Read Online China Bayles' Book of Days by Susan Wittig Albert - Free Book Online
Authors: Susan Wittig Albert
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pouders.
—JOHN GERARD, HERBAL, 1597
FEBRUARY 6
Even a modest garden contains, for those who know how to look and to wait, more instruction than a library.
—HENRI FRÉDÉRIC AMIEL
Love-in-a-Puff
Another herb for the month of love is love-in-a-puff ( Cardiospermum halicacabum ), a fast-growing, woody vine (an annual in USDA zones 5-8, a perennial in zones 9-11). Plant it against a trellis to provide support for its tendrils, then stand back and watch it grow—up to 10 feet in a single season. China has planted it in the perfect place: the trellis that hides the garbage cans behind Thyme and Seasons.
BALLOON VINE
The blooms of love-in-a-puff aren’t much to brag about. It’s the unique seed pods that will get your attention. Each pod is an inflated balloon that turns from green to brown as it ripens in the fall, hence the name balloon vine. Squeeze, and the pod pops, revealing three seeds, each bearing the white heart that gives the plant its Latin name, Cardiospermum ( cardio : heart, spermum : seed). But do watch where you pop those seeds, for the plant can be invasive.
MEDICINAL USES
In Chinese medicine, a tea brewed from the leaves is used to treat skin ailments and promote wound healing. In India, the leaves are mixed with castor oil and used to treat rheumatism and joint stiffness. The leaf juice soothes earaches.
IN YOUR GARDEN
You can sow love-in-a-puff directly into the ground when the weather warms, or start the seeds indoors. When the plants have fruited, save the seeds and give them away (tied with a ribbon bow in a bit of tulle) for Valentine’s Day next year. For an especially unique gift, string them as a necklace or a bracelet. They’re said to bring good fortune and good health!
Read more about herbal climbers and the trellises to support them:
Climbing Plants: Enhance Your Garden with Climbers , by Barbara Abbs
The Garden Trellis: Designs to Build and Vines to Cultivate , by Ferris Cook
In February the farmer shall make ready his garden grounds to sow and set therein all manner of herbs. He shall repair the hedges of his gardens. He shall buy Bees, he shall make clean their hives very carefully and kill their kings.
—GERVASE MARKHAM, THE ENGLISH HOUSEWIFE, 1615
FEBRUARY 7
Today is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author (with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane) of the beloved Little House books.
It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
—LAURA INGALLS WILDER
A Garden of Used-to-Be
Laura Ingalls was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, in 1867 and spent her girlhood moving with her family, to Kansas, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Her mother, Caroline, like so many other pioneer women, had the task of making a home wherever the family happened to settle. Pioneer women always took seeds and “starts” (plant divisions) from one home to another, for they could not expect to have what they needed where they settled. Gardens were vital to survival, producing not only vegetables for the table but also the medicinal herbs that women used to treat the family’s common ailments and sweeten their lives with fragrance and flavor.
Planting a pioneer garden—a “Garden of Used-to-Be,” as Laura called it—can be especially fun for children and will help them to learn something about the great variety of uses for important herbs. It also makes an interesting theme in an established garden. If you’d like to include a pioneer corner in your herb garden, consider these plants:
• Medicinal herbs: thyme, lavender, yarrow (also called woundwort), horehound, feverfew, echinacea (a favorite Indian remedy for colds)
• Tea herbs: mint, beebalm, lemon balm, catnip
• Culinary herbs: sage, thyme, dill, horseradish, mustard, rosemary
• Housekeeping herbs: southernwood, santolina, and lavender (repel moths), tansy and pennyroyal (repel fleas), mint (repel
—JOHN GERARD, HERBAL, 1597
FEBRUARY 6
Even a modest garden contains, for those who know how to look and to wait, more instruction than a library.
—HENRI FRÉDÉRIC AMIEL
Love-in-a-Puff
Another herb for the month of love is love-in-a-puff ( Cardiospermum halicacabum ), a fast-growing, woody vine (an annual in USDA zones 5-8, a perennial in zones 9-11). Plant it against a trellis to provide support for its tendrils, then stand back and watch it grow—up to 10 feet in a single season. China has planted it in the perfect place: the trellis that hides the garbage cans behind Thyme and Seasons.
BALLOON VINE
The blooms of love-in-a-puff aren’t much to brag about. It’s the unique seed pods that will get your attention. Each pod is an inflated balloon that turns from green to brown as it ripens in the fall, hence the name balloon vine. Squeeze, and the pod pops, revealing three seeds, each bearing the white heart that gives the plant its Latin name, Cardiospermum ( cardio : heart, spermum : seed). But do watch where you pop those seeds, for the plant can be invasive.
MEDICINAL USES
In Chinese medicine, a tea brewed from the leaves is used to treat skin ailments and promote wound healing. In India, the leaves are mixed with castor oil and used to treat rheumatism and joint stiffness. The leaf juice soothes earaches.
IN YOUR GARDEN
You can sow love-in-a-puff directly into the ground when the weather warms, or start the seeds indoors. When the plants have fruited, save the seeds and give them away (tied with a ribbon bow in a bit of tulle) for Valentine’s Day next year. For an especially unique gift, string them as a necklace or a bracelet. They’re said to bring good fortune and good health!
Read more about herbal climbers and the trellises to support them:
Climbing Plants: Enhance Your Garden with Climbers , by Barbara Abbs
The Garden Trellis: Designs to Build and Vines to Cultivate , by Ferris Cook
In February the farmer shall make ready his garden grounds to sow and set therein all manner of herbs. He shall repair the hedges of his gardens. He shall buy Bees, he shall make clean their hives very carefully and kill their kings.
—GERVASE MARKHAM, THE ENGLISH HOUSEWIFE, 1615
FEBRUARY 7
Today is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author (with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane) of the beloved Little House books.
It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
—LAURA INGALLS WILDER
A Garden of Used-to-Be
Laura Ingalls was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, in 1867 and spent her girlhood moving with her family, to Kansas, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Her mother, Caroline, like so many other pioneer women, had the task of making a home wherever the family happened to settle. Pioneer women always took seeds and “starts” (plant divisions) from one home to another, for they could not expect to have what they needed where they settled. Gardens were vital to survival, producing not only vegetables for the table but also the medicinal herbs that women used to treat the family’s common ailments and sweeten their lives with fragrance and flavor.
Planting a pioneer garden—a “Garden of Used-to-Be,” as Laura called it—can be especially fun for children and will help them to learn something about the great variety of uses for important herbs. It also makes an interesting theme in an established garden. If you’d like to include a pioneer corner in your herb garden, consider these plants:
• Medicinal herbs: thyme, lavender, yarrow (also called woundwort), horehound, feverfew, echinacea (a favorite Indian remedy for colds)
• Tea herbs: mint, beebalm, lemon balm, catnip
• Culinary herbs: sage, thyme, dill, horseradish, mustard, rosemary
• Housekeeping herbs: southernwood, santolina, and lavender (repel moths), tansy and pennyroyal (repel fleas), mint (repel
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