"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."
-- Aristotle
-- Aristotle
NC Unit, Herb Society of America, Inc.
2024 - 2025 Program Schedule
April 17, 2025: Herbs and Herbaria with Carol Ann McCormick
May 15, 2025: Annual Meeting & Picnic
All meetings begin at 9:00 am, lunch following the meeting.
If you are not a member and would like to attend a meeting, please use the contact form below so we can give you location details.
DETAILS FOR 2025 - 2026 WILL LBE AVAILABLE IN AUGUST 2025.
May 15, 2025: Annual Meeting & Picnic
All meetings begin at 9:00 am, lunch following the meeting.
If you are not a member and would like to attend a meeting, please use the contact form below so we can give you location details.
DETAILS FOR 2025 - 2026 WILL LBE AVAILABLE IN AUGUST 2025.
Seeing SPRING in our Native Herbs.....
I MEANT to do my work to-day -
But a brown bird sang in the apple-tree
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.
And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand -
So what could I do but laugh and go?
Richard le Gallienn (1866 - 1947)
But a brown bird sang in the apple-tree
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.
And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand -
So what could I do but laugh and go?
Richard le Gallienn (1866 - 1947)
Viola sororia,
c. K.Schlosser
Viola pubescens var. scabriusculas,
smooth-leaved yellow violets
There are a number of reports that the yellow flowers, when consumed, can cause digestive upset. Just to be safe, use the blue, purple, and striped violets for recipes.
Only V. odorata, non-native but naturalized in some areas, have the elusive sweet fragrance. The odor continues to exist, but ionones in the flower tend to shut down our olfactory system. |
Viola soraria, common blue violet
Often considered a weed that must be pulled up from lawns and gardens, this sweet little plant offers much to our lives. Every time I walk out the door in March and April, I smile and say hello to these happy little plants. They ask nothing of us, and offer much. They were used in traditional medicine for their purported ability to treat colds and coughs, headaches, sinus infections, skin problems, and many diseases. Extracts of the plants have been used in flavoring foods, the leaves and flowers make a lovely tea, and the flowers frozen in ice cubes brighten up any beverage. Some gardeners suggest that violets keep aphids and Japanese beeltes away. There are 500-600 species worldwide, about 120 species native to the U.S. and likely another hundred naturalized species, including V. odorata, the one with a sweet fragrance. New in my garden this year is a smooth (as opposed to downy) yellow violet. It must have been brought by birds, as there is one in the back yard and one in the front yard. We will see what they bring next spring! Old Fashioned Violet Syrup 1 ½ cups water 1 ½ cups pure cane sugar ½ cup tightly packed fresh violets (pick out the green parts and rinse) Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. When sugar has completely dissolved, remove pan from heat and toss it the prepared violets. Lightly bruise the flowers against the side of the pan with back of spoon. Cover pan with a tea towel and let stand on the couinter overnight. Strain out the flowers into a cotton cloth and squeeze them to extract their essence into the syrup. Discard the flowers and pour the syrup into clean, sterilized glass jar. You can keep this in the refrigerator 2 or 3 weeks or frozen for up to 1 year. Use it in tea, lemonade (will make a pinkish lemonade), or as part of a marinade for grilled salmon. |
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. One of the earliest to bloom in Spring.
Yellow trout lily, Erythronium americanum
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Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis
One of the earliest of native herbs here in the southern edge of the MidAtlantic states is Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. Pure white petals on a flower cradled in the arms of fuzzy green leaves begin to open even in the snow. Admittedly, the sun could be a little warmer, but these plants brave the cold with joy. Once used widely in dental care products--does anyone remember Viadent-- it has lost favor since 2000. It has a history of many medicinal uses, and the rhizomes were used as a ceremonial red/orange dye. Trout lilies, Erythronium americanum Named for the "fish like" appearance of the mottled leaves, and a similar appearance of the flowers to the much larger Turk's Cap lilies, these sweet little plants emerge here shortly after the Bloodroots make their appearance. They are another plant that makes you happy to walk outside and greet them. There has been some who have used the leaves to make tea, but many who drink that tea, or consume the leaves or flowers experience almost immediate vomiting. It's best to simply enjoy them as a part of your Spring garden array. There have also been a few medicinal uses, but I wouldn't try it without having a doctor who knows plants nearby. There is plenty of information on Google and such, but just enjoy the flowers and let them stay in your garden if you are lucky enough to find one. They will spread slowly given a little time. |
Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica.
c. K. Schlosser
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Spring beauty, Claytonia virginica
That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful. ~Edgar Allan Poe Spring beauties are another early plant that brings joy on seeing the first blooms. Tiny flowers about the breadth of a time are lightly splashed with pink tripes and pink tipped anthers. Their leaves look like blades of grass. This one in the photo is Claytonia americanum, but also have C. caroliniana. They are distinguished by the broader leaves of the C. caroliniana. Both have edible uses, especially the corms, little "potato-like bulbs" that apparently DO taste like potatoes when cooked and supply vitimins A and C. The problem: when you dig up the corm. the plant is gone. So if you want to try it, you will need a large patch of them! Fear not, with a little time you will have an abundance of them. Their tiny seeds have a bit of elaisome (a fatty substance attached to the seed) that is a feast for ants, who chew off the bit of yummy food and drop the seeds. Voila! New plants next year. There are historic medicinal uses of these beauties too: they have been used to make a poultice for eye problems, as a contraceptive, and a variety uses. As always, we do not recommend such use unless you have talked with a doctor who knows plants. |
My Garden of Dreams, Abram Linwood Urban, 1913
He [gardener] must be able to
discern the spirit of beauty in nature, revealed
only to the poet's finer sight, and give it form
in the life of the garden. He must enable the
imagination to discern something of the ideal
beauty.
A poetical garden is not, we must be sure, a
mere show-garden, but a garden poetical in
spirit and effect . It is much a matter of " atmosphere."
He who would make such a garden
must have his vision of things spiritual and
lovely. With that and skill to give it form he
will make it a place where one can sit and
dream, for "The poetry of earth is never dead." [Keats]
He [gardener] must be able to
discern the spirit of beauty in nature, revealed
only to the poet's finer sight, and give it form
in the life of the garden. He must enable the
imagination to discern something of the ideal
beauty.
A poetical garden is not, we must be sure, a
mere show-garden, but a garden poetical in
spirit and effect . It is much a matter of " atmosphere."
He who would make such a garden
must have his vision of things spiritual and
lovely. With that and skill to give it form he
will make it a place where one can sit and
dream, for "The poetry of earth is never dead." [Keats]
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