Plum shrub Recipe + Plum-Sun Ritual

Plum shrub recipe + Shared analog rituals + Second planting season guidance with Mackie Kidd

What is your name, what do you do, and where are you based?

I’m Mackenzie Kidd, I was born here in Portland but grew up in Las Vegas. I’m a florist and also work at a plant nursery.

What is your passion/profession?

“I make most of my living working at the Portland nursery, but my passion is gardening and floristry. My favorite work to get is small intimate weddings. I love making peoples vision come to life with the things I grew myself.”

Can you share your plum shrub recipe with us?

“Basically it’s equal parts fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Macérate the fruit and sugar together for a day and then strain it out and mix with the vinegar. Apple cider vinegar would probably have the most health benefits but plain white vinegar would still work if you don’t want any appley taste mixed with your fruit of choice. Keep it in a jar in the fridge and add a splash to sparkling water. Tastes just like kombucha. Ideally you’ll drink it within a couple months but we just had some from last year and it was still fine.”

What plants (veggies) are best to plant right now as we move into the second planting season?

“I always plant garlic in the fall, it’s really the easiest thing to grow ever. You can plant it any time up until spring but it requires a certain number of chill hours to divide into multiple cloves. If you plant it too late you will still get delicious green garlic in spring and one very large clove underground.”

This time of year you're planting overwintering vegetables that won’t grow much this season but you will get an early start come spring. Brassicas and root veggies won’t mind a light frost. If you want a quick crop to sow and harvest before winter I would plant arugula or mustard greens. 

I like to cover crop with fall rye and harvest them in June for wreaths and dried arrangements. Crimson clover is another great cover crop you can seed now, it’s a member of the bean family so it fixes nitrogen in the soil and also has a super cute flower if you don’t chop it all in before summer. If you aren’t planting overwintering veggies I would recommend throwing some cover crop seeds on your bed, the dense planting prevents soil compaction by our heavy rains. 

Can you share your analog nature Plum-Sun ritual/ or how you use it? 

“Besides as a body oil, I like to use it as a hair treatment. I’ll brush a liberal amount through my hair and put it in some braids. I’ll do that in the morning and wash it out before going to bed and have the softest hair the next day.”

SHOP SUMMER oil HERE

Mackie Kidd is the owner of Kidd Floral. She is a Floriculturist and a Floral Designer specializing in garden grown florals for intimate ceremonies and elopements.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MACKIE & CHECK OUT HER OFFERINGS HERE

Photography shot by: Brooke Stewart