Poor, Unappreciated Weeds

I think this beautiful milkweed got mowed down by the county road department this morning.  Sigh.  Maybe I can find the "stump" and move it to a safer location.  Butterflies love it.  Pretty, huh?

Thorns

This is a prickly pear in bloom.  The large waxy blooms only last one day.  The thorns on these babies are vicious.  Frankly, I don't like thorns much.  We have a number of thorny things around here - berries, roses, and a locust tree, to name a few.  They always make me think of the curse on the earth in the book of Genesis, and the crown our Savior wore on the cross.

Here's what God told Adam when He confronted him about eating from the forbidden tree:

Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Here are some wild raspberries starting to turn ripe.

One of my Favorite Books

My brother, the birder, gave me a copy of this book for Christmas a few, OK, a lot of years back.  In fact, mine is an earlier edition than the one shown here.  I love it, though.  It contains a plethora (cool word, huh?) of remedies divided into categories such as herbalism, aromatherapy, ayurveda, and homeopathy.  I like it for several reasons.  One is the beautiful photography throughout.  Another is that it gives instructions for using herbs in poultices, infused oils, teas, and more.  It even includes directions for making the Bach-style flower remedies.

The first half of the book lists the remedies and describes them.  The last half of the book lists common ailments and tells what you can do for them.  Finally, there is a great index that I have used more than once.  It has been a very practical and useful resource.

One of the best things, though, about this book is that it treats alternative medicine respectfully (as it deserves to be treated, in my humble opinion.)

Malva or Mallow....

My friend Melissa took this great, though scary, picture. If you'll notice, the snake is nestled in a vining plant with round leaves. The plant is in the Malva family, and is sometimes called "low mallow" or "cheeses." The name "cheeses" refers to the little round fruits that appear after the flowers fade. The fruits resemble the homemade cheeses of bygone years. It was considered to be something of a "cure-all" in ancient times. It has a lot of mucilage in it - it's in the same family as okra! Anyway, that gooey texture has led to it being used both externally, as a soothing salve, and internally as a cough syrup, etc.

Of course, if your sample is being guarded as well as this one, you might want to wait about harvesting it. :-)

Here's the Song: "The Wedding" by Michael Card

Western White Honeysuckle?

The previous owner called this unusual plant "peavine," but I've determined it to be a honeysuckle, probably Western white. It hadn't bloomed yet when I took the picture, but it is in bloom now, and looks a lot like this pic at the LadyBird Johnson Wildflower website. I've never seen leaves fused into a circle like these. Interesting plant, probably of interest to hummingbirds.

My friend and I are hoping to take in an herb walk next month. Won't give details, because I want to make sure there's room for us! (Space will be limited, and I want to be there!)

Daisies are blooming now, reminding me of our wedding anniversary. I found a video rendition of a song we had at our wedding. I'll try to post that as the next entry here.

Speaking of husbands, mine noticed a little snake resting in our blackberry vines. The petals have mostly dropped now and the plants are covered with hard little green berries. The little snake was brown and gray mottled. Could have been a copperhead, I suppose, but like I told my dear hubby, most baby snakes are colored like that. Anyway, it doesn't matter if we see a copperhead as long as we avoid being bitten by it, right?

I had an interesting writing assignment a few years back which consisted of writing care instructions for a variety of snake breeds which people keep as pets. It was awful! For several weeks, every hose, electric cord, and shoelace looked like a snake to me! Oh, the horror stories I read about people being swallowed by their python or boa! And according to my research, some people even keep poisonous snakes as pets! They call them "hot" snakes. Yuck, and more Yuck!!

The bottom line is, I don't mind snakes out where they belong, but I don't want them as pets, especially if they are "hot" or large enough to swallow me! But....there is coming a day! Just read Isaiah 11. Here are verses 8 and 9:

"And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

Rain...

(I'm in the habit of starting with a pic, so what you see above is some Dutchman's britches and other early spring posies I picked a couple of months ago. This was the first time I'd seen Dutchman's britches growing in the wild, as far as I can remember.)

May flowers and May rain... So much is going on in the wide outdoors. Our strawberries are starting to get ripe. The blackberries look great, but oh, my poor apple tree! I'm afraid it has fire blight.

From what I've read, it sounds like I blew it when I fertilized the tree with Jobe's tree spikes. Apparently, a fast growing apple tree is more vulnerable to fire blight, so it's better not to fertilize until you can tell the tree needs nourishment. Anyway, I haven't seen any oozing on the trunk yet, but the branch tips are curling down and turning brown. Yuck. Last night I pruned off the parts I could reach, using disinfectant on the nippers each time. There is still a lot I can't reach.

Oh, well. It's not like we will starve to death if we lose the apples. Not yet, anyway.

Here's a Bible verse... "And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat." (Josh. 24:13) I like that verse because the Lord gave us this property, and if we eat anything from these trees and plants, it will be without our having planted them. I think that's cool, and I give Him the thanks and praise for putting us here.

Fairer Still

Woke up with these words on my mind:

"Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands
Robed in the blooming garb of spring -
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing."

Of course those words are from the old hymn, "Fairest Lord Jesus." Here's a link that gives some info about the history of this song.

The woodlands have truly been beautiful as the trees have bloomed, each in its turn. We don't have any dogwoods around here, but the redbuds, which you can see above, were gorgeous a few weeks ago. The previous owner of this property planted them everywhere. I counted sixteen redbud trees in bloom just in the yard area, with more out in the woods.

Right now there are some huge trees with white racemes (long clusters) of flowers hanging from them. I think they must be wild cherries. The flowers are appearing before the leaves, so the trees look white. What is particularly stunning is when the trunks of the trees are all covered with Virginia creeper. Beautiful! Makes me think of a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It's Sonnet XXIX of her romantic Sonnets from the Portuguese. I've enjoyed the sonnet style of poetry ever since I was a starry eyed teenager in love with love. Maybe I'll share some of my own sonnets later on in this blog, but for now, here's Elizabeth B. B.

I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud
About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,
Put out broad leaves, and soon there 's nought to see
Except the straggling green which hides the wood.
Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood
I will not have my thoughts instead of thee
Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly
Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare,
And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee
Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere!
Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee
And breathe within thy shadow a new air,
I do not think of thee—I am too near thee.

Yarrow is About to Bloom

In wild plant news around the old homestead, I've noticed several yarrow plants about to bloom. That's what you see in the pic above. If you've never smelled it, you should. You'll never forget it's pungent medicinal aroma. It's a special plant to me because I carried yarrow and daisies when I got married. I always know our anniversary is getting close when I see the first daisies in May. Actually, I was looking for a daisy picture when I found this one.

I have a couple of types of bee balm that are about to bloom as well. At least, the purple type, which is sometimes called wild bergamot, is in bud.
It's an exciting time of year to go outside and visit the wild plants. I realized a long time ago why I like to study plants. My brother is a world class bird watcher, which is inspiring, but I am just too slow to ever find the birds in the trees. I love them and like to listen to them, but for cataloging and identifying, I like something slow. Rocks are too, well, un-alive, but plants - now there's something that's alive that I am fast enough to catch!

Lots of Rain and New Growth

My friend gave me some starts of plants a couple of days ago. Peppermint, chamomile, and day lilies all seem to be doing fine. The sad part is that I forgot to bring home the echinacea plants! You can see echinacea, aka purple coneflower, in the pic above. The root of some varieties of echinacea are dried to make the popular remedy for flu, colds, or other infectious diseases. Echinacea probably won't bloom for another month or so. I wish I had remembered those plants!

I picked a beardtongue (Penstemon) of some sort this morning, as the dew cooled my sandal clad feet. It was the first of those to bloom, although there are more in bud.

Out in the ditch by the mailbox, where we haven't mowed yet, I think I have some St. John's Wort coming up. Will have to wait on making a definite identification. I hope it is because I take St. John's Wort for depression. I'd like to try gathering my own for some home medicine making. One thing I tried several years ago was to make an infused oil from SJW. (I have a daughter with those initials! I'm not talking about her!)

All you have to do is choose a natural oil that's good for the skin, like almond or even just a vegetable oil, and put it in a clean jar with a bunch of SJW blooms. Put a lid on it and leave it in a sunny location for a few days. The sun will do the rest. The oil will take on a rosy red hue and a pleasant aroma. Strain out the flowers and discard. The oil can be used to massage tight, tense shoulder muscles.

(By the way, I am indebted to Craig Goodwin of Spokane, WA, for the photo. Stock.xchng is a great place to go for free photos.)

Back to Eden

I just visited Amazon, and was delighted to see this book as a recommendation for me.



Jethro Kloss's legendary work on vegan eating and herbal remedies was one of the main catalysts for my love of herbs down through the years. I had a copy of it while I was still in high school (early 1970s.) I had forgotten.

I remember a really great recipe idea I got from this book. I used to cook soybeans in the pressure cooker and freeze them in 1 cup amounts to use in a casserole or loaf. Basically I added a starch, such as bread crumbs or cooked brown rice. It had to be seasoned with sage and onion, and I would always include a tomato product, such as sauce or canned tomatoes. I loved the combination of flavors. I am not vegetarian now, but I used to make this dish years ago during a time when I had given up meat. I like the idea of being vegetarian, but the plain truth of it is that I feel better when I have some meat in my diet. Without meat, it's like my brain is kind of foggy or fuzzy.

Anyway, Back to Eden is a great book to peruse for information about herbal remedies of the past, although some of his suggestions might not be backed up by modern herbalists. (For instance, I remember he recommended lobelia for a lot of ailments, but as I understand it, lobelia is no longer considered a safe herb to use.)

Whatever... I don't claim to be any kind of authority on any of this - just someone who loves wild plants and likes to read about them. My advice is to be really cautious about using them medicinally, and getting advice from knowledgeable people along the way.

We Mowed Those Poor Little Babies Today

Tow-headed dandelions, fading spring beauties, an occasional blackberry that overstepped its bounds - they all felt the sting of my blade today! But I just couldn't bring myself to cut down the lady's bedstraw, or cleavers, growing near the woods in the back yard. That's it in the photo above. I first learned about this herb on an herb walk several years ago. Apparently it can be used medicinally as a diuretic tea or topically to heal wounds. I don't know if it is worth drying for later.

It's amazing how many of the spring wild plants are good for those two purposes. Chickweed, for instance, is reported to be good for dieters because of its diuretic properties, and plantain is considered by many to be one of the best herbs for soothing bites and stings. Just chew it up or tear it up and apply it directly to a sting for relief (or so I've heard.)

Grapevine Wreath

This is a picture of my wreath. It's not as round as I would like, but I have enjoyed it. I add dried flowers to it and other natural things as I find them.

By the way, have you ever noticed the color of wild grape leaves when they first appear on the vine? They are a beautiful rosy pink, as pretty as any flower.

Fruits to Anticipate

If you have never seen a pawpaw in bloom, you've missed it! The flowers are brown cups that hang upside down around the future fruit. I've only had the joy of eating pawpaws on a couple of occasions, and am awfully glad that I have a tree here. Last year, not only was the tree not mine yet, but it also had only a few fruit on it. Last year just wasn't a very good year for a lot of plants. Anyway, the owner and I kept our eyes on it waiting for them to get ripe, but the myriads of squirrels that live here got them before she or I got a chance to even taste one!

I don't know if you can tell it by the picture above, but the tree has a lot of blooms on it this year. Now to figure out how to thwart the squirrels!

Hubby noticed this morning that the black haw flowers were gone. Little clusters of future haws were left behind in their place. Other wild fruit we have here include gooseberries, blackberries, wild raspberries, and wild strawberries. We have an apple tree and a peach tree along with a couple of grapevines. And of course the woods are full of wild grapevines. I have a wreath I made on the front porch. I decorated it with bittersweet berries last fall and a little birds nest that blew down out of a tree this spring. I'm thinking of trying to make grape drink from the wild grapes this year. All you do is place a cup of washed grapes in a quart canning jar, add a cup of sugar, fill with water, and process it in the canner. Leave it for at least a month before using it. I've done it before with tame grapes.

It is cold and the blackberries are in bloom, so maybe this is what they call "blackberry winter." At least I think it's the blackberries that are blooming. I am not that good yet at telling the difference between blackberry and raspberry plants. I know that blackberry leaf tea is supposed to be a good remedy for diarrhea, and that red raspberry leaf tea is good for women, especially throughout pregnancy. I had red raspberry plants during my last pregnancy (seventeen years ago!) and that was sure nice. There is nothing quite as luscious as a fresh red raspberry right off the cane! Sweet as Koolaid!

And regardless of whether the fruits do good this year or not, it's always a good time to grow these fruit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

God bless you with good fruits of all kinds!

To Mow or Not to Mow, That is the Question...

As a lover of wild plants, I always have a hard time making the decision to mow the lawn, especially for the first time in the spring. If I can let it go a few more weeks, who knows what treasures may appear? For instance, we have a couple of wild hyacinths blooming in the yard right now, along with some spring larkspur, which you can see in the picture above. Of course, it will have to be done eventually, but if I can wait a bit, I might be able to transplant some of those surprises into a bed where they can grow unhampered.

Sometimes I wonder if God didn't design this little piece of property just for me. We were able to buy it from a little lady who had the same affection for wild flowers and herbs as I do. For fifteen years or more, she brought interesting native plants here and put them in little beds around the trees, and now I get to enjoy the fruit of her labors.

Wondering if the last few days of rain will bring out any morel mushrooms. It has been an awfully dry April. We used to get them in our yard where we lived before.

Black Haws

Black haws are a little purple fruit that grow in clusters on attractive bushes of the viburnum family. I have a picture here of the blossoms - they are in bloom right now in the woods along our driveway.

I found a page that gives some recipes for using black haws. According to my research, there are two types of black haws, and I am not sure if they are both suitable to use in recipes for eating. One thing I have developed over the years is a reluctance to use anything wild that I am not absolutely sure of!!!

Just Have to Share....

Spring! And my first year as a landowner in the country. I have been "botanizing" since high school, and picked lots of wildflowers before that. So, why not go with my heart and start a special blog just for insights and discoveries in the wide world of wild (and maybe some not-so-wild) plants?

Other topics I hope to cover in this blog will be herbal medicine, especially wild-crafted and homemade, grow native gardens, butterfly and hummingbird plants, wild fruits, and anything else that strikes my fancy!

The plant you see here is rose verbena, a common spring wildflower here in central Missouri, which has a lovely scent.

One thing I want to make clear from the start is that I believe in a Creator God who made all of these treasures for us to enjoy, and that I don't believe all the wonders of nature evolved from a rock or a primordial soup or a big bang. Ps. 104:14 (KJV) says it best: "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth."