9 Colonial Herbs and Their Uses

"Yarrow...The Leaves are esteemed cooling, drying, binding, serviceable in all kinds of Haemorrhages..." 

-Elizabeth Blackwell

These etchings and the information are from John Hill's Virtues of British Herbs, first published in 1771. Sir John Hill was a prolific writer, doctor and botanist in the second half of the 1700s. He started apprenticing at an apothecary in his early years and went on to earn a medical degree at Edinburgh. He later opened his own apothecary shop. He was known for his multiple books on vegetables and herbs. His writings were so prolific, he was even wrongly attributed as the author of Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. 

The herbs and flowers listed below would have been very familiar with 18th century women. Many of these grew naturally in Britain and the United States and these plants were commonly used as infusions to treat remedies or as compresses to be held against the skin. The book specifies that most of these useful herbs are found in fields, just as they are today. If you weren't paying attention, you probably would skip over them.

The book reviewer in The Critical Review in 1771 commented that Hill's book was likely intended for private families as the remedies were not in professional use at the time. It was nevertheless a popular book that went through multiple printings and found itself on both sides of the Atlantic by the 1850s.          

***The information below is purely for educational purposes and is not medical advice.***

 Although, many modern day herbalists and individuals will attest to their effectiveness, there have been few clinical trials on their uses as remedies. Never use a plant that you cannot identify 100 % and always be aware of the side effects of any plant you might want to use.  

Coltsfoot Leaves (Tussilago farfara)

Uses: Kidney Inflammation, Asthma, Consumption. 

***Can cause liver damage. 

Great Daisy / Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum)

                         Use: Diuretic, to clean the kidneys.

                         Infusion of leaves. 

Daisy (Bellis perennis)

Uses: Fevers, Internal Inflammations
Infusion with Honey and Milk

Receipt: 

Clip small a quantity of the Leaves fresh
gathered; put them into an earthen pipkin,
and pour upon them as much boiling water as
will cover them. Let this stand all night. In
the morning boil it a few minutes; and put in
as much honey as will fweeten it. A half-pint
bafin of this mould be drank warm three times
a day.

English Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis)

Uses: Improving Appetite, Assisting Digestion: Strong tea made from the flowers.

Colic and Indigestion : Strong Tea made of the leaves.

Feverfew (Matricaria parthenium)  

Use: Relieves Headaches

Leaves as an infusion or compress.

Goldenrod (Solidago)

Uses: Internal Bruising, Diuretic.

Infusion of leaves, young leaves are best.

Senico (Senecio sarracenicus) or Broadleaf Ragwort

                         Use: Heals bruises.

                         Used as an infusion.

Tanzy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Uses: Relief of putrid Fevers and Epileptic Fits.

Flowers, powdered.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Use: Pain Relief

Drank as an infusion or made into a compress mixed with equal parts Toadflax.

Further Reading

Blackwell, Elizabeth. A Curious Herbal. London, 1739.

Dillon, Clarissa F. "a Work Highly of Use." Vol. 1. Harleysville, PA, 2006.

Dillon, Clarissa F. "a Work Highly of Use." Vol. 2. Harleysville, PA, 2011.

Hill, John. Virtues of British Herbs: With Their History, and Figures, and an Account of the Diseases They Will Cure ... London: Printed for R. Baldwin. 1772.

Tryon, Thomas. The Good House-wife Made a Doctor; Or, Health's Choice and Sure Friend Being a Plain Way of Nature's Own Prescribing, to Prevent and Cure Most Diseases... London: Printed for H. N. and T. S. and Sold by Randal Taylor, 1692.

The Fruits of Your Labor

It's January and, as always, I've just received my gardening catalogs in the mail waiting to tempt me with their bright colors and juicy fruits. It always works. I'm not even thinking about a garden because of the frigid temperatures and the frozen ground but once those catalogs come, I'm planning the gardens of Versailles.

I've always had a very small garden. I am very limited in what I can grow so I normally have two small raised beds with tomatoes, green peppers, green onion, etc. and one raised bed of experimental vegetables. Last year, my experimental vegetables were leeks and onions. The leeks grew nice, but if I was to do it again, I would buy plants instead of starting from seeds. The leeks take two years to reach a good cooking size. The onions didn't grow as planned. They sprouted a lot of leaves but stayed tiny bulbs. I don't know what I did wrong, but probably won't try again until I get more space.

This year, I think I'm doing away with the experimental bed and just planting herbs like I've always threatened. No, really this time. :) Then again, half of the fun of gardening might be those plants that are planted just for fun.

Did you know that I was afraid to eat my garden produce for a long time? Yes, I know that's crazy. I used to think that I might have done something wrong and it would kill everyone. I thought that the produce you get at the grocery store must be grown in tested dirt and cleaned a special way to make it safe. :) As much as I laugh about that now, I'm not surprised that a lot of people think the way I used to. Maybe it's the fact that you see dirt on the vegetables that you pick yourself and at the store it looks squeaky clean. However, I also feel that society as a whole tends to perpetrate a myth that grocery store produce is somehow safer than homegrown food.

It also doesn't help that there have been a lot of ridiculous government incidents recently involving homegrown/cooked food, raw milk, privately raised meat etc. Those news articles about people having to pay huge fines for growing their own food are scary but what can be more natural than growing what you eat? You see it from seed to plate. My only limitation is my tiny plot.

Tips for people with tiny gardens:

1. Practice cooking vegetables. This sounds silly but once you have a lot, you'll have to use them in everything. For the time you don't have a big garden, collect recipes that include a lot of the produce you wish to grow someday. 

2. Grow what is cost effective or what is fun. If you aren't worried about cost, you can grow what is fun. If you have limited means grow things that grow easy in your area and are cost effective. Plants like lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes can typically be grown with little effort and are a lot cheaper than they cost in the store. I've never had luck with veggies like carrots so they've always been cheaper for me to buy. 

3. Think creatively about what can be used for planting. I've long had a deck garden of tomato plants in various plastic tubs. Herb plants can be grown in small pots in the kitchen. Plants can be grown in hanging pots. I've even seen some creative "vertical gardens," such as this one made in a shoe organizer. I'm not sure I'd grow tomatoes in there but that would be perfect for keeping herbs away from small critters. 

4. Borrow space. See if your local 4H or park has a garden club or gardening space for rent. If you are really lucky, you may even be able to borrow some land from a friend. 

5. If allowed in your area, consider edible landscaping. This would be my goal, if I had a yard of my own. I've always wanted fruit trees. A house nearby does a little bit of edible landscaping, their driveway is lined by rows of veggies, from smallest to tallest having root veggies in the front and corn in the back.     

Is anyone else starting the garden plans already? I am even more intensely inspired because I read an account of a woman who recreated the historical colonial gardens where I work, back in the 80s. The colonial accounts from women she included were interesting and made gardening seem like the natural way of things.  

Happy Earth Day!

It's pretty rainy here, but I thought I'd put together a list of fun Earth friendly tutorials and websites! I can't wait to get started on the garden this year. I am scaling down this year. I am only going to grow herbs, a few tomato plants and leeks. Andy is going to grow a few tomatoes and corn in his garden. Neither of us have tried corn before but it should be fun. 

 Tutorials:

-Make Your Own Seed Bombs- This tutorial uses newspaper to make biodegradable seed "tokens." I'm thinking that this would be a really neat thing to use to trade heirloom seeds for herbs with friends.
-Vertical Gardens- Vertical gardening mixed with aquaponics. Garden inspiration to save space.
-Birdseed Wreath- Tutorial for a very cool wreath made from birdseed, gelatin and corn syrup.   
-Pea Trellis- Make a simple plant trellis with string and sticks. This website has a lot of garden projects and recipes. 
-12 Vertical Gardens- Very creative gardens, designed to save garden space.

Websites:

-Urban Homesteading: Heirloom skills for sustainable living
. This is the website and blog of the author of the book "Urban Homesteading." There is lots of useful information here, even if you don't buy her book.
-Growing Tomatoes- This website has a lot of good information on growing tomatoes. I have never had a lot of luck with tomatoes but this site is really helpful.    
-The Good Acre: Surviving Hard Times With a Family Garden: An account of victory gardens during WWII.
- Aspiring Homemaker- If you haven't been over to Mia's blog, her family is a homesteading inspiration.

Does anyone have any favorite websites, tutorials, or books on gardening, homesteading, self-sufficiency etc.? Please share!

Colonial Kitchen Garden: Directions for the Year from 1799

The Kitchen Garden in Colonial times was tended to by the ladies of the house. In the garden were grown vegetables, greens, and herbs. Most of what was grown in the kitchen garden was used to feed the family and was not sold for a profit. Many herbs were grown by the family for use as flavorings and medicines.

The ladies of the house would also be responsible for the cooking or preserving of everything in the kitchen garden. The common methods of preserving were drying, smoking, salting, pickling, or jellying. Canning had not been invented yet. Following is an excerpt from The Laboratory, written in 1799, at the end of the Colonial era. It is very interesting to see that there was always something to be doing on a colonial farm, even in December. I am very interested that they would still be growing things in the winter.       

My Tiny Little Garden

The weather has finally been nice a few days in a row. For a while it was steaming hot one day and we were wearing sweaters the next. I finally put some seeds in the garden. I know--it's very late. I don't grow things seriously, I just love growing things. I can't explain it. When Andy and I met, I had cucumbers in the garden that looked like a bunch of polliwiggles. (I guess it was a good conversation starter on our first date.) I am not a good gardener and I suffer from "Charlie-Brown-Tree Syndrome," which I inherited from my mother.

For those of you who do not know what that is, it is when you feel bad for a scrawny little half dead plant and feel that you need to tenderly nurse it back to health and restore its great potential. The syndrome kicks in when you are in the plant section of home improvement stores and you feel bad for that stick of a plant--you know, the one that was knocked on the ground, rendered dirtless, stepped on and denied water? Yes--we are the people who buy that plant (actually most stores are more than likely willing to give it to you.)

I still love to grow things regardless if they turn out pretty or at all. During the winter, I just get an itch to watch things grow. When summer comes along I just can't help but planting. I find it astounding the potential that exists in a tiny seed. A huge oak tree is  grown from a tiny acorn, it is amazing!

I decided to try square foot gardening this year. I have three matching 2'x4' boxes. The wood was originally going to be two 4'x4' boxes but then I had to move where I was going to put them. They still look nice even though I lost planting space. At some point I plan on getting more lumber and making a fourth box. (My parents asked me why I made squares in the garden. I told them it was so my mother would "farm" the plants when I was away. Is anyone else's mother addicted to that facebook farmville game?)

This is the first year in my lifetime that we have had wild bunnies come to our neighborhood. We also have two big groundhogs. I sometimes see the bunnies sitting next to the boxes even though there isn't plants in them yet-- they must have learned through experience that a wooden box means a bunch of good veggies. I don't mind I plan on only fencing two of the boxes and leaving the far one for the animals. If they get the rest of the plants, I won't mind too much.

I hope to be a more serious gardener in the future, possibly even growing all of my own produce, but that is years and years away. I admire people who get some kind of "crop" from their gardens. My only goal for this year is to grow enough Roma tomatoes to make some spaghetti sauce (gravy if you live in my house.)


*Note: The drawings are taken from the 1911 version of The Secret Garden, one of my favorite stories when I was little.