We kick off our June detoxes today! Our Albertine roses are now in full bloom, climbing up the south facing walls of Milestone, peeping in the windows of the Sudeley room and being very spectacular and showy.

This is the month for roses, tennis, Pimms and garden parties. Nearby Sudeley Castle have a rose week and the Milestone gardens will be open to the public on Sunday 11th from 2-5pm as part of the Winchcombe Open Garden days. (You are all welcome to come round! We had over 113 visitors in 2015.)

So what to drink if not Pimms?

Hibiscus in water (not champagne)! We brought back a couple of kg of dried hibiscus flowers from our holiday in Egypt at Christmas and enjoy drinking hot and cold hibiscus as a family. You can sweeten it with stevia or xylitol but we like it just as it is, without any sweetening.

HIBISCUS WATER
To make hibiscus water put one dessert spoon full of flowers (which you can buy from Amazon here) into 1L carafe of water and let it steep for at least 12 hours (in or out of the fridge, it doesn’t matter). Strain and drink. Sometimes you can find hibiscus tea bags and these will also steep in water overnight.

THE WHY
The Egyptians will all tell you that hot hibiscus lowers blood pressure and cold hibiscus raises blood pressure but in my research, I could only find that hibiscus may lower blood pressure so if you know you have low blood pressure, I’m afraid this drink isn’t for you. If you want to lower your blood pressure, then this drink may become your liquid beverage of choice! There are oodles of other benefits which I won’t go into detail about but if you want to know more, click here to learn more.

So how about skipping (or limiting) the champagne and Pimms this summer and stick to hibiscus garnished with mint leaves. It’s beautiful! You could make a concentrated version (less water more flowers) and then mix it with fizzy water as a treat and serve it in a champagne glass.

Durwin has asked me to tell you about the upcoming event this month at The Linseed Farm. I went to his event over Easter and it was absolutely fabulous and fun! I learned so much and he is a wealth of knowledge, a truly inspirational speaker. To learn more click here.

I will be giving a talk this coming Saturday at the Cheltenham Food & Drink festival where I will be discussing my forthcoming book, The Water Challenge, and answering questions about all things detox. If you’re around, please come by and support me, I would be very grateful for your friendly face to smile at me whilst I talk.

Take time to smell the roses this month and keep hydrating yourselves for optimum energy!