China Bayles' Book of Days (34 page)

The yucca’s taproot has other virtues, cleanliness chief among them. Dug, scrubbed, and chipped, the saponin-rich root is boiled in water—three cups of water to one cup of chips—and produces suds. Boil it down by about two-thirds, and you’ll have an effective soap that will clean your hair and hands and launder your clothes. Medicinally, the root was used to treat arthritis. One study suggests that it is the saponin that does the work; a cortisone precursor, it is strongly anti-inflammatory.

And then there is the fiber. The Indians soaked the stiff, thick leaves in water, then pounded them with wood clubs until the pulp was soft. The filaments were twisted into thread, cord, or rope and used to construct netting, sandals, baskets, and clothing. The leaves can also be used to make handmade paper. I doubted this, until a friend sent me a sample of some yucca paper she had made. I’m bargaining for more.

Read more about the yucca and other native herbs:

Spanish Dagger
, by Susan Wittig Albert (forthcoming, April 2007)

Gather Ye Wild Things: A Forager’s Year
, by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

JUNE 12

On this day in 1980, the National Herb Garden was dedicated.

A National Treasure

The National Herb Garden is now over a quarter of a century old, an enduring tribute both to herbs and to the dedicated herb gardeners who created it. It all started in 1976, when a few determined women from the Herb Society of America (HSA) decided that America was in need of an herb garden, while at the same time, the National Arboretum, in Washington, D.C., was planning several demonstration gardens. Thomas Wirth made the award-winning design, and the women, “armed with tussie-mussies,” as one reporter put it, got busy raising the money from HSA members all over the country (when all the pledges were paid, they had collected nearly $420,000!).

Then came the hard work of getting the government to match HSA’s contributions. “Herein lies another tale of tussie-mussies and persistence by HSA President Betty Rea,” reports HSA historian Dorothy G. Spenser. After a summer of intense Congressional lobbying, the money was finally forthcoming. Spenser writes: “A bulldozer with Betty Rea on board and a tussie-mussie attached to the mirror for good luck started to build the garden.” And in the spring of 1980, the garden was dedicated at last—although, as every gardener knows, a garden is
never
finished! HSA continues to support the garden through volunteer work, consultative help, and monetary contributions. It is fair to say that without the persistence of these gardeners, their hard work and commitment, the National Herb Garden—
our
herb garden—would still be just a dream.

The Herb Garden has three areas: a knot garden, a rose garden; and a group of ten gardens that illustrate the many uses of herbs. The figure-eight shape of the knot garden is outlined with ivy and centered with dwarf juniper, holly, and arborvitae. The rose garden features over a hundred heirloom roses; the focal point is an armillary sundial. The ten gardens include culinary, beverage, and dye gardens, a Colonial garden and a garden featuring the herbs of Dioscorides. One especially “hot” garden is the Pepper Garden, with over a hundred varieties of peppers, hot, hotter, hottest. Asian herbs and Native American herbs are also part of the display, which includes several botanically important collections of rosemary, oregano, lavender, and salvia.

The herb garden is located about ten minutes from the Capitol Building. Visit the web site (
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/collections/herb.html
) for directions, times, and announcements of special events.

Read more about the work of the HSA:

The Herb Society of America, 1933-1993,
by Dorothy G. Spenser

Visit the Society’s web site:
www.herbsociety.org

JUNE 13

In the kitchen, I evicted Khat from the rocking chair by the window and Ruby sat down. I put on the copper kettle and measured tea into the blue china teapot McQuaid gave me for Christmas last year—lemon balm tea, with a bit of lemon verbena and dried lemon peel. Besides tasting good, lemon balm is supposed to reduce fevers. I thought it might cool Ruby off a little.

—WITCHES’ BANE: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

A Zingy, Swingy Lemony Quintet

If you’re a lemon-lover, you’ll find a lot to love in the lemon herbs. They’re easy to grow, fun to use, and each sings its own unique lemony song. Here are five of the most popular. Plant them individually, or group them all together as a lemony ensemble.

• Lemon balm (
Melissa officinalis
). Emphatically citrus, this aromatic herb has a reputation as a sedative that lowers fevers and settles upset stomachs. Essential for summertime iced teas and wintertime hot brews, a tangy addition to steamed vegetables and fruit salads, a happy choice for marinades.

• Lemongrass (
Cymbopogon citratus
). A standby in Asian cooking, lemongrass is a perennial star. Grow it in full sun and take it indoors when the temperature falls below 25°F. Start using the leaves when they’re a half-inch wide. Chop and brew with tea, mince and add to salsas, stir-fries, and curries.

• Lemon basil (
Ocimum basilicum
“Citriodorum”). A tender annual, easily grown from seed. Plant it where you can touch it as you pass and listen to it purr. Use in soups, stews, vegetable dishes, pesto (of course!), and desserts, drinks, jellies, and vinegars.

• Lemon Thyme (
Thymus
x
citriodorus
). Low, mounding perennial, great as a container plant. Especially good with grilled fish or chicken, or steamed vegetables.

• Lemon Verbena (
Aloysia triphylla
). A tender perennial shrub with a brash lemony scent, lemon verbena will appreciate being potted up for a winter vacation indoors in all but the deep South. There, left to its own devices, it may grow to 15 feet. Add finely minced leaves to fruit salads, herbed cheeses, or your favorite tea.

LEMON BUTTER

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Grated peel of 1 lemon
3-4 tablespoons very finely minced leaves of any of the
lemon herbs

Combine all ingredients and purée until smooth. Cover, refrigerate until firm.

Read more about these and other herbs:

How to Grow and Use 18 Great Plants
, by Ellen Spector Platt

JUNE 14

Today is the feast day of St. Basil. There’s no historical connection to our favorite herb, but it gives us a good excuse to celebrate!

Herb Guild Holds Big Basil Bash by Fannie Couch, special to the Pecan Springs
Enterprise

The sixth annual Basil Folk-Life Festival, sponsored by the Myra Merryweather Herb Guild and held in the Pecan Springs park last Saturday, came off without a hitch. Guild members brought their favorite basils, nicely potted and on their best behavior—nearly every one of the 60 different varieties! They (the basils, that is) were all lined up on a table and festival-goers were invited to touch and sniff. No tasting, though, or there wouldn’t have been any basil left for those who came in the afternoon. You could taste the basils that you bought, at the Merryweather Basil Bonanza Booth. Favorites for sale included pretty “Purple Ruffles” and fragrant “Genovese” along with lemon, cinnamon, Thai (anise), and Mexican spice basils.

Besides sniffing basil, there were other exciting things to do. You could listen to Benny’s Barefoot Bluegrass Band, or watch the Cowgirl Cloggers give an electrifying clogging exhibition (interrupted only briefly when Neva Wooster’s clogging shoe flew off and hit Mayor Pauline Perkins in the eye). You could buy a chance on a Drunkard’s Path quilt, quilted by The Scrappers Quilt Club, and if you were a kid, you could plant basil seeds in take-home pots. And if that wasn’t enough, there were all the vendors. And the food, of course.

BASIL ON THE MENU

Of course, it’s always a challenge to cook for a crowd, but the Merryweathers are up to it. Diners enjoyed a sit-down lunch in the basement of the Second Baptist Church across the street from the park. The menu:

Vegetable Soup with Basil
Basil-Cucumber Salad
Lasagna with Tomato- Cheese-Basil Sauce
White Beans with Garlic & Basil
Spice Cake with Orange-Basil Sauce
Myra’s Secret Recipe Basil Ice Cream

(In case you’re looking for recipes, Pansy Pride says to tell you that you’ll have to wait until the Merryweathers finish
Happy Thymes: A Calendula of Herbal Dillies
. All except for Myra’s secret recipe, of course. The Merryweathers have sworn a solemn oath never to reveal the ingredients.)

To cause basil to grow great, it is good to crop it oft with your fingers and not with any yron thing. Some report a marvellous strange thing of basil, as namely that it groweth fairer and higher, if it be sowen with curses and injuries offered unto it. . . .

GERVASE MARKHAM, MAISON RUSTIQUE, OR THE COUNTRY

FARME, 1616

JUNE 15

Today is the feast day of St. Vitus. He is invoked on behalf of people who suffer from epilepsy and St. Vitus Dance (Sydenham’s chorea, a nervous disorder).

“Medicinally, bloodroot was used as to treat coughs and stomach and urinary troubles,” Martha said. “The Iroquois also brewed a tea that they believed made the heart stronger and cleansed the blood of impurities. And they used it as a love charm.”

“A love charm,” I repeated thoughtfully. “I suppose that was because of its association with blood and the heart.”

“Perhaps.” Martha put her hat back on. “It had an important role in the sacred tradition. The Iroquois burned the leaves as a cleansing smoke to purify someone who had seen a dead person. And tribes in other parts of the country—the Ojibwa, the Ponca, the Potawatomi—used it to paint special identification marks on their faces, so that everyone would know at a glance what clan they belonged to. . . . Bloodroot must have been powerful medicine. . . .”

—BLOODROOT: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

Bloodroot
: About China’s Books

Bloodroot
, the tenth book in the China Bayles series, takes place at Jordan’s Crossing, the Mississippi plantation that belongs to China’s great-aunt Tulia. I chose the herb bloodroot as the signature herb because I wanted to explore the idea of “blood relatives” and what happens when we dig for the “root” of something dark in our past, something secret in our family.

Bloodroot—
Sanguinaria canadensis
—is a native American herb, powerful medicine for all the Indian tribes who used it. The genus name refers, of course, to the plant’s red juice, which was used by Indians as a skin dye and a powerful medicine. But “sanguinary” also refers to bloodshed, murder, and carnage, while “consanguineous” has to do with blood relationship. To me, bloodroot suggested bloodshed, which is deeply involved with, even caused by, the mysteries of family relationships and the taboos imposed on certain forbidden consanguinities.

Bloodroot was used to treat rheumatism, fever, epilepsy, and St. Vitus’ Dance. It is no longer used in these ways, and the Indian cultures that believed in its power no longer survive. But the name, and the history and lore of the plant, still inspire a kind of awe. I can certainly understand why the Iroquois used the herb as an incense to cleanse someone who had seen a ghost. Powerful medicine, indeed.

Read more:

Bloodroot: A China Bayles Mystery
, by Susan Wittig Albert

JUNE 16

The rosehip tea was iced and tasty, with the zing of ginger and a hint of anise. The jam cakes were light and luscious, and Winnie’s rose jam, hidden inside each slice of cake, was the color of rubies. We said little as we ate. The taste was too good to spoil with the rattle of words.

—LAVENDER LIES: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

Iced Herbal Teas

The days are getting warm, the herbs in the garden are bountiful, and it’s time to indulge in a pitcher of iced herbal tea. There are plenty of herbs to choose from, so get out your garden shears and a basket and go for it. But don’t just reach for the usual suspects: mint, lemon balm, and lemon verbena. Try these other summer-perfect tea herbs, for a splashy summer flavor.

• Anise hyssop (
Agastache foeniculum
), tastes of mint scented with anise, and its lavender-blue flowers lend a delightful accent. Other anise-flavored herbs: fennel, sweet cicely, and licorice.

• Lemon herbs taste fresh and cool. For a sunny combination, pair lemon balm or lemongrass with lemon verbena, lemon thyme, lemon basil, lemon geranium, the zest of a lemon. Mix and match until your taste is suited.

• All the mints—spearmint, peppermint, and the flavored mints—are delicious in iced teas.

• For a fragrant floral tea, blend lavender, rose petals, rosehips, and the leaves of rose geranium.

TO BREW A PITCHER OF ICED HERB TEA

Harvest leaves and flowers and rinse. Put several handfuls into a pitcher and fill with cold water. Refrigerate overnight. Pour over ice, garnish with fresh leaves and flowers, and sweeten to taste.