Pain Ache Daisy – Feverfew

This aromatic, lacy leaf daisy is a useful border plant. It is also a herb and is extremely easy to grow provided it has the occasional splash of water and a few rays of sunshine. If you have never been able to get a daisy to flourish in your garden or window box then grow this one. The flowers are a little smaller than most garden daisies and the leaves are usually lime green in colour. The young plants make a good addition to hanging baskets and tubs as fillers. I have several of these lovely daisies – the one below shares the border with the strawberry plants.

The Pain Ache Daisy or Feverfew is well known for its healing abilities and in some circles is called the ‘migraine mate.’

Feverfew

 

The main documented uses for the Feverfew Daisy are for the relief of headaches and migraines. It is also sometimes used as an aid to reduce swelling and the aches and pains from arthritis. Feverfew Daisies are known for their mild sedative powers. Some herb books refer to their use in the aid of asthma and tinnitus. The plant has the property to be able to lower the body’s temperature – cooling and soothing.

Hundreds of years ago the plant was used in childbirth as it was said to help the body remove the afterbirth or placenta. It was also taken to ease menstruation or encourage it to begin.

It’s use is even noted by Nicholas Culpeper who as early as 1653 noted it was especially good for a woman. Since then it has been found as a useful general herb for many ailments.

Warning: The Pain Ache or Feverfew Daisy must never be used/consumed by people taking warfarin or other blood thinning medicines.

The fresh leaves may produce mouth ulcers in some people.

This herb should not be used during pregnancy.

In the prevention of migraine two to three leaves eaten between a small piece of bread are claimed to have good results. If migraine is a long term problem then it may be best to take a tincture – four to five drops in a glass of water around three times a day.

There are now ‘feverfew’ capsules and tablets available in most vitamin and herbalist shops.

The plants are readily available from Garden Centres or may be cultivated from seed. They are often found in hedgerows – but if the intension is to use them as a herb then make sure that they are accurately identified and are growing on uncontaminated land.

The Devil’s Tear Drops …

A few years ago, whilst on holiday in Ireland I saw a most beautiful plant. It looked rather like a very large fuchsia. It was extremely old, tall and bushy and was dripping with thousands of blooms. When I returned back from my holiday I tried to find the plant for my own garden. Eventually, I spotted it at the back of a table of perennials – reaching over, you can imaging my surprise when I saw what it was called … ‘The Devil’s Tear Drops!’

I planted my small plant by the garden pond. It is now three years old and this year it has not been at its best as for most of the late spring the leaves have been limp … I’ve had a quick splash of colour as the flowers have opened. I am hoping that whatever caused the problem has passed as despite it’s very unromantic name – it is a most beautiful plant and I still think it looks similar to a fuchsia!

 

The Devil’s Tear Drops

Toad Hall

The weekend offered a rare guest, a toad. At one time our garden could have been considered a breeding ground for toads as they were to be found in every border. In the last few years, toads have diminished and so it was lovely to have spotted this handsome fellow. I’m not sure where he had been hiding but he was covered with cobweb and appears to have acquired a polystyrene ball as a souvenir.

Cat’s cradle

We launched into an early Summer trim in the garden today – just pruning off wild branches that were over-hanging and shading the borders. Trying to be as reasonably neat as possible we dragged all of the clippings into the centre of the lawn. Eventually it came time to scoop up the pile … but who should have made a small comfortable bed in its centre … the cat, of course. She had made herself a lovely cat’s cradle!

 

 

Cat’s cradle

Ice plant

As a child I always found Ice Plants fascinating and it wasn’t until around fifteen years ago when I first learnt that some people call Ice Plants – Houseleeks. This beautiful Alpine plant is now widely spread throughout the world and is at home in many cottage gardens where it thrives no matter how bad the soil or how dry the Summer. It flowers every few years and this appears to be the way that the plant thins itself out. They are often used as a ‘poor man’s Aloe Vera’ as the leaves can be broken off and gently rubbed onto burns for a soothing effect as they produce a jelly like substance not unlike the juice of the Aloe Vera plant.

 

Cobweb houseleek

 

Bedroom extensions

Despite being bombarded by an alien of indeterminate breed, the Leaf-cutter bees have made remarkable headway into the replenishment of their species. They are filling up the chambers with an unusual swiftness.

Leaf-cutter bees with two chambers complete and sealed

 

Rogue bee that is attacking the Leaf-cutter bees 

Unlike the other Leaf-cutter bees this one has determined stripes – more like those of the honey bee. I am still uncertain of it’s breed.

July’s bits and bobs of information

July is the traditional month for the making of mead. The Anglo-Saxons married the month to the meadows which were fully in bloom and ripe for producing rich golden honey. Mead, being both delicious and easy to make used to be drunk widely … I have made it and would recommend anyone to give it a try. It is, of course, alcoholic because of the sugar content of the honey and the use of yeast to make it ferment. Although it went out of fashion and favour long ago it is a rich, mellow, soothing and refreshing drink that lines the throat and gives the cheeks a glow.

Garden Lily in July

‘July, July here comes the magpie; there he will fly and here he will cry!’

‘A minute’s patience is an hour’s gain.’

July brings on Dog Days which it is claimed formerly begin on 3 July and last through until 3 September. For those who are unfamiliar with ‘dog days’ then it is best described as the sultry, low stamina time of the year when even time itself appears to slow down. The most well known of sayings that has been pinned around this period of time is ‘dog tired.’

‘Oh why is July the time of the fly?’

We celebrate or should I say recognise 15 July as being St Swithin’s Day – where it is claimed that if it rains on this day then for the next forty days and forty nights rain will follow. There is a very old rhyme that was used for people to remember the woe of St Swithin.

‘St Swithin’s Day if it should rain, for forty days rain shall remain – but St Swithin’s Day if it is fair then for forty days t’will rain *nae mair.’

*no more.

Evening Primrose

There are two kinds of Evening Primrose. One is the Common Evening Primrose which grows to approximately 1.5 metres and is used in producing Evening Primrose Oil. The other is this small rockery plant that produces large exotic flowers … this particular one has been grown from seed and should be at its best in a few short days.

War of the worlds

I have often read about the occasional rogue male elephant or other animals that split from their groups to go on and become violent and aggressive. It was still a shock to see something similar to this in my Leaf-cutter bees. A rogue has emerged. Here it is -

Rogue Leaf-cutter bee

The first time that I saw this rogue, I was hanging washing on the line. My washing line is just a few feet away from the Insect House. The bee appeared to be acting differently than the other bees. It was hanging about – kept landing and resting – then as soon as another bee returned with either a piece of leaf or with the intent of cleaning another chamber, up it would fly and then drop like a lead weight on top of the industrious bee.

I dived in to get my camera and managed to capture some of the attacks …

   

I thought at first that the result would be the death of one of the bees but this was a wrestling fight where one or other of the bees would strive to get on top. Each fight took several minutes and I was tempted to intervene. The aggressive bee is a slightly lighter colour than his counterparts. He may be a rogue from the same nest group or he may indeed be from a different Leaf-cutter colony. His sole intent appeared to be to stop the other bees from working. As battle after battle kept happening like war of the worlds I am left wondering why?

Leaf-cutter bees progress

The Insect House is looking a little more shabby this year and although the bee activity has begun much later than previous years the bees are making excellent progress. There appear to be more of the Leaf-cutter bees this year. They are buzzing around both the little shed where the insect house sits and also around the bird table. I think they may be looking for extra holes to adapt as breeding chambers – time will tell.

Leaf-cutter bee cleaning a bamboo chamber

 

This year’s Leaf-cutter bees are working at a very fast pace – but they are not so meticulous with their housekeeping chores and the bamboo canes that the bees convert into chambers to lay their eggs do not look so scrupulously clean as usual. 

Monday Moth

Day-on-day the temperature in Britain is rising. As a young girl I was often told that when there are a perfusion of moths flying about at night it is a sign of the onset of a very warm and sunny weather period. Tonight there were more moths than ever – dancing about in the late evening. Many were kissing the electric lights (the new low energy ones at least doesn’t scorch their delicate wings), others were simply resting on any surface they could find.

I found this Small Magpie Moth on the door in the bathroom. It is quite common in Britain especially in Southern Scotland, Northern England and Ireland but less frequent in the Midlands, Wales and Southern England. This is the first one that I have seen for several years.

Small Magpie Moth

This picture makes the white of the moth look slightly blue but in actual fact it is a very definite white. The wingspan measures 2.6 cm. The moth can be found flying around during the months of June and July. It lays its eggs on nettles and the young caterpillars can be found rolled up in the nettle leaves.

Static swarm

Every year, around the time of Midsummer, marks the beginning of the insect swarming season. So far this year I have seen one large swarm of bees, which is good news for both gardeners and growers alike as there is a definite shortage of bees this year.

Today, it was time for the ants. In Britain, we are currently on the edge of a heat wave – perfect swarming weather. The ants all but spurted out from their nests but what should have followed with a cloud in flight, didn’t happen. Each of the nests only pushed out around ten winged ants. The remainder were all standard workers milling about on their six little legs and transporting a few very small white eggs several feet to perhaps begin a new colony.

For an insect to change its usual behavioural pattern that has been flowing smoothly for millions of years is worrying. Even if insects aren’t your favourite creatures they are most essential to the eco system and any change in their pattern of behaviour could warrant the death knell of another creature. If insect patterns dramatically change then it will eventually impact upon us. So take a look around. Check out your local insects – are they behaving normally? Do you see any changes? Are the ants in your area swarming on the wing?

Cuckoo

This is the very first year that I have not heard one cuckoo and although their very habits could almost be straight from a horror movie, I can honestly say I have missed their distant haunting call. For those who are not familiar with the cuckoo then their lifestyle is like no other bird. Firstly, it spends its Winters in Africa. The younger males reach British shores the second or third week of April and taunt us all. In flight it is often mistaken for the sparrowhawk but looks slightly heavier in motion added to which it has a long, pointed tail and wings. When it courts it gives out a dual note in its ‘cuckoo’ call, this is the male calling to it’s Jen, the female. The female call is a happy warble or trill.

The parents never build a nest – but it is known that with experience, the female will often look for the nests of species where her forebears have successfully had young raised. They have the capacity to almost mimic the eggs of the birds whose nests they choose to hatch and rear the one egg they deposit. There are over fifty different species that cuckoos eggs have been found in. The mother cuckoo will steal one egg from the nest that she chooses so there is less chance for the foster parents to suspect anything is wrong. Once the young cuckoo has hatched out (even though it is all skin and weak looking), its one intent is to clear the nest – so whether there are remaining eggs or off-spring of its foster parents it will hoist up the living bundles onto a hollow in its back and throw them onto the ground. The cuckoo is a murderer! The baby cuckoo then has the entire attention of its foster parents who proceed to feed it with a frenzy as it grows for three weeks until it fledges. They continue to support it for a further week or so until it is fully independent.

Around the time of Midsummer the parent cuckoo will change their tunes. There is a little rhyme that is taught to remind us all of this … here are two versions of it:

The cuckoo comes in April She sings her song in May In the middle of June she whistles her tune In July she flies away

The cuckoo comes in April She sings her song in May In June she changes her tune In July she prepares to fly In August go she must.

The last of the adults fly back to Africa in early August followed by the newly fledged birds in September. The young migrate unaided and alone.

One of the oldest rhymes that I have found dates back to around 1200. Sadly, to the best of my knowledge, the author is unknown. Here it is – in very old English style:

The Cuckoo ................

Summer is y-comen in, Loude sing, cuckoo! Groweth seed and bloweth meed And spring’th the woode now- Sing cuckoo!

Ewe bleateth after lamb, Low’th after calfe cow, Bullock starteth, bucke farteth. Merry sing, cuckoo!

Cuckoo, Cuckoo! Well sing’st thou, cuckoo: Ne swike thou never now!

Sing cuckoo, now! Sing, cuckoo! Sing cuckoo! Sing, cuckoo now!

Little note: This is the first week of Windy's - Saturday Saved - the Best For Last~Club ... see you there! An extra special thank you to Windy who is truly the Blogger's Blogger of all time. He's a lovely man who will help anyone and is affectionately thought of in all blogging circles. If you have never met him then why not go over and say 'hallo' - you will always be welcome - and Windy will, forgive the pun, just blow your mind! *** Windmill on the Hill***

With a nod and a wink

Here is a lovely site worth checking out ....... ;)

I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Midsummer madness

The twenty-forth day of June, Midsummer’s Day … the wild abandonment of the free spirit, a day of portend, ritual, love and anticipation. A day when all things are possible and even dreams come true.

Time to look out for fairy rings, the tiny toadstools that from time-to-time grow in a circle … but only, it is said, when fairies dance by the light of the moon. When you find one then simply stand in the middle, turn around three whole times, close your eyes and make a wish. It is claimed that the wish will be all the more potent if done when the moon has risen.

If love has been found then rose petals should be gathered at the full height of the sun, placed in a wooden bowel then in the early evening as the dew is falling -softly sprinkle them onto the earth and walked slowly over the area. This ensures love will be steadfast and true.

The poker plant is now in perfect bloom.

Red Hot Poker

I have had my gift from the fairies … the beautiful leaf-cutter bees made their first debut of this year today. The little insect house is looking a little worse for wear. It is another year older, has developed a crack in the front of the lower section and is currently covered with debris from the over-hanging tree, the odd thread of spider’s web and the remains of last year’s leaf-cutter bee clutter that was used to seal up the bamboo nesting site. The bees are dutifully pulling and pushing to clear the holes ready for this year’s new chambers to make ready for their eggs.

The insect house

Leaf-cutter Bees

Gone with the fairies

Many years ago my Grandma had two rambling button fairy roses one of which was pink and the other red. When I say red, I mean farmer’s red which is a deep red pink a most old-fashioned colour that once adorned the lips of women during the Second World War. It is a flower colour that I really love and can be found on the common peony.

I have tried to purchase rambling button fairy roses over a very long time but without success … but today I found this beautiful pink rambling fairy rose – not quite a small as the button variety but still tumbling with small flowers and buds. Its scent is soft and a mixture of rose and apple blossom. The flower size of this naturally beautiful flower is similar to that of the wild rose.

 

Pink Rambling Fairy Rose