Message #710 - THE_HERBALIST Date: 01-04-96 19:38 From: Song Bird To: All Subject: Country Living Gardener ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Picked up the Feb 96 issue of this magazine and found some interesting things. One of their reader's wrote in to share her methods of "manure tea" on her garden. She takes a 1 gallon milk jug, cuts out the bottom and pokes holes in the side, then burys it 3/4 of the way spout down. Then she fills the jug with manure and fills it up with water - creating a slow draining manure "tea-pot" 8) They've got a great article on surfing the Internet with all kinds of information on web sites, etc. There are articles on; Hellebores, on Bosky Dell - a nursery that specializes in saving and propagating native species that are in the way of construction and other various forms of progress, a great article on the culinary uses of Fennel and it's various botanical forms, a calender of 1996 Flower shows around the Country, a picturesque layout on both a Maryland garden - an Oregon garden - and an unusal oriental garden in New York. There is an intoxicating display of old Gallica roses that are making a comeback in the states. They are hardy, disease resistant, intensely fragrant varieties with 10 different varieties displayed. I've never been much one for tea roses but I love the rambling varieties. Bananas! I've never seen so many bananas! In an article that highlights Richardson's Seaside Banana Garden, the author explains that there are hundreds of seedless banana's that grow around the world - with 50% of banana crops being grown in Africa and never exported. I had fresh ripe bananas off the tree in Mexico and ooooo were they good! Lots to know about bananas - like the banana tree is actually an herb with a false stem made of sap-filled leaf bases that die back (or are cut back when too old) so that suckers at the base of plant can take over production. There is an article on water gardening and another on a painter's garden, one on "vest-pocket gardens", one on "Fancy Greens" with some recipes that look really good and some tips on how these confusing multitudes of greens really do taste, a decent article on planting now for dog-day weather, other article on Plants for winter gardens with some good tips for how to spruce up winter scenery Evergreen trees and shrubs - winter berries - barks and twigs - grasses and stalks - and trees that flower in the earliest spring. Towards the end there is a good article with three good herbal bath recipes. It was written by Jeanne Rose and I'll say this for the woman, she really knows her cosmetic recipes. I've had some doubts about her medicinal herb concotions but these bath recipes are excellent. Rejuvenating and Regenerating Bath 1 oz. each of lavender, rosemary, peppermint, comfrey root, lemon thyme, fresh or dried roses, and aloe. Muscle Relaxing Bath 2 oz. sassafras bark 1 oz each of burdock root, mugwort, agrimony, comfrey leaf, and sage. Serenity Bath 1 part ea (she uses large and small handfuls which I'll call 1 and 1/2 part respectively) violet leaves, pansy flower, cowslips, spearmint, rose flowers, and 1/2 part mistletoe herb. I thought this was really a good issue and given that the yearly subscription rate is 14.97 a year for 6 issues that makes it only about 2.50 an issue which is cheap for such pleasure. Country Living Gardener P.O. Box 7335 Red Oak, IA 51591-2335 (By the by, folks, I don't got anything but a great deal of pleasure out of this plug for the magazine.) Song Bird --- DB 1.58/003114 * Origin: The Coffee House - naturalists table (93:9902/3) @PATH: 9902/3 0 9900/0 9000/0 9004/0