Calls to mate subsumed by anxious cries of parenthood
No time to linger on the birdtable with hungry mouths to feed
Worms and grubs more nutritious fare
In darkest night
Slugs slide salubriously towards succulent tips
Seeking new growth to devour
Ingesting the brightest of the green
Bare twigs alone remaining
Their life force gone.
Trees and hedgerows burst forth in rampant growth
Pushing their sap to the limit
Ivy and bramble twining towards the sky
Offering their suckers to the sun
Hawthorn and lilac blossom dance in the treetops
Dazzling drops coating the branches with fresh array
Their white perfection perfumed by the lilac buds
Tender yet to bitter nights
Spoilt by heavy rain
But blooming still.
Summer's come in answer to Spring's call
Time now for constant working
Sleeping and dancing are done
Make haste with the soil
Lest sunshine and showers be missed
Growth sustained be lost
For another year.
This picture shows part of one of my garden borders. In approximately four
feet there are ten different plants in the border and the hedge.
Can you
name them?
To be generous, I will tell you that I know of no herbal use for daffodils
and white bluebells and unfortunately the hypericum I inherited in the
hedge is not St John's Wort.
That said, can you name the other 7 plants and for extra brownie points
tell me what they are good/used for?
Email to Ygraine's Herblore Workshop at onelist or to ygraine@england.com
Herb Border Hawthorne tree in blossom overhanging the canal
How many herbs can you identify? There are lemon balm, sage, english mace,
golden marjoram, lovage, cottage valarian (which has no medicinal value)
and oregano growing in this border, along with michaelmass daisies and ice
plants, which the butterflies love in September.
Make the most of your weeds.
Use dandelions blossoms to make dandelion infused oil or dandelion wine.
Use the sap in the stalks against warts. Harvest the leaves to use in
salads and the roots to decoct for liver healing or as a mild diuretic.
Coltsfood leaves can be taken as a tea or smoked to help chest infections
or ease asthma attacks.
Nettles can be boiled for 20 minutes to remove the stings and then used as
a vegetable in soup or stew or made into a nutritious tea.
Dock leaves can be used against nettle stings and yellow dock roots can be
dried and used as a laxative or to help strengthen the liver.
Hawthorne tree in blossom overhanging the canal 
