The first step to making lilac flower herbal honey is picking fresh lilacs on a sunny spring day.  All the hardships of long Vermont winters melt away when the sweet, child like scent of lilac flowers fills the air.  

Did you know lilac flowers are edible and full of flavor?  Make sure to taste just the flowers, since the green stems are toxic.

While lilacs bloom for only a short time, making lilac flower herbal honey preserves their sweetness and is so easy!  

Benefits of Lilac Flower Herbal Honey

While cane sugar is unhealthy, honey is healing for the adrenals and gives your brain needed glucose.  “Honey’s highly absorbable sugar and B12 coenzymes make it one of the most powerful brain foods of our time. Plus, raw honey helps repairs DNA and is extremely high in minerals such as calcium, potassium, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, chromium, molybdenum, and manganese.” -From Life Changing Foods, Medical Medium.

In Chinese medicine, lilac flowers move qi, our energy.  Lilacs have an astringent quality that can tone the skin if strewn in a bath.  The flowers are a much loved home remedy for menstrual cramps as well as poor digestion. 

Energetically, lilacs are heart openers that bring a sense of joy and freedom from constraint into life.  White lilacs symbolize innocence, while purple lilacs are a symbol of first love.  

How to Pick Lilacs

It’s best to pick lilacs on a sunny morning.  Avoid picking lilacs next to a roadside, and make sure the lilac bush has not been sprayed with chemicals.  Before picking a flower, ask the plant spirit if it is okay and tune into your intuition.  Your answer may come in a feeling or even a bird flying overhead.

How to Make Lilac Flower Herbal Honey

Separate the lilac flowers from the green stems. This can take some time because the flowers are so small and delicate.  If you have the patience I promise it’ll be worth it!  

Next, sprinkle the lilac flowers into a clean, dry mason jar.  Pour in liquid raw honey until the jar is full.  Things will surely get sticky so you may want a sink or wipes nearby. 

Last, cap, and let it sit in a cool, dark place for about 2-3 weeks.  The flowers rise to the top of the honey. You can strain out the flowers or leave them in. Enjoy the honey on homemade bread or in herbal tea. If kept fairly cool (no need to refrigerate) the lilac flower herbal honey will last between 3-5 months.

I’d love to hear how this lilac flower honey turned out for you.  To get more herbal honey recipes, read this post.