China Bayles' Book of Days (20 page)

It wasn’t until 1848 that the real mystery of fern reproduction was solved, and botanists understood the two-phase process that involves both asexual and sexual reproduction. But folklore has a long life. Which is why people could be April Fooled, and why stories about “invisible fern seeds” still appear as late as the beginning of the twentieth century.

Ferns have been used to treat a variety of physical ailments, from wounds and burns to intestinal parasites. The immature, coiled fronds are edible—in New England, the steamed and buttered fiddleheads of the ostrich fern are considered a great delicacy—and the dried fronds are used in basketry and papermaking, and as ornamentals.

Read more about the secret life of ferns:

A Natural History of Ferns
, by Robbin C. Moran

April, Comes like an idiot, babbling, and strewing flowers.

—EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

APRIL 2

It is a tradition with many, that a wreath made of Periwinkle and bound about the legs, defendeth them from cramp . . . And Mr. Culpeper writeth, that Periwinkle leaves eaten by man and wife together cause love—which is a rare quality indeed, if it be true.

—WILLIAM COLES, THE ART OF SIMPLING, 1656

Periwinkle Blue

The periwinkles (
Vinca minor
) are flowering in my Texas garden today, their blossoms like beautiful blue stars scattered among the dark green leaves, brightening the shady places under the oak trees. The generic name of this pretty groundcover derives from the Latin
vincio
(“to bind”), a fact I am reminded of every time I pull weeds in that bed. The long, trailing stems are like tough little ropes. No wonder they have been used for twine!

There are other periwinkles in my garden, too. Beside a rock wall (where this invasive plant can be easily controlled) is a bed of
Vinca major
—same blue flowers, but a larger leaf and longer, arching stems. And I just brought home a dozen
Catharanthus roseus
, the Madagascar periwinkle, for containers on the deck. The blooms run the gamut from white to neon pink to bold purple. This little beauty has been recently reclassified from
Vinca
to
Catharanthus
, but trust me: It’s still a first cousin to
Vinca minor
.

In Jamaica, periwinkle was drunk as a tea to ease the symptoms of diabetes. In India and Hawaii, the leaves were used as a poultice to treat wasp stings. In China, the leaves were dried, powdered, and used as an astringent, a diuretic, and a cough remedy. In Central and South America, periwinkle was a staple cold remedy, easing lung congestion and inflammation and sore throats. In the Caribbean islands, an extract from the flowers was used as an eyewash, and the leaves were chewed to ease toothache. Scientists say that the plant contains a host of useful alkaloids, some of which lower blood sugar levels, while others lower blood pressure and still others have anticancer properties. Research is continuing on these useful plants.

The next time you’re admiring the periwinkles in your garden, stop for a moment and think about all the things we have to learn about the plants we take so much for granted!

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
—WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

In the floral calendar, today’s flower: white violet.

APRIL 3

We carried our lunch trays out to the sunny flagstone patio under my kitchen window, where the late-blooming butterfly weed was attracting the last of the hummingbirds, tanking up for their long haul to Mexico. If you sit out there for lunch in the summer, you’ll be barbecued in nothing flat, but on an autumn day like today it was perfect, just the right mix of sun, cloud, and breeze, seasoned with the sweetly pungent odor of the sun-warmed creeping thyme that grows among the paving stones.

—THYME OF DEATH: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

A Box of Thyme

If you’re planning a thyme garden this year, now’s the thyme (oh, dear!) to get started. A “thyme box”—a small raised garden (four-by-four feet is a good size) constructed of landscape timbers or boards—is an easy and attractive way to grow a collection of thymes. Use a good garden soil for your mix, with the addition of sand to improve the drainage, and put your garden where it will get a full day’s sun. While thyme can be started from seed, beginning with plants will give your garden a head start. Shear the plants in midsummer to make them bushy (you’ll have plenty of uses for the snips), and divide every three or four years.

Thyme is one of the basic herbs, grown not just for its culinary uses (it’s an excellent seasoning for meat, poultry, and eggs), but also for its medicinal qualities, chiefly as an antiseptic, to combat infection. It was often burned as a fumigant to cleanse the air. As late as World War II, when it was called “Russian penicillin,” thyme was used to heal wounds and prevent infections. And if you want to attract fairies, thyme is a must-have. Fairies are thought to be entranced by its wonderful odor, as are bees. Thyme honey is among the most prized honeys in the world.

SOME THYMELY CHOICES

Thymes come in a wide variety of growth habits, colors, and fragrances. Since it ships well, you can also purchase plants on-line. Here are a few for you to consider:

• Common Thyme:
T. vulgaris

• Common Thyme: silver, gold, fragrant.
T. vulgaris
cultivars: ‘Argenteus,’ ‘Aureus,’ ‘Fragrantissimus,’ ‘Roseus’

• Creeping Thyme:
T. serpyllum

• Caraway Thyme:
T. Herba-barona

• Nutmeg Thyme:
T. Herba-barona
v. “Nutmeg”

• Wooly Thyme:
T. pseudolanuginosus

• Camphor Thyme:
T. camphoratus

• Lemon Thyme:
T. x citriodorus

• Coconut thyme:
T. pulegiodes coccineus

Read more about thyme:

Growing and Using Thyme
, Story Country Wisdom Bulletin A-180, by Michelle Gillett

APRIL 4

In some years, this is the Jewish Passover Seder, celebrated on the night of the fourteenth day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish lunar year.

The symbolic foods [of the Seder] include those laid down in the Talmud two thousand years ago: bitter herbs—originally wild romaine lettuce—to recall the harsh conditions the Israelites endured; haroset, to remind us of the mortar they had to form; and above all matzah, called
lechem oni
, the unleavened bread of poverty, but also the bread of freedom, for on the night the Israelites left Egypt, their sourdough starter, the yeast of biblical times, had had no time to rise.

—PHYLLIS GLAZER, JEWISH FESTIVAL COOKING

Bitter Herbs

According to the Talmud, romaine (
Chasa
) is one of the herbs that may be eaten at Seder, with the unleavened matzah. Here are other herbs, native to the Mediterranean area, that may have been available for the Hebrews’ use at the time of the first Seder:

• Endive (
Cichorium endivia
and
C. intybus,
also called chicory and radicchio) has a bitter flavor unless it is picked young or blanched.

• Watercress (
Nasturtium officinale
) was used by the Egyptians and early Greeks to increase strength and courage. It has a spicy tang.

• Sorrel (
Rumex acetosella
) was widely available in the spring.

• Dandelion (
Taraxacum o fficinale
) leaves were also readily available.

• Horseradish (
Cochlearia armoracia
) leaves, rather than the root, would have been eaten at this time of year.

• Nettle (
Urtica dioica
) leaves are rich in minerals.

HAROSET

Haroset is a fruit-and-nut paste that symbolizes the mortar Jewish slaves used to build for their Egyptian masters. The recipes vary regionally, but all include fruit (dates, apples, figs, raisins, pomegranates), nuts (almonds, chestnuts, walnuts), and spices.

2 medium-size tart apples
½ cup almonds, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon sugar or honey, or to taste

Peel, core, and finely chop or grate the apples. Mix with the rest of the ingredients.

To learn more about Jewish holiday food:

Jewish Festival Cooking: 200 Seasonal Holiday Recipes & Their Traditions
, by Phyllis Glazer with Miriyam Glazer

APRIL 5

Gardeners learn by trowel and error.

—SHARON LOVEJOY

Grow Your Own Salads

Salads taste better when they come straight from the garden to your salad bowl. What’s more, the experience of growing your own may make you appreciate it even more. Here are some considerations for your salad garden.

• Visualize your favorite salad and list all its ingredients: lettuces and other spring greens, plus radishes, carrots, edible flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, green onions, mustard.

• Plant your salad fixings close to the kitchen door, or in a collection of containers on your deck, filled with a lightweight potting medium. Plant seeds, water well, and add a solution of fish and/or seaweed fertilizer.

• Add herbs. Basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, and chives will spark any salad. Peppery, aromatic arugula, a trendy salad green, was once called “rocket” or “roquette.” About it, one herbalist observes: “In the language of flowers, the Rocket has been taken to represent deceit, since it gives out a lovely perfume in the evening, but in the daytime has none. Hence its name of Hesperis, or Vesper-Flower, given it by the Ancients” (
The Modern Herbal,
1931).

• Build a teepee trellis in the center and add a climber—Malabar spinach (
Basella rubra
) is nutritious and attractive, as is a climbing tomato. Growing your salads on a deck? Train your climber up a wall trellis.

• Plant an edible border (pretty, too): nasturtium, pansies, Johnny-jump-ups, calendula.

• Plant tight, harvest as you go. You can squeeze four leaf lettuces or four spinach plants into one square foot, or two chards, or a dozen green onion sets. Harvest the young leaves, and finally the whole plant. Then replant.

• Plan for all-season salads. Early Bibb lettuce yields to bush cucumbers. Tomatoes are followed by fall spinach and carrots.

Read more about salads to grow:

The Edible Salad Garden
, by Rosalind Creasy

The buds of the elder bush, gathered in early spring, and simmered with new butter, or sweet lard, make a very healing and cooling ointment.

—MRS. CHILD, THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE, 1833

Who soweth in raine,
hath weedes to his paine,
But worse shall he speed,
that soweth ill seed.
—THOMAS TUSSER

APRIL 6

The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
—EMILY DICKINSON

Don’t wear perfume in the garden—unless you want to be pollinated by bees.

—ANNE RAVER

Befriending Bees

Plants can’t set seed without pollination, and bees are among the best pollinators. Luckily for us humans, there are more than 3,500 native species of bees in the United States, and some of them are bound to live in your neighborhood. They’ll drop in for a visit if your garden includes the plants they enjoy. Start planning now for a buzzing garden all year round—and do skip the toxic sprays. The bees will bless you for it.

• Timing is important. To attract different varieties of bees, plan for succession-blooming in spring, summer, and fall.

• Bee-utiful. Bees are attracted to yellow, purple, red, and blue blossoms. But unlike hummingbirds and moths, they can’t negotiate long-tube flowers. Members of the
Compositae
family—cosmos, dahlias, zinnias, and sunflowers—are winners, but stay away from hybridized double varieties, which produce almost no pollen.

• Herbs are heavenly. Hyssop, lavender, rosemary, borage, mint, sage, catnip, butterfly weed, horehound, and boneset are especially attractive to bees.

• Weeds are wonderful. From the bee’s point of view, any plant that provides nectar and pollen is wonderful—including dandelions and white clover, which we think of as weeds.

• Native is nicer. Wild bees are already adapted to the native plants of your area, so if you want to attract more bees, plant more natives. In many parts of the U.S., this will include wildflowers like coreopsis, gaillardia, basketflowers, toadflax, sunflowers, red clover, black-eyed Susans, and monarda.

Read more about the secret society of bees: