A Pot Pourreee.

My camera is back! And so I went for a walk and finally took all the pictures of blossoming plants, including those in my garden, if only they hadn't.....sigh. Withered away. Heat has arrived, and nature is following its course into dry season, clear blue, sunny skies in an arid dusty environment with dried weeds and thistles everywhere, the picture one seems to have in mind when thinking of all Southern European countries. Soon nobody'll believe that there was a lush springtime with green yards, hip-high vegetation and flowers flowers flowers. Ah well, next year.

Here's proof that I did pick oregano. It's hanging in bundles to dry in my 'by-kitchen', a storage room or pantry next to my kitchen where I keep all our groceries and harvested products dry and cool (as cool as it might stay with 'natural cooling'; 60cm thick walls help).



In other news, I am currently brewing a magical potion a mixture of Chinese herbs for three hours to produce tea that hopefully raises my energy level by increasing my Xue (or blood), because that's what I lack according to the doc. Let's withstand to say that the concoction is a bit smelly, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'd find a crow's claw or a rat's tail in there.



While chuckling about the idea of a witch's pot in my kitchen, I'm at the same time thinking about the immense botanical and therapeutical knowledge the Chinese had and still have, and I cannot but wonder how much of that knowledge our Western civilization once possessed but successfully extinguished by sending all the wise women aka wicked witches to the stake.
It's a fascinating journey to learn about the edible and useful parts of plants - fruit, leaves, root or maybe even the stem- and how to prepare them for their different usages. Lots of books are written about the issue, and lots of hearsay is in the air. But I am sure there's so much more we once knew and have forgotten. Everyone still knows some customs of yore, such as the well-known effects plants like chamomile, sage, or mint have on our health, but even those plants had a much broader and more holistic spectrum of healing abilities once than we now commonly remember.
Aside from what I read I rarely hear from people about a plant's usage for wounds, or infections, or pain, or anxiety, or the opposite effect of using it as an extract against insects, lice, worms, and other unwanted creatures, and when I do, it's always elder people telling me. In our time of ready-for-use medicine people seem to have forgotten even the obvious and treatments that were common amongst our grandmothers have been replaced by their pharmaceutical equivalents; cos it's obviously less elaborate to buy the ready stuff from the drug store than taking your time to collect and prepare herbs.
I am surely not questioning the value of modern medicine and science, but I think people are popping pills too easily where more natural therapies and ancient medicines could heal the body (or soul) more gentle, often without any (long-term) side effects.



Yanni still remembers the poor times during the junta when they ate the little 'breads' or 'cheeses' of the Dwarf Mallow (Malva neglecta) as a substitute for sweets and the fruit of the Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqua) as chocolate.