China Bayles' Book of Days (55 page)

• Goldenseal (
Hydrastis canadensis
). A native American herb, goldenseal was first used by the Cherokees. It is particularly useful in toning the glandular system. It has been used as a general tonic to treat inflamed mucous membranes of the mouth, throat, vagina, and digestive system, as well as a treatment for jaundice and ulcers.

• Cranberry (
Vaccinium macrocarpon
). Research shows that cranberry juice helps to prevent urinary tract infections. The berries are high in vitamin C.

• Other Libra herbs. Corn silk tea is a soothing diuretic and has been used to sooth urinary irritations. Stone root and gravel root both have a centuries-old history of use in the treatment of gall stones and gravel. Barberry and Oregon grape are used to treat bladder diseases.

We who have seen men walk on the moon are not likely to recover so much faith in the stars that we would entrust our health to them, yet we can still find fascination and significance in astrology, even in this skeptical, scientific age.

—JOHN LUST, THE HERB BOOK

SEPTEMBER 24

The plants closest to you are those from your childhood; those are the ones you truly love.

—V. S. NAIPAUL

Garden Whimsies

If you’re fortunate enough to share your garden with children (your own, your grandchildren, or a neighbor’s), you know the pleasure of sharing the child’s enjoyment of herbs and flowers—and you may play a role in shaping that child’s understanding of the natural world. Do you remember your own childhood delights in the garden? These are some of mine, gathered from hours spent playing with my cousin Mary Jean in our grandmother’s Missouri garden.

• Hollyhock dolls. Grandma’s hollyhocks were ruffled beauties that made the most marvelous dolls. An upside-down bloom made the doll’s frilly skirt. Two closed buds, speared on a toothpick, made her bodice and head, and we pushed a short piece of wire through her bodice (ouch!) to serve as her arms. Bent, her tiny “hands” could hold tinier blossoms, and she wore a petal apron and hat, with pretty blades of grass for ribbons and bits of fern for lace. Sometimes our dolls carried purses made of bleeding heart blossoms, or pulled little boats made of nutshells.

• Aunt Daisy. We pinched the petals into the shape of bonnets, with two long ones for ties, and drew eyes and a smile on the yellow center. Sometimes we impaled the faces on sticks stuck in the ground, making dozens of Aunt Daisies!

• Clover, clover, come over. We picked clover flowers and slit the stem just below the head. Then we pushed another stem through the slit, continuing until we had a five-foot chain we could use as a jump rope (carefully). We’d jump, calling out “clover, clover, come over!”

• Hideaways. We always had hideaways in the garden, under a rosebush or at the end of a row of cucumbers or in a pretty tent made of autumn leaves. We filled small cardboard boxes with treasures—snail shells, acorn cups, a butterfly wing, a piece of lichen—and hid them, with confidential notes written to our favorite fairies.

Gardens and kids are a natural combination:

Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children
, by Sharon Lovejoy

Never kill a beetle, but leave him to go about his important work in the garden. Folks say bad luck and seven days’ soaking rain is the penalty for stamping on a beetle.

—CLAIRE NAHMAD, GARDEN SPELLS

SEPTEMBER 25

The fourth Sunday in September is Good Neighbor Day.

As for Rosmarine, I lett it runne all over my garden walls, not onlie because my bees love it, but because it is the herb sacred to remembrance, and, therefore to friendship.

—SIR THOMAS MORE, 1478-1535

Rosemary and Friendship

If you’re wondering what you might give your neighbors and friends in token of Good Neighbor day, here are a few suggestions using rosemary, the herb of friendship.

• a rosemary plant in a decorative pot

• a pretty bottle of rosemary and opal basil vinegar

• notepaper printed with rosemary (see September 5)

• a living wreath made with rosemary (see September 20)

• a rosemary bubble bath (see January 8)

• a plate of Rosemary Friendship Squares, with sprigs of rosemary and a bow

ROSEMARY FRIENDSHIP SQUARES

This recipe is reprinted with permission from
Cooking with Herbs
, by the Goose Creek Herb Guild in Leesburg, Virginia. I spent a memorable morning with the Guild a few years ago, helping to celebrate their 25th anniversary. I remember their friendly welcome with a great deal of pleasure.

2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 cup candied fruit and raisins
cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour an 8 × 8-inch baking pan. Beat eggs vigorously, adding brown sugar gradually. Add vanilla. Sift flour and add with salt and baking powder. Stir in rosemary, fruit and nuts. Bake about 30 minutes. Remove from pan while warm. Cool and cut into squares.

Other recipes from the Goose Creek Herb Guild:

Cooking with Herbs
, by the Goose Creek Herb Guild. To purchase, send a check for $10 (price includes postage) to The Goose Creek Herb Guild, PO Box 2224, Leesburg, VA 20177.

The leaves of the Bramble boiled in water, with honey, alum and a little white wine added thereto, make a most excellent lotion or washing water.

—JOHN GERARD, THE HERBAL, 1597

SEPTEMBER 26

Today is National Pancake Day.

Sunday morning dawned bright and shiny, the cedar elms glowing gold against a cornflower blue sky, the clean, crisp scent of cedar in the air, the sort of day that is Texas at its best. McQuaid and I were lazy and slept late, then had a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

—DEAD MAN’S BONES, A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

Herbal Syrups

Maple is fine, but for a tasty change of pace on your breakfast pancakes, China suggests herbal syrups. These delicious taste treats aren’t just for pancakes, either! Easy-to-make herbal syrups are equally luscious on ice cream, in dessert sauces, or frozen and served as a sorbet. Or for a zippy drink, you can pour syrup over crushed ice and add ginger ale, sparkling water, or lemonade.

All these tasty delights start with a very simple syrup, made from your choice of herbs: mint, rosemary, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon basil, lavender blossoms, rose petals, slices of ginger, cinnamon sticks, and more. You can mix them, too. Experiment and develop your own favorite recipe.

CHINA’S BASIC HERBAL SYRUP

3 cups boiling water
1 cup fresh herbs
2 cups sugar

Make a strong tea by pouring the boiling water over the herbs and steeping until cool (1-2 hours, at least). Strain out the plant material and mix the tea with the sugar in a nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the syrup thickens. Store in a lidded jar in the refrigerator for up to three months. (It never lasts that long at China’s house!) Makes about 1 ½ cups syrup.

Learn how to make more herbal syrups and other confections:

Fancy Pantry,
by Helen Witty

SEPTEMBER 27

Today or tomorrow is Native American Day.

Civilization has taught us to build empires for Life Insurance Companies, numerous research, welfare, old age organizations, etc. In comparison, the Indians’ protection came from Nature, the “Mother Earth” being the most important. They learned to treat lives with plant life, the medicine from the earth.

—ALMA R. HUTCHENS, INDIAN HERBOLOGY
OF NORTH AMERICA

Native American Herbs

A great deal of our herbal knowledge and lore was brought to this continent by settlers from England and Europe. Because of the long written tradition of use, we often pay more attention to these herbs, and think of them as more important than our native plants. But our indigenous medicinal herbs should have a special interest for us—not perhaps, to treat our ailments, but to broaden our awareness of the value of the plants around us. As an example, here are ten plants that various Native American tribes used to treat colds, coughs, and respiratory ailments, depending on where they lived and what was seasonally available.

• Creosote bush (
Larrea divaricata
or
tridentata
)

• Pleurisy root (
Asclepias tuberosa
)

• Wormwood (
Artemisia sp.
)

• Boneset (
Eupatorium perforatum
)

• Wild cherry (
Prunus serotina
)

• Willow (
Salix sp.
)

• White pine (
Pinus strobus
)

• Sarsaparilla (
Aralia nudicaulis
)

• Skunk Cabbage (
Lysichiton americanum
)

• Yerba santa (
Eriodictyon californicum
)

Here is a good project for you and your children. Make a list of the 10 most important indigenous herbs in your region, collect specimens (where the plant is not endangered), and study their various uses. But please don’t experiment with medicinal plants until you’ve done your homework!

Read more about the herbs used by Native Americans:

Native American Ethnobotany
, by Daniel E. Moerman

The landscape changes shape when you start noticing which plants grow where, which plants are good for what. Good-for-nothing backlots turn into fruitful havens. Weeds in the garden look as good as the vegetables. Forest underbrush begins to tell a story as intricate as an illuminated manuscript, once one takes the time to read it.

—SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK, GATHER YE WILD THINGS

SEPTEMBER 28

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Celtic Month of Ivy, according to some sources. Its power to cling and to bind was thought by many cultures to be magical. Ivy was associated with the moon.

The custom of decorating houses and churches with Ivy at Christmas was forbidden by one of the early Councils of the Church, on account of its pagan associations, but the custom still remains.

—MRS. GRIEVE, THE MODERN HERBAL (1931)

Living Ivy Wreath

Because ivy was associated with many pagan rituals, it was often considered to be a “dangerous” plant. In England, for instance, holly was brought into the house for the Yule season, but not ivy.

But for most of us, ivy is perfect for holiday decorations. And if you start now, you can have an elegant living ivy wreath as a centerpiece for your holiday parties. As you work with this familiar plant, remember that through the centuries, ivy (
Hedera helix
) has been an important herb. European healers described ivy leaves as useful in treating intestinal parasites and lowering fever, as well as healing burns. In ancient Greece, ivy leaves were simmered in wine and drunk to reduce intoxication.