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.