct sunlight for seven to ten days, until they feel papery and crisp. Store them in a paper bag or a dark glass jar. Roughly 50–60g of dried petals will fill a 500ml jar of oil, which is a generous handful of flowers. Keep cutting throughout the season: the more you pick, the more the plant produces.

Making a solar infusion

Fill a clean glass jar loosely with dried petals — do not cram them down. Pour over sunflower or sweet almond oil until the petals are covered by at least 2cm, then poke about with a chopstick to release trapped air bubbles. Screw the lid on and stand the jar on a sunny windowsill or in an airing cupboard for three to four weeks, shaking it daily. The oil will slowly take on a deep orange colour.

Strain through muslin into a jug, squeezing the pulp to get the last of the goodness, then decant into a clean bottle. Label it with the date and contents. It keeps for six to nine months in a cool, dark cupboard. If you are short of time, a gentle heat method works well: sit the jar in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water for an hour or two, keeping the oil warm but never hot.

Turning the oil into a balm

The classic ratio is 100ml of infused oil to about 12g of grated beeswax for a firm balm, or 8–10g for something softer for faces. Melt the two together in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, stirring until the wax has disappeared completely. To test the texture, drop a little onto a chilled metal spoon; it will set in seconds and show you exactly what you are making. Adjust with a few more wax shavings or a splash more oil.

Off the heat, stir in any extras — a few drops of lavender or chamomile essential oil, or a quarter teaspoon of vitamin E oil to slow rancidity. Pour into clean tins or small jars, leave to set undisturbed, and label with the date. Use within a year. It is unbeatable on gardener's hands.

Keeping the rhythm going

Slow living is mostly about noticing the sequence: seed, flower, petal, oil, balm, hands. Let a few plants run to seed at the end of the season, collect the curved seeds once they rattle in the head, and sow them next spring. Anything left on the plant will feed the birds. Keep a small notebook of what worked — which pot, which oil, how much wax — and the second batch will always be better than the first.