China Bayles' Book of Days (25 page)

• Dandelion (
Taraxacum officinale
). You can probably see this plant just outside your window. The young leaves are used in salads; the blossoms are made into wine; and the roots can be dried, ground, roasted, and brewed as coffee. Medicinal uses of this native herb mostly derive from its diuretic properties.

• Milkweed (
Asclepias syriaca
). Native Americans used the fibers of this plant to make twine and netting; collected the latex sap to make chewing gum; collected the fuzzy seeds as stuffing for pillows; and used a decoction of the roots to treat rheumatism, stomach complaints, and gallstones. Don’t eat this plant unless you’re a monarch butterfly. (Milkweed is the monarch’s favorite food plant.)

• Purslane (
Portulaca oleracea
). Purslane migrated here from India, brought by the Europeans who enjoyed it for salads, soups, and pickles. It has plenty of vitamins and minerals, and the seeds can be used like poppy seeds, sprinkled on baked goods and in salad dressings.

Read more about the many uses of native plants:

A Handbook of Native American Herbs
, by Alma R. Hutchens

I always chew a little chickweed when I find it, to get that burst of vitamins A and C, sunshine for my journey. It adds bright green to salads and sandwiches and ornaments beautiful canapés. Try chickweed chopped into slaw; it adds color and flavor.

—SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK, GATHER YE WILD THINGS

APRIL 27

Grandma Franklin’s Pickled Eggs

My grandmother always put up pickled eggs in the spring, because the hens were just starting to lay and the eggs were smaller. Grandma always said that little eggs were prettier, pickled, than big eggs. I remember being fascinated by the pink color and tangy taste, but it was rare that I got more than half an egg. Sunday dinners on the Franklin farm were well-attended, and the menfolk ate before the women and children.

I found Grandma’s handwritten recipe not long ago, stuck between the pages of the
Pure Food Cook Book
, which was compiled by the Farm Women of Missouri in 1945—my mother’s standby cookbook and recipe file. Here it is, in case your hens are starting to lay. If not, you can buy small eggs at the grocery store.

PICKLED PINK EGGS

1 dozen small eggs
1 can small beets (not pickled)
2 cups cider vinegar
3 small onions sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon pickling spices

Hard boil eggs and peel them. Push a fork into the middle of each egg. Put the eggs in a deep crock. In a pan, heat the beets, vinegar, onions, salt, sugar, and spices until just ready to boil. Cool for 10 minutes. Pour over eggs. Put a plate on top and put in the ice-box for at least a week. Slice in half.

Bill is a chile-head (the affectionate term for somebody who can’t go a day without a hot pepper), and likes his pickled eggs hot. Here is my recipe.

GREEEN CHILE EGGS

1 dozen small eggs, hardboiled, peeled
3 small onions, sliced
2-3 jalapeño peppers
4-5 cloves
bay leaf
2 cups cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon pickling spices

Put the eggs into a suitable jar with onions, peppers, cloves, and bay leaf. Pour a little of the vinegar into the mustard to make a paste; stir paste into the rest of the vinegar, and pickling spices, and heat. Cool 10 minutes and pour over eggs. Refrigerate for 2 weeks.

It is not the least part of the pleasures of a Garden, to walk and refresh yourself either with your Friends or Acquaintances, or else alone retired from the cares of the World, or apart from company that sometimes may prove burthen-some to you.

—J. WOOLDRIDGE

APRIL 28

I sold out of the “Moth Attack” blend that I grow and mix myself—southernwood, wormwood, rue, and santolina—so I guess it was also a day to think about mothproofing winter woolies.

—HANGMAN’S ROOT: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

Chase Those Moths!

It’s time to put the woolens away—and you know what happens next. Moths like nothing better for lunch than high-protein animal hair fibers. So they make a beeline for anything made of wool, camel hair, mohair, cashmere, angora, or other animal hair fibers. And if the item has been put away with perspiration on it—well, that’s just dessert. Mama Moth stops eating only long enough to lay her eggs, right there on the moth dinner table. And the next time you see that pretty sweater, it’s full of holes.

MOTH FOOLERS

You can fool moths by putting your woolies down for their summer nap with something that masks the alluring odor of animal fiber. If you don’t want your sweater to smell like mothballs and you’re averse to toxic chemicals, try strong-smelling herbs, alone or in combination. Stuff the dried herbs into small muslin (or any porous material) bags, and tuck them among your sweaters, scarves, and other winter wear. Here are the herbs China mixes and matches for her “Moth Attack” blend:

Annual herbs: camphor basil, pennyroyal, sweet marjoram

Perennial herbs: rosemary, lavender, patchouli, scented geraniums, pyrethrum daisy, sweet woodruff, tansy, southernwood, wormwood

Shrubs and trees (leaves, needles, shavings): balsam fir, red cedar (try a pet store for shavings), bay laurel, eucalyptus, pine, sassafras

You can also use the essential oils of these herbs. Dab on bits of cotton and place in drawer and boxes.

More reading about moth chasers:

Herbal Treasures
, by Phyllis V. Shaudys

Poke-root, boiled in water and mixed with a good quantity of molasses, set about the kitchen, the pantry, &c. in large deep plates, will kill cockroaches in great numbers.

—MRS. CHILD, THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE, 1833

APRIL 29

One day, the gardener realizes that what she is doing out there is actually teaching herself to garden by performing a series of experiments. This is a pivotal moment.

—MARGARET ROACH

Boon Companions and Bosom Buddies

Companion planting is putting complementary plants together so they can help one another. The idea sounds fanciful? Well, consider these scientific findings:

• Some plants give off odors or chemicals that repel insects.

• Some plants attract beneficial insects.

• Some plants attract insects that will pollinate other plants.

• Some plants lure harmful insects away from valued plants.

Each of these herbs has a special talent. Put it to use in your garden.

• Catnip repels ants and flea beetles.

• Chives suppresses fungal diseases and discourages aphids.

• Coriander can be made into a spray to use against red spider mite.

• Feverfew attracts aphids, which may prefer it to your roses.

• Garlic repels Japanese beetles and aphids and is useful in herbal sprays.

• Nasturtium repels aphids, squash bugs, and striped pumpkin beetle.

• Sage wards off carrot fly.

• Tansy repels Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs, ants, flies.

• Thyme deters cabbage worms.

• Yarrow attracts hoverflies, ladybugs, and wasps, all of which prey on aphids.

Yarrow, yarrow tremble and sway
Tiny flowers bright and gay
Protect my garden night and day.
—TRADITIONAL

Read more about the companionable herbs:

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
, by Louise Riotte

Great Garden Companions
, by Sally Jean Cunningham

APRIL 30

Tonight is May Eve, the night when fairies are about.

A Fairy Garden

Ruby Wilcox, who is a firm believer in fairies, is planning to spend the evening creating a miniature fairy-garden-in-a-bowl, just for the fairies she hopes will be stopping by for a visit around midnight. Whether you believe or not (of course you do, don’t you?), a little magic never hurt anyone.

THE CONTAINER AND THE SOIL

A wide, shallow terra-cotta bowl (the more weathered and mossy the better) is the best sort of container for a fairy garden, but any sturdy, well-drained container will do. Fill it with a light-weight potting soil. Water when the soil begins to dry (don’t keep your garden wet), and add an organic fertilizer every few weeks. Your fairy garden will need plenty of sun, but set it in a protective place so that the wind doesn’t tear the fragile plants.

THE PLANTS

Moss is a must, to cover the soil. But herbs are the real secret to planting a fairy garden. Choose varieties that won’t grow more than 8-12 inches high, and clip to keep them the size you want. You can clip some into the shapes of bushes, others into trees. Many different herbs are appropriate. Here are a few suggestions:

LANDSCAPING AND FAIRY GARDEN FURNITURE

Fairies love a garden that has a “lived-in” look. Add a path of tiny cobbles, a quartz crystal, a pretty shell, a bit of bark or an intricately-shaped branch with lichen growing on it, a reflecting pool made of a small mirror, a Popsicle-stick fence, a bench, an arbor, a wheelbarrow, and other miniature tools and garden accents. A great variety of fairy furniture is available these days—and fairy figures, too. (You might want to add one or two of these, until your garden attracts the real thing.) Garden lighting would be fun, and if you really want to lure fairies, add a miniature fountain, and maybe even a plate of tiny Faerie Blossom Cookies, as a special treat (see May 1). Use your imagination, and be sure to include all the things you’d like to see in your garden if you were a fairy.

You see children know such a lot now, they don’t believe in fairies, and every time a child says, “I don’t believe in fairies,” there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.

—JAMES BARRIE, PETER PAN

MAY 1

Today is Beltane (meaning “bright fire”) the cross-quarter day of the ancient Celtic year, celebrating the beginning of summer. Other cross-quarter days: Imbolc (February 1), Lughnasadh or Lammas (August 1), Samhain (November 1).

A May Day Garden Party

The first day of May is the very best day to celebrate our gardens and enjoy them with neighbors and friends. The party doesn’t have to be elaborate or involve a lot of work if every guest brings a salad, a casserole, or a dessert. Ask people to use their favorite herbs, and bring a recipe card to display with their offering.

Dress up your table with a bright cloth, cotton napkins edged with pinking shears, flower-wreathed candles, and a few terra-cotta pots filled with rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage. If your party includes children, they would delight in a miniature May Pole, with bright ribbons and flowers, centered in a large, flat container surrounded by flowers. If yours is a nighttime party, string fairy lights in the trees, hang paper lanterns, and float candles in bowls of water.

Fresh salads are the joy of a garden party, with spring greens, edible flowers, and herbs. Chilled garden soups are always good: tomato, cucumber, avocado. Easy garden casseroles (spinach lasagna, chicken and broccoli, scalloped potatoes with ham, eggplant casserole) are filling. A garden punch with lemon balm and mint is easy (see August 30), or you can serve May wine (see May 24). And dessert tops it off—fresh fruit, cobbler, cheesecake—each featuring an herb, of course. For the kids, Faery Blossom Cookies are sure to be a hit. Here’s the recipe from the Fairy Festival Ruby organized in “A Violet Death,” in
An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries
: