Child's Play

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Doo-dum. ... Doo-dum. Doo-dum-doo-dum-doo-dum-DOO-DUM! Squee !
The shark, hidden in the rhubarb patch.

Hélène :

A few days ago, my son's boredom grew to the point where it was time to invent a new game fast (as a matter of fact, the simple use of the word "new" is enough to shake him out of his bad moods). A variation on the Hide-and-seek game, but with hints. Only, we don't hide in turns. Instead, we hide toys, as you can see on the photos. 

In the carrots!

While my son was counting out loud, I went hiding this plastic shark (Go on and do admit that you too want one for bathtime), first over a rhubarb leaf, which is strong enough to support its weight. Coming back to my son, who was done with its counting task, I gave him a clue : "The shark is hiden in the rhubarb!" And he was gone, knowing very well where it was (but there is the appeal : certain plants named during the course of our game where unknown to him). Our game was working double duty : we were having a great time while he was learning the name of different new plants.

Perched over a giant, drooping sunflower head.

The cleverest part in this, is that it's easy to adapt this game's level of difficulty to each kid's skills and knowledge. For instance, my son is 4 and a half years old at the time of publishing this article, and he can count up to thirty at least, both in French and English, so a parent could work with that, teaching is child to learn about counting numbers. By the way, the world of plants is a marvelous domain to explore while learning another language... (Maybe I'll try Latin with him, one day!) On the other end, he has a little difficulty understanding and following the rules from any game, and as you can deduct from the photos, he needs a relatively big object that's too well hidden in order to succeed. So you can play on many aspects to graduate the game's level of difficulty. For example, an eight year old child will probably have more pleasure looking for an object the size of a marble that will be well hidden from view.

But what's marvelous is that a garden is full of creative hiding spots. Not only bushes, but a whole and rich vegetal world. It could be a sunflower head or a nook between two branches of a tree. These days, when we're not in the middle of a heat wave or a rainstorm, this game comes back often, at my son's request, and it not only gives him the opportunity to play outside, but also to learn !

Jaws between grape vines and Stevia, holding a Cosmos blossom between its teeth.

Against ear trouble, Mullein oil on the double

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Louise :

There is this grandmother's trick I'm trying this year, for my next big cold, if one of my ear canals starts to hurt or sting. Apparently, before antibiotics, this was a known remedy in all families. I read on the internet very favorable comments about it, from people who still use it to this day. 

 

This tiny vial's shape is ideal to  prevent the flowers from floating at the surface.
And surprisingly, it was not very difficult to drain and wash.

The flowers must be macerated in vegetable oil
for two weeks. We expose the mixture to
sunlight to help the flowers render
their medicinal components into the oil.

It's possible to get this oil in an apothecary shop, but it's really easy to prepare it at home from the flowers in the garden. We are talking about Great or Common Mullein here (Verbascum Thapsus), the one that grows like a weed in fallow fields or vacant land and that sometimes appears out of nowhere in our own yards. (At the end of this article you can find the fact sheet for this plant.)

 

The flower harvest is easy
 (pinch and pull method),
overall I needed about 20 to 30
minutes to fill my vial.
I had access to about 40 mullein
 plants, all in the same field.

Different recipes on the net tend to vary. 

Some add garlic (for its antibacterial properties), others heat the oil on low heat instead of exposing the preparation to the sun, and yet even other sources place this oil, afterwards, in the refrigerator instead of keeping it at ambiant temperatures.

The recipe I tried is really simple. It only requires two ingredients, the flowers and olive oil. This way, I'll be able to conclude that if it works, it's entirely due to the mullein and not something else.

So it's all about harversting the flowers and letting them macerate (they can be fresh or dried) two weeks in the oil. I forgot to expose my vial to the sun for the first week, but I remedied that on the second. There's one recommandation that comes back often : You have to make sure to cover entirely the flowers with the oil. Otherwise, the exposed flowers may develop molds. You keep the mixture in a closed jar or vial or bottle in a warm spot, or even better, in the sun on a south facing windowsill. This will allow the flower's active components (what we actually want, the medicinal part) to transfer into the oil. After the two weeks, we filter the oil out and discard the flowers.

Only a couple of flowers are in bloom at the same time on each spikes. But you can also use  dried or wilted flowers, something that can be useful if you don't have a lot of plants on hand. Or you can also harvest a couple of flowers each day, dry them and then use them when you have enough. I'm pretty sure one spike of mullein can provide enough for a tiny vial like mine. 

Here's some information from the web that I found interesting :

Here's a two year old plant,
the spike is starting to form.

Great or Common Mullein, (Verbascum Thapsus in Latin, Verbasco or Gordolobo in Spanish, and Molène in French) is a biannual, meaning the first year, it only forms a crown of leaves pretty close to the ground and on the second year makes a very tall stalk that will support broad leaves and a spike of yellow flowers in July-August. Generally, it dies the following winter propagating its seeds all around it, seeds that can survive for years in the ground, assuring a descendance to the mother plant. Mullein likes sunlit fields, sandy soil and damaged soil made either by man or forest fire.

The leaves and flowers are still used today in herbalism, to treat respiratory problems, skin infection, sore throat, etc. They have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Mullein oil is apparently very useful for ear infection, located in the outer or in the middle ear. It allows one to avoid the use of antibiotics.

However, this medication is not advised it if the eardrum is perforated, or if the ear is leaking. It may also be used to help cats and dogs suffering from ear mites.



Mullein isn't only soft for the ears... You can also use the
leaves as you would toilet paper if  you find yourself in trouble 
in the great outdoors.
They are thick and soft. Some wild bee species use the hair on the
leaves to make their nest. If you want to harvest the leaves for drying,
it's preferable to do it before the flowering period.

P.S. I had the occasion, just before publishing this article, to try my new medecine on myself. I was pleagued by very itchy skin in the middle ear (I suffer from very dry and itchy skin, at times). One application of a few drops every two days during four days, and my peace of mind came back !

P.P.S. On the other hand, against a real otitis (something occuring rarely to me), this remedy didn't do any miracle. I applied it daily and waited for the pain to subside, which simply occured after a few days, as is the case for me, usually. Therefore, I can't say that Mullein oil really helped me, but it didn't hurt either ! Anyway, as usual, I didn't have to ask for a prescription of antibiotics. And as usual, I'm grateful to have been able to avoid it !

The velvet of the peach

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Follow-up for this article here.

Hélène :

Last year, my desperate search for a new fruiting tree of small height (and something different than the too-often-seen apple tree) first stopped on an apricot tree, unfortunately back ordered. I was then introduced to the peach tree Reliance and I was told that - compared to an apricot - it was more resistant and that the fruits were delicious. 

My peach tree, spring 2012. Right at its foot,
daffodils, one hosta and two variety of daylillies grow.
The tree is well-protected by the high fence blocking the North-West winds.

What's that? Peaches and apricots in Quebec? How is that even possible? Soon someone will say we can grow bananas here! (Actually, we apparently do have a kind of "northern banana", the paw paw tree, from which the fruit taste between that of a banana and vanilla custard, however, I haven't sampled it myself).

The delicate pink flowers
that will turn into peaches.

Back to the peaches, I decided to try it out and luck was on my side when the boss himself came to deliver me the tree. His knowledge was invaluable and he approved of the decided spot, mentionning that the 7-8 feet high wood fence would protect it well from harsh weather and it would receive enough sunshine.

Beside these prerequisites, the tree is classified a zone 5 minimum, but I have heard of apricot trees that could go as low as zone 3! (No idea if they do make fruit however). Still, this information makes us rethink what we can and can't grow around here, no?

Last year, when I bought the tree, the fruits were already on the branches. I wasn't sure when I could harvest them exactly, so I waited for them to become a little bit too tender. Quite a mistake considering I'm not exactly the one who harvested them : Hurricane Irene made sure that the next day, they were all on the floor! The resulting fruits were less tasty and their flesh was a bit crumbly (that's the first picture of this article), but the taste was still exquisite, or at least, my son didn't look twice at them before engulfing them!

Juneberry covered in blossoms.
They were supposed
to turn into fruits!

This year however, I was scared of having none. My juneberry (amelanchier canadensis) made delicious fruits these past 2 years, but this year, the flowers simply disappeared without making fruits. It was due most likely to a night frost, even thought we had agreable temperatures this spring. Luckily, the peach tree's blossoms come a bit later and didn't suffer the same fate.

This year, the first peach was harvested at the end of July and it was still firm at the touch but all traces of green were gone from the velvety skin. The taste was even better than the year before ; refreshing, with a complexity of taste far superior to those one can find at the supermarket. It even had a bit of astringency. I should mention that this peach has a relatively thick skin and the variety makes small fruits. Still, overall, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Notice the leave's shape : It almost look like an exotic tree!

Note, if you wish to get a great book on unusual or forgotten fruits for the garden, Lee Reich's book, Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden is a must! The best part : Mr. Reich lives in New York, so most of his recommandations work here too!

Dill and borage, the stars of my garden

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Hélène :

A lot of my friends and acquaintances don't like the taste of licorice given off by certain plants like star anise, dill, fennel, anise hyssop and even oregano. I am not a big fan of it myself, although I lately became much more tolerant of it.

Anise hyssop blooms are a delight for my bees.
They are edible too! At least if you like the taste of licorice.

July's harvest, 2 dill flower heads, a couple of lavender
stalks and flowers, the first golden raspberries and a
borage flower (the blue star in the raspberries).

It started with dill when I bought a tiny plant last year, for the sole purpose of pleasing the beneficial insects gracing my garden like the bees. I found dill to be a very pretty plant, at least to my eye, with finely ciseled blue-green leaves. Next come the flowers, looking like big parasols and filled with tiny yellow flowers giving the whole head the aspect of a star. They also have a divine scent. Those flowers then transform into minuscule brown, striped seeds with a pretty white edge. Even the stalk is striped pale green and bluish-green! Little there is to say, from its 4 feet high, the dill caught my eye. And then my nose. Only a couple of flower heads are needed to fill the house with a lovely summer scent. Finally, I tasted it and was left flabberghasted. This had nothing to do with the thing on the spice rack at the grocery store! For the first time, I liked the taste of licorice. 

Only the third of my summer 2012 harvest.
Considering this is a plant that requires almost
nothing from me and one that came back on its
own from last year, the reward is substantial!

The next salad had fresh dill in it, of course, and the result was such that I haven't made one without it since. Other uses for this plant : You can use the seeds in a bread, or make an herbal tea with them, one that helps stomach aches. Or the eternal classic, a flower head added to a home-made pickle jar.

There is much more, the plant can come back from seed very easily! I haven't bought or started a new plant this year, but it volonteered in my garden and it has multiplied. My lazy trick to make sure to have some the year after : when you cut the heads full of seeds for the harvest, don't be gentle with them, shake them a bit ; some seeds will fall on the ground and voilà ! New plants will sprout the following year. Another useful aspect, taking the seeds of the florets of the plant is an easy and zen task. Since the flowering period is successive, there's no need to harvest all at once. You can do a little bit every day instead.

The young borage flower is
pink and turns blue at
maturity.

What's to say about another beautiful annual, borage (Borago Officinalis), a medicinal and culinary plant that makes marvelous blue star-shaped flowers. You may have to search for the seeds; I couldn't find any at my local garden center, so I bought some at Richters. Borage and dill have a couple of similar qualities, even though both don't look alike at all. First, borage too reseeds easily and it's also a very important plant for beneficial insects. The flower is edible and absolutely delicious! The taste reminds me of cucumber (althought some people say it tastes more like oysters). Either way, it goes really well in a salad or on hors-d'oeuvre.

A couple of sources mention putting it in ice cubes, but my trials were disapointing. The flower loses its vibrant blue color when exposed to cold and nevertheless tends to float on the water anyway, making it hard to trap in ice. A last notable ressemblance between borage and dill : Both plants have the reputation of boosting milk production. So if you are breastfeeding and consider taking either for the purpose, make sure to consult with a herbalist to prescribe you an adequate dose, else you may feel uncomfortable or it might even be painful!

Flower on ice, looks nice. Inside the ice cube however,
it will lose color and form.

A couple of notes should be taken on dill. Don't plant them at the forefront of the garden (unless, like me, you have a semi-wild garden), because even thought they don't make much shade from their 4-5 feet high, they may be in the way of your gardening chores. I find it a superb plant but some find its look weedy. Finally, before buying a plant, smell it. If it doesn't smell anything, buy one elsewhere! Life is too short for tasteless and odorless dill.

Wild garden, you were warned!

May Wine and Bees

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The garden entryway, the meadowsweet is covered in white flowers, the wild roses will flower soon and you can just see the golden raspberry leaves in the down-right corner.

Sweet woodruff hides under the gold raspberries, 
at the garden's entrance. It's covered not only 
with its own flowers but also received a good
amount of petals from the meadowsweet making
the scene look like a wedding!

Hélène:

Welcome to the garden! The garden entryway was definitely at its best when I started writing this article, around the end of May - beginning of June. The meadowsweet (Spireae) was covered in sweet and tiny white flowers. This sight transformed itself lately with the flowering of the goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus), that looks like ivory fireworks and the vibrant pink of the wild roses.

The month of May offers a strange ritual, well-known in Europe, whose origin is said to be from Germany (althought the French Wikipedia says it comes from Belgium - the english version states it comes from Germany). Maitrank, Maibowle, May wine or boisson de Mai, is traditionnally served on May Day holiday. It is made from steeping sweet woodruff (Galium Odoratum, also known as Asperula Odorata) in a white wine. Some sources recommand a sparkling wine instead, others mention adding orange slices or other fruits - I kept it simple, adding only the plant and some sugar to the wine and letting the mixture steep for 1 month.

 

The recipe I had found in this excellent book suggested either a Riesling or a Sylvaner wine, I contacted a good friend who happens to be a sommelier, Christophe, who also has a blog on wine, to ask for his opinion. He suggested this Sylvaner. I also took a Riesling by mistake - this, however, put me in a perfect position to test the difference between both wines.

The results are surprising. The taste of the wine itself is subdued and I could definitely taste the plant in all its strength. The recipe I tried required to had sugar at the beginning of the process and to serve it very chilled. Luckily I followed that last step, else I would have found the wine too sweet, since it's closer in taste to an ice wine. But the bonus of such a chilled wine is that it's definitely perfect for hot summer days!

-------------------------------

The bees :

The Juneberry somehow didn't fruit regardless of its multiple flowers. This gave me quite a scare, because it lead me to think that the winter - however mild it has been, in reality - managed to hurt also my powerful garden allies. I am referring to my solitary bees (megachilidae or leafcutters). 

Ready to steep for a month.

 

The finished product a month after!
The goatsbeard in the back

 looks like fireworks celebrating
the end of preparation!

However my ownership of them is untrue. After all, I haven't made a hive for them, I just prevented myself, at a naïve time in my life, from destroying them. After contacting the Montreal Insectarium who offers invaluable expertise on identifying insects, here's the information they gave to enlighten me along with some of my personnal observations on these amazing creatures.

Here's a bee coming out of its nest for the first
time of the year. New nests are highly 
visible; they often sport saw dust
at the entrance.

The wood planks that my raised garden beds are made of can accomodate - following my personnal observations - nests for about 20 bees per year, if not more. It is clear to me that these bees do a serious amount of work here in the garden. This year, I had the pleasure of seeing them wake up on May 29th. At this date, I not only saw some of them get out of their individual nests for the first time, I also managed to take picture after picture up close and personnal - and it didn't seem to bother them one bit!

I've taken a beautiful picture (show bellow) : A bee and a hoverfly gathering pollen from chives flowers. The answer of the Insectarium, while confirming the identity on these two individuals, also mentions that the hoverfly is an excellent pollinator as well and that its bee or wasp appearance is a defense mechanism (called Müllerian Mimicry).

In the chives flowers, there's not only 
a bee but also a hoverfly, a small
insect ressembling a bee or wasp, but its
movements are reminiscent of those of the hummingbird!
The hoverfly is also an incredible pollinator and its larvae
are fierce aphid predators!

When I moved to this house and garden in 2008 and saw the bees, I thought : "How am I going to work the garden, I have a small child that loves to play in there, we will disturb them for sure and they will sting us!" Well nothing. Nada, Nein. We never suffered a single sting and althought we do approach the garden with caution, these bees are not only peaceful and adaptables, but they visibly learned to tolerate us (and vice versa, let's admit it), they accepted us and then... Then. It's hard to explain what's going on exactly, especially since these bees provide new individuals each year (one bee can live only up to a bit more than a year), but it feels like we know and recognize each other and we are somewhat comfortable with each other.

For example, a couple of days ago, while harvesting strawberries, one came very close, enough for me to feel its wings beating on my arm and then it went away (gave me goosebumps too!). Maybe it just wanted to identify me. Last year, while I was hand pollinating my squashes with a paintbrush (related in this article), I cornered one in a flower. I definitely shook it up with my paintbrush and althought it came out of there dizzy , it didn't sting me (you may attribute this to the dizziness). I often work near the bees' nests. During that time, I clearly notice they avoid going in or out until I am gone. We have "an understanding". It isn't signed on paper, but it somehow works. So even if I unfortunately don't have Juneberries this year (and the cause looks like a late night frost), I'm at ease knowing my bees are back again this year and are doing well - extremely well, even.

Leafcutters make perfect circles
in my juneberry leaves 
and they use the pieces to create their nests
Regardless of the leaf's look, it is not 
lifetreatening for the tree.
If you too notice this kind of round piercing
on the leaves of your plants, it's a good
 sign that leafcutters are close by!
Indeed, leafcutters can only carry these bits
of leaves for short distances.

Goutweed or Tastyweed ?

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Louise : How to make friends with such a rascal ? 

First, one needs to know it better. Let me tell you about my own experience : in my garden, there's a nice looking ground cover perennial presenting a variegated foliage : Ground Elder, or Herb Gerard, Bishop's Weed, Snow-in-the-Mountain, Goutweed (because it was used as a remedy for Gout, a medical condition also called Podagra). In French, it's called podagraire, aegopode, petite angélique, herbe de Saint-Gérard or herbe-aux-goutteux. In latin, it is  Aegopodium podagraria, in Spanish, Aegopodium, Pie de Cabra, Podagraria, Yerba de San Gerardo.
 

In its wild form, it's plain green and grows in abundance from Europe to Western Asia. It can grow up to 60cm high (2 feet).

In Quebec, I encountered only the variegated form, the one you can find in some garden centers, and which is much shorter (20 to 35cm - 8 to inches high) and... less invasive.

So handsome for a rascal !

Our variegated Goutweed is appreciated because it makes a dense ground cover that - just like its all green cousin - eliminate competition, spreads vigorously throughout all the space it can get and forms a clump that illuminates its spot. It prefers dappled shade and gets along in any type of soil.

You will tell me : a handsome perennial for shade that can compete with weeds...

Where is the problem in this ?

Well, the problem is that it tolerates no other plant ! It will kill it. Even some bushes, like roses. I suspect that it's responsible for the death of my  Staghorn Sumac. I imagine that it must excrete  something at the root level... Add to this belligerant nature a desire to conquer the world ! I had a garden where it tried and tried to escape throught the lawn using its root system. European sources mention that Goutweed can selfseed. But apparently, it's not a problem in Great Britain. Here, I never noticed that behaviour either. 

Some say that you can cultivate Goutweed in pots and it's always possible to cut and remove the bottom of a plastic pot and push it down in the soil in order to make a barrier, so your plant won't escape.

In my actual garden, it was there well before us. Luckily, it has been located at the edge of our lot, under mature trees, bordering a gravel entrance way. I put a thick layer of tree leaves to mulch the edge of its territory and it never escaped.

On my part, knowing that I most probably could not get rid of it, I did not try and left it in place.

Friendly plant ?

It's only recently that I discovered Goutweed's usefulness in the kitchen and as a medicinal plant. Personally, it could as well be named Tasty Weed,so much we find it delicious.

I tried it in cooking only this spring and I was amazed : so good ! I did not take the risk to eat a lot of it at once yet, I used it, for instance, as a sidedish with meat. It's because I'm always careful when introducing something new in our diet. Allergic reactions or simple intolerance are possible, after all. 

Moreover, its taste is strong and I wanted this to work. After all, it's a marvelous thing to discover a new perennial vegetable in a garden, but we have to learn to appreciate it if we want to consume it year after year.

So, I tried it first in a potato and egg dish, then in a soup, and finally as a potherb in a veal meal. For those three dishes, we discovered with pleasure that Goutweed gives a different, rich and savoury taste to dishes.

 This plant has been used since ages in different ways

It seems that Romans brought it with them as far as Great-Britain and it has been widely used in all of Europe during Middle Ages. Today, it is still used in Scandinavia, Russia and Lithuania, either as a vegetable or as a potherb. 

In the kitchen

The "rabbit" that nibbled on all those 
goutweed leaves is me, with the help of a pair of scissors.
In fact, rabbits don't eat this plant.

We can eat the young shoots in springtime, in salads, or cooked, in many different ways, as a sidedish or as an herb in soups, omelets, and meat or potato dishes. 

Many Europeans consider it to be one of the best wild greens to eat. Others don't like it at all. 

It's supposed to be part of the carrot's family. Both its leaves and stems are edible. Their taste is quite strong, reminiscing of carrot leaves and parsley. 

Be cautious, though, since most internet informations on this plant mention that you must harvest it before its bloom time, because after that, its taste changes and the plant becomes laxative. A source gives this trick : in order to prolong the harvest, you just have to cut down the leaves regurlarly in order to prevent the plant from blooming. This way, it's supposed to be edible all summer long. I'll have to try it. 

What I did try was to freeze the leaves and I happily discovered that freezing does not alter the taste.

I keep certain of my herbs in glass jars, in the freezer.
Here, Goutweed, Lovage and Horse Radish, three plants with a strong taste,
each in its jar. 

Use in Herbalism

Medically however, it's to be harvested after blooming, and used fresh or dry, at least according to the site Plants for a Future. It's rarely used today, but it does indeed have a long history for its medicinal purpose. It's been used as a poultice for treatment such as burns, wounds, stings, achy articulations and in teas for arthitis and rheumatism. But its reputation comes mostly as a medication for people suffering from gout, hence the name Goutweed. This Wikipedia link will tell you more about this medical condition that can become chronical. It's linked to the metabolism of uric acid and it mostly attacks articulations, kidneys and skin.

What's the lesson in all this ?

First, the knowledge that useless plants don't exist at least from the nature's point of view. Each plant plays a role that Mother Nature provides always. In other words, if a plant appears and prospers somewhere, it means nature found a role for it to play there. This is also true for plants that suddenly take over an ecosystem because it means they generally benefit from an abundance of something that's not readily getting recycled by something else. Most often they are there to heal the damaged habitat and these plants tend to get replaced later on by other plants that get replaced by other plants. It's just a long list of specialist plants that work one after each other to heal the environment. That we see them as weeds is a very human perspective.

On the other side, it means a lot of work for the gardener who doesn't wish a certain plant at a certain place and this can create real problems, I know this from personal experience, probably like most gardeners around the world. But now, before dreaming up a magic wand that will rid my garden of undesirable plants, I will start by researching on it in hopes to discover its hidden virtues.

A couple of recipes for those who are tempted to taste it:

http://cuisinesauvage.blogspot.ca/ : This blog is extraordinnary, albeit in French. Pick "egopode" in the menu and you will find 3 different recipes. I heartily recommend "la galette d'égopode".

http://www.medecinesnaturelles.com/index.php?to=3&so=3&page=7 : Another one in French proposes a soup made from spring greens that are easily available in many gardens.

http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/printview.php?rid=misc-korean-style-wild-spring-greens : a Korean vegetable sidedish.

And to top things off, my own goutweed veal cubes recipe:

Goutweed veal cubes : 

Ingredients :

3 medium sized onions, diced

2 ounces (60g) goutweed leaves and stems, fresh or frozen, finely chopped
225 gr veal cubes
150 to 200 ml vegetable broth (I used the broth that resulted from the blanching of my asparagus harvest, I let it reduce to concentrate it more).

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1.   Cook the onions and the meat in the oil at high temperature.
2.  Add the broth very slowly to prevent sticking.
3.  Cook for 5 minutes at medium temperature.
4.  Add the goutweed, stir and let cook another 5 minutes.
5.  Add salt and pepper.

Delicious ! Serve with couscous or rice, and steamed asparagus as a sidedish.