Wild Garlic Narrative

Wild Garlic Raising Lovely Heads

In the spring of 2012, I noticed a raised brown spot on my right cheek. I’ve been growing them pretty regularly all over my body this last decade. This one was prominent and ugly and in-your-face and I didn’t want to keep it.I had read where garlic cures skin cancer, so I deducted that if it could do that, surely it could cure a little old benign brown spot. It was May, and the wild garlic was getting tall. I took a stem and cut it open lengthwise and placed it on the spot. I used a piece of clear packing tape to hold it in place.

Of course, I had to explain to everyone I saw why I was walking around with a green glob smooshed under packing tape on my face. They alternately laughed, scoffed and suggested I see a doctor to have the offending blemish removed (or to have my head examined!). Meanwhile, I replenished the garlic with a fresh, juicy piece trice daily and slept uncomfortably with the thing for six nights. I noticed the spot was rising daily and worried I might be feeding its growth. On the seventh day, the top of the spot fell off when I was changing the “bandage”. Under it was my smooth cheek with brown discoloration still present.

Two more days of garlic application and the whole thing had disappeared. My detractors looked upon this phenomenon with awe, as did I. I was relieved not have to “treat” this thing anymore and very happy to be free of the sweat-producing packing tape. Have I done any more experiments with garlic application to my skin? No. Have I tried store-bought garlic? No. However, I vow that when the wild garlic comes up next spring I’ll try just applying the juice (no packing tape) whenever I’m in the garden. I’ll pick a few select spots and never mind the aroma of the garlic’s perfume. I want to see what will happen.

Datura

 The Garden of Nemesis has always attracted visitors, even before I began to open for “public” viewing. Usually, the visitor(s) hang around out front and gawk. I love gawkers. One day about ten years ago, I invited a curious woman in for a looksee. We got to talking and she offered me some seeds, which she later dropped off. I had no place to plant them at that time, so I serendipitously scattered them out on the front terrace between the street and the sidewalk. Good thing, as these were the seeds from the fruit of the prolific and invasive Datura plant. I do not allow this guy to grow in the garden proper. She had given me the wrong name for the plant, but a friend later correctly identified this vigorous grower.

Datura is sometimes called: Jimson Weed (named for the Jamestown Caper), Thornapple, Devil’s Apple, Devil’s Trumpet, Mad-apple or Loco weed. According to Robert Beverly in 1705, in 1676 a bunch of hungry colonists gathered Datura for a boiled “salad” and “ate plentifully”. They were delirious for days, making total idiots of themselves. One “sat stark naked in a corner, like a monkey,” and none of them remembered all their tomfoolery when they came back to themselves eleven days later. Datura is legal to grow in this country. It is also poisonous.

Many cultures have used Datura in religious rituals and it is now “used to treat asthma, and gastrointestinal problems, also aches, abscesses, arthritis, boils, headaches, hemorroids, rattlesnake bites, sprains, swellings, and tumors”. It is antibiotic, antispasmodic and narcotic. I have read where some cultures used it for anesthesia for surgery. If you have a waste site contaminated with TNT, grow it there and it will “transform it via nitroreduction,” in other words, it will clean it up.

Personally, I’m a little terrified to screw around with my nervous system by ingesting Datura; I just enjoy looking at the plant and pondering the irony of both natural and man-made Law.

Arborvitaes

East 2008

The arborvitaes are adorned with snow. Again. They are two perfect rows of Christmas trees framing the garden east and west. We planted the east arborvitaes in 2001 because we felt exposed to the neighbor closest to the cottage. They are huge now and the space between them has long since closed.

East 2004

 In 2001, the neighbor on the west was an elderly lady that became a good friend and a champion of the garden. She loved the view from her east windows, so we left the space open. When she sold the house, we found ourselves living next door to the neighbors from hell. We discussed a privacy fence, but once again settled on the idea of a living barrier.

For the west side 2009

After planting the west shrubs, they were repeatedly kicked over by someone who hated beauty. My sweet husband would go out daily and right them and once again stomp the dirt around the roots. I watered and prayed they’d make it.

Kicked over 2009

These neighbors clearly proved that, “You reap what you sow,” when the patriarch was shot dead on the porch during a summer party. This was traumatic for all of us, except the arborvitaes, which chugged on. About a year or so later, we again had good neighbors. They erected a privacy fence, which once again changed the garden dynamics. Now I have a place to hide my big pots!

West 2012

A living fence of arborvitaes absorbs sound in addition to wind protection. As you can see, these guys are not instant gratification as far a privacy goes, but well worth the wait.

West Early Spring 2013

 

Homemade Lifestyle A/K/A Going “Green”

Beautiful Borage 2013

It brightens my day to spend a few minutes depriving the big corps of a few cents. These are the guys poisoning us with every type of chemical foreign to our bodies that they can possibly dream up. They advertise themselves as “a family company” or other such nonsense phraseology, hoping to convince us that if it smells good and is pretty, it must be good for us. I don’t remember when I began reading labels, but it was before the internet, since I researched confusing ingredient labels at the library. I lugged home heavy volumes written by pioneers writing environmental warnings. At that point in time, the fancy, convenient stuff in the store was relatively cheap, so although I was fairly educated I did not believe anyone had it out for me. Now I know different.

Echinachea and Calendula 2010

 Growing up in Iowa has its perks, but one of them, trusting others, is not one of them. When I left at age twenty-four, I was used to helping out anyone who said they needed it. I believed what authorities told me. Please, don’t laugh, but I mostly I trusted people who were older, better educated, and/or had more money than me. Surely they must have my best interests at heart. After being raped, robbed and pillaged, my pendulum swung the other direction and paranoia set in. I can now say that I have enough life experience to understand that there are a few totally trustworthy people, many untrustworthy people and a whole lot of us who are mostly one way or the other. I also know now that I have an antenna that, if I heed it, will point me in the correct direction.

Wild Garlic (reseeding)

Some people will lie out of what they consider necessity: to protect themselves or their loved ones, to keep their jobs, to avoid hurting someone they care about. Some of these people feel guilt, others not so much. They mostly live in fear. Then there are those who will lie because they desire money and/or power over others. Some of these have never told the truth and do not know how. They are the most convincing. Antennas up, folks.

Nasturtium 2005

Big Pharma and other large industrial corporations are constantly killing people and shoving the consequences of their deceit off onto others. There’s safety in numbers and always a way to pass the buck onto some poor sap underling. They want good slaves. They want us marked (tattooed) with rings in our noses so we can’t “root” out the truth. We are the livestock that needs to be penned and controlled.

Valerian 2010

Many of these chemicals we lather and wear and swallow are designed to keep us docile, weak and sick. We should have just enough energy to drag ourselves to work in order to keep feeding their system and wallets, but too tired and neuro-compromised to wake up to the manipulation. If we become disabled from their so-called livestock management, well, then, they’ll give us enough to barely subsist so we are totally dependent upon them to survive. These slave drivers are very dangerous and pathological liars. Their main goal is to remove us from Nature’s healing so that our bodies cannot rejuvenate.

Bee Balm (before blooms) 2011

 The human body is divinely designed to be self-repairing. It really needs very little encouragement to do so. That’s why these devils have to work so hard to assault us from every conceivable angle. For those of us who can still think, choices will present themselves. (I’m sorry to say, there are those who are so far gone that they have lost the will and ability to choose). Do we want to be good little sheep or do we want to resist? If we choose to resist, just how do we do it? Each of us has to decide our own course of action. As for me, I choose to use as few of their “products” as possible. Since my skin is the largest of my organs, I treat it to chemical-free salves and lotions I make myself. I can wash my hair like this: I run baking soda water through it and rise with vinegar water. I have made my own vinegar, but usually run out. I have nowhere to dig for soda, but if I lived in Utah, I would!

Yarrow 2011

 At this point in time, the bad guys do pollute some simple things, so it’s best to read every label. I buy off brands, those that are un-advertised. I choose what has had the least amount of human contact, i.e. processing. I grow, forage and make as many items as I can. I research heavily, both at the library and on the internet. I read, read, read. I study and I practice. I stay away from “health” professionals. I’m sure there are fine holistic professionals out there, but I cannot afford to see them. I am my own MD, psychiatrist and nurse. I must be doing something right, as I am healthier than I was five years ago.

Wormwood (in center) 2011

We are taught that it’s “normal” to become sick as we age. That’s another lie. It’s normal to be healthy and barring interference, we will be. If we feel ill, Nature provides all we need to get back on course. I have researched plants extensively, and healing herbs can be found growing wild virtually everywhere. I am learning how to recognize these little friends in the park, along the river and in my own back yard. Ironically, they’re all the plants I’ve been taught should be eradicated. Lucky for me, they are the hardy and have found a way to survive so that I may live. I am learning how to preserve their chemical constituents for off-season use.

Here are just a few herbal medicines I sometimes use: Feverfew, Valerian, Echinacea, Garlic, Bee Balm, Plantain, Borage, Calendula, Chamomile, Wormwood, Yarrow, Nasturtium.

Sleepy Squirrel

December 2013

I stared at this motionless guy for over a half hour the other day before I got the bright idea to take a pic. Has anyone ever seen a squirrel that sleeps like this? He was gone the next day, and no, he was not found dead and frozen under the tree.

These guys aren't shy about getting their share of sunflower seeds, either!

2005 Gettin' his share

 

2005 Yummy Sunflower Seeds

Jams, Preserves, Jellies, Marmalades and Butters

It’s the darkest days of the year and I’m on the lookout for cheery colors. I found this bright yellow display box in the supermarket recycling bin. I know, I’m an exhibitionist!

2013

South American Lily

Pink Lily

In the summer of 2010, my sweet husband and I attended the wedding of his daughter, who lives near the equator. The plant life there was so amazing and incredible. Most of the population there lives in high rise buildings so their “gardens” grow on balconies and in window sills. His sister grows this lovely and delicate pink lily, which flowers year round.

She told me that the lily created “babies” like a maniac. Still, I was very excited when she gave me a few bulbs. I planted these little gifts in a pot. They grew up and flowered within a few months.

Pink Lily Saved Bulbs 2013

The first year I kept the plants alive in an east window all winter, but alas! They didn’t bloom. Now I just save the bulbs until spring.  

Bloodroot

When the crocus peek their lovely heads above the ground the Bloodroot is already blooming. It’s the first plant to bloom and always a welcome sight. I vaguely remember “temporarily” placing the bare roots in the ground between the path and the pump base and estimate it must have been a half dozen years ago. About all I did right was to give it some shade. What I enjoy about this plant

is that after the ground-hugging flowers are gone, it puts out interesting leaves. 

Bloodroot

 Bloodroot is an endangered species and used in herbal medicine in “very small doses, mainly for bronchial problems and severe throat infections. The root is used in many pharmaceuticals, mixed with other compounds to treat heart problems, dental applications  and to treat migraines. Bloodroot paste is used externally for skin diseases, warts, and tumors. For ringworm apply the fluid extract. Bloodroot is said to repel insects.” In other words, I accidentally (instinctively?) planted what I thought was simply a beautiful plant that I now know I can use for medicinal purposes. There is a “CAUTION” attached to Bloodroot as it contains toxic opium-like alkaloids and an over dose can be fatal. It’s not something you want to eat when browsing in the garden.

Bloodroot leaves (between hose and bridge)

Edible Landscaping With Wood Mulch

 When it comes to gardening, observation and a willingness to keep an open mind are essential. I am discovering I have been laboring, and I mean laboring, under many false assumptions. I just came across a video on You Tube called “Back to Eden”. It demonstrates the benefits of keeping the earth’s “skin” covered while feeding it essential nutrients. I knew this; otherwise I would not be planting cover crops. On the other hand, I have been blind to the benefits of wood chips overall.

I have been using wood chips since I first disturbed the skin of Mother Earth here in the Garden of Nemesis. Except. Except, I believed that wood chips were to be kept off the vegetable garden because they used nitrogen to break down and I didn’t want annual veggies to suffer nitrogen depletion. The rest of the garden is heavily mulched with wood chips. The trees, shrubs and flowers have grown quickly and been very healthy.

 

2011 Crab Apple (Sucker)Tree in Center

I have even planted herbs, strawberries and an occasional vegetable plant in the wood chips. We harvested seventeen gallons of strawberries off our little patch this year. Still, it never occurred to me that the mineral-rich, loose loam would be beneficial all over. Why wait for a cover crop to grow when the simple way would be to keep the ground covered at all times? Duh.

 

2013 Strawberries

When I saw this film, I realized why the crab apple tree sucker I dug from my neighbor’s yard from a tree that always flowered yet never bore fruit, was heavily laden with apples its third year in my wood chips! Literally everything planted in wood chips has flourished. There was a multitude of evidence right in my face that I chose to ignore. The Mother will teach us if we simply look. 

Lettuce in Growing in Wood Chips

 I have plans. The wood chipped space where I park my car has grown six inches higher than the cement pad right next to it. In the spring, I will move that wonderful richness to the vegetable garden. After I plant, I’ll apply newer chips between the rows for weed control and to enrich the soil. Yes, wood chips do use nitrogen to break down, but not after the first several months. That’s why hugelkultur works so well. 

Russian Sage in Wood Chips

I will not leave one square inch uncovered from here on out. I’ll use my leftover rye seed for bare spots in the grass. No more tilling. I also will begin to bury kitchen scraps directly into the garden and by-pass the compost all together. I’ll just pull back the chips, add the refuse, and cover it back up. I vow to allow more “volunteers” to grow and evolve where they wish. It may be that after a few years not only will cultivation become unnecessary, but possibly even most of the planting.

2013 Crab Apple (tied to post)

 I’ll continue to plant more herbs and vegetables among my flowers, where wood chips have been building fertile soil for over a decade. I’ll let more plants go to seed in place. The wood chips can support close plantings, so I intend to take advantage of that fact and squeeze in lovely carrots and fennel and lettuce and kale amongst the flowers. As I shed my preconceived ideas, I’m beginning to understand that gardening can be nearly labor-free.

Rites of Passage/Seasons

Jan 2008

Usually when we speak of “rites of passage,” it refers to the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Just as a garden experiences its seasons, so must we transition from one form to another. It has been my experience that in our society, many of us have bypassed this passage in favor of perpetual puberty. The publicity-seeking, narrow-hipped, long-legged, skinny models of perfection and grownup little boys paid well to play with a ball are symbolic of a culture where youth is adulated. Let us take a moment to peer inside the soul of the adulators.

The adulators are those who renounce their own lives in favor of acting as spectators of others who seem to be participating in the “real” game of life. These live to watch others and perhaps imagine they are someone else. They are more than just the groupies, the sycophants, the flatterers; they are the sad, silent majority who give up their very lives to rub elbows with the rich and famous, even if it is only in their imaginations. Well, it’s the trendy thing to do.

The Urban Dictionary uses words such as “wannabes” and “fake” in its definition of “trendy”. Maybe within their desire to be trendy are sleeping souls whose true longing is to discover who they really are. I hope so, because where they exist is cold and dark and confusing. Maybe they are getting a little sick of prostituting the self to others. Maybe adulators simply wish to be accepted, as do we all. However, if one has to betray oneself for that acceptance, then it’s a miserable existence.

Is it possible for adulators to escape from this type of slavery and begin to really live? Maybe, but it requires a rite of passage to do so. To enter within this passage, one must be willing to experience the full range of emotions from agony to ecstasy and all points in between. One’s “way of seeing” must change in order to open the floodgates of the truly emotional life. This means that the many forms of sedation must fall by the wayside.

How does modern man sedate himself? Pharmaceuticals, of course. Or televison or alcohol or computer games or pornography. I could list at least a hundred more, but you get the idea. Does this mean that anything that soothes us must be avoided? Of course not. Once the transformation has come about, we naturally find ways to relax that do not dim our awareness; a glass of wine with friends, a hot bath, loving sex, deep breathing. Sometimes the concepts of relaxation and sedation get confused. As long as legitimate anxiety is allowed its voice, neurotic anxiety will not appear begging to be sedated.

What is legitimate anxiety? Anything that bothers or worries us should be examined closely, not shooed away with sedation. Before we “treat” any physical ailment, we should scrutinize its origins. Our psyche/soul seeks to communicate with our conscious mind and if we aren’t paying attention, it will materialize as pain or discomfort in our bodies. Why do I have this sore throat?

Maybe my throat hurts because Aunt Ethel came to visit today and I remember the time when I was a child and she severely beat me for expressing my opinion. Now when I see her, I unconsciously shut down my power of speech. I resolve that the next time she visits I will tell her how I feel. Bingo, sore throat gone. Try it, it works. A side benefit to this might be a deepening of my relationship with Aunt Ethel. Or she might go away and stay away. Either way, it’s okay.

Either way, I’m left a little lighter for listening to the still, small voice within me. Sometimes this heaviness we feel is due to small burdens easily shed. Other times, it’s a big one, one packed with a painful emotional charge. Maybe confronting the more powerful demons will risk severing long-term relationships. This is when we must step back and consider if we can “live without” a particular person or persons.

So many human relationships are parasitic. For me, I would rather be alone than suffer a parasite, a leech that leaves me drained. Honesty is truly the best policy. Plastic may last a long time in the landfill, but it should not be the operative word used to describe relationships. Anyone who wishes a deep relationship with me must be willing to lay it all on the line, as must I. As each layer of my real self is exposed to the light of day, a small rite of passage has been accomplished and an opening into ecstasy made possible.

A rite of passage refers to the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It’s a real challenge to reach maturation in our society. We are programmed to believe we can make our dreams come true simply be rubbing up against what we want, that there is no price to be paid for happiness and contentment. Just as there is the manifestation of seasons in the garden, so are there rites of passage, should we choose to accept the challenge.   

May 2012

July 2012

October 2011

 

 

 

 

Tomato Late Blight

If not for Phytophthora infestan I might have been born in Ireland, if family lore is correct. This blight features the nasty spore that infected potatoes in the 1840’s, causing a famine and driving the Irish exodus to the New World. Well, I’m here now and ironically, that same plant disease has made me hungry—for tomatoes. 
 

2004 September Tomatoes

 

2010 July Late Blight

I noticed Late Blight first in 2008. In 2009, it wiped out tomato crops bigtime in the Northeast. 2008 was the year I first noticed “cobwebs” covering anything not moving and bathing continuously. 2008 was the first year I fully awakened to the fact of chemtrailing; that webbing contains some pretty awful stuff and weakens all living things. 

2008 Mysterious Webs

2009 Infected Tomato

  I’ve looked at old photos of the Garden of Nemesis and can see only small infections of Late Blight before 2008. Every year it’s gotten progressively worse until 2013, when I lost most of my crop. I plant resistant hybrids, I rotate, I mulch, I bag and remove the bad stuff, yet it is still a plague. As far as fungicides go, I won’t kill earthworms with copper. Nor will I spray toxins that kill bees and birds and humans. I have to find another way.
 

2011 July Blight

After this year’s disappointment, I determined I must let the garden soil rest for a few years and hopefully recuperate. I can’t let the whole vegetable garden lie fallow, but there will be no tomatoes in the vegetable plot in 2014.

I spent a good amount of time and labor to prepare the front southwest corner of the lot for a small tomato patch next year. That corner was the original home of a flowering quince bush that we had to remove because the neighbor had trouble seeing to back out of her driveway. Then I planted tall prairie bloomers there because it gets good sun and it’s hard to drag the hose up there for watering. This fall, I removed everything and once again tried to dig up the roots of the old flowering quince bush, which continues to send up shoots. 

2013 Corner of Lot Before Excavation

 Once all that was done, I dug holes and added a few pieces of old firewood at the bottom for mini-hugels. Then I piled on fresh brown and green clippings and covered it with dirt. I don’t know if the compost pile is compromised, so I will add no finished compost. Is it possible there are spores in there that have managed to proliferate in spite of the fact I have never added infected plants or fruit? I just don’t know, so I will not take the chance.

It’s possible I have missed-diagnosed the problem, as my garden potatoes have had no blight. I count myself lucky there. The bottom line is this: the tomatoes will have fresh “dirt” that hasn’t grown vegetables before. I’m also thinking of adding a plant or two on the opposite side in the front, beside the strawberry bed, well away from the actual garden plot. There are few places on this property that have had no finished compost, which I assume is contributing to the problem.

2011 Tomatoes for Canning

It’s very hard to protect plants from this dread disease, short of growing inside. These spores float in the air, so it’s possible my little experiment will fail. Regardless, I have to give it the best possible chance for success. If you happen to pass by out front, you can grab a ruby orb to snack on while you walk.

The Life and Times of the One Tree Garden

2005 BEFORE ONE TREE GARDEN

Back in 2005, before I ever thought about the One Tree Garden or the Bird's Nest Tree, I was driving nearby in an old part of town and saw earth-moving equipment at work. I had heard about the new project to demolish an old nursing home on the river and replace it with condos, so out of curiosity, I pulled over. I spotted a huge pile of limestone, exactly the rock I had been using to build my garden beds. It looked like free to me. I love curb shopping.

2005 STONE FROM THATCHER BLAKE HOME

I walked out into the fray and got the attention of the young man operating a front-end loader and he turned it off to speak to me. We can only guess what he thought of this crazy woman. He was very nice and explained the pile of rock was what was left when the guys from the local museum finished excavating the very first home built in our small city. I was very excited and asked him if I could have some. He looked around a little nervously and said, “Well, I’m only going to bury it, sure”

2005 OCTOBER BIRD'S NEST TREE

I pulled up with my pickup truck and began throwing into the bed whatever a small, almost- elderly woman could handle. The young man motioned for me to get out of the way and proceeded to use his machine to lift a pile and dump it into my truck. The weight was obvious and flattened the rear tires. I flapped my arms and dipped my head in thanks and took off with my loot.

2007 ONE TREE GARDEN

 When I got home, my sweet husband just shook his head. I told him we needed to think this over carefully, because wherever we pushed the rocks off the truck would be their permanent home. He told me it was my decision; he passed the buck. We pulled in the front gate, backed up and created the little One Tree Garden. Now all I needed was the perfect tree. 

2010

2011

 When I saw the Bird's Nest tree, I just knew. It was the one. The perfect one. 

2013