Book Review: The Secrets of Wildflowers

“The Secrets of Wildflowers: A delightful Feast of Little-Known Facts, Folklore, and History”

by Jack Sanders

This was a Christmas gift and I’ve been losing myself in it on and off through the spring. The word “Feast” in the title is very appropriate – and “delightful” it is too!

Although the focus is on North American flowers, many are also prevalent in Germany and Europe, some even native. In the introduction the author states that his book covers both “natives and immigrants, friends or foes, because both kinds are here and both are interesting”. I like this attitude, as I find so many non-native plants growing wild, and think they are just as valuable as the native ones.

Divided into Spring, Summer, Late Summer and Fall, it is easy to find what is flowering now. Each flower has its own chapter, which gives some botanical information and tells you a little about the plant’s history, the common names given, uses (medicinal, culinary etc) and myths or traditions surrounding it. The chapters are broken up nicely into little chunks – very readable. The botanical details are also fed to the reader in a clear way, without getting too complicated and without being patronizing. I am learning so much and in such an enjoyable tone.

I was immediately impressed because it is the first source I have found that upholds my belief that Hepatica nobilis sometimes gives off a wonderful scent… I was beginning to think it was my imagination, but Sanders quotes the naturalist John Burroughs: “Group after group may be inspected, ranging through all shades of purple and blue, with some perfectly white, and no odor to be detected, when presently you will happen upon a little brood of them that have a most delicate and delicious fragrance.”

Occasionally a poem or quotes are included, even a recipe or two, and the little lesser known details and legends are so fascinating! Did you know, for example, that gypsies used to smoke Coltsfoot leaves (Tussilago) for pleasure? Or that spring violet leaves are extremely high in vitamin C? Or that a German scientist counted 93 species of insect that visited the dandelion flower?…

I shall be reading each chapter as the flower appears here, learning new and interesting facts and enjoying the feast daily. This book gets top marks for writing style AND content. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves wild flowers!

The Woods (and my 500th post!)

Yes, 500th! Phew!

Last Sunday I went to look for some wild garlic and to inspect this tree in the woods next to our garden – fortunately just far enough away from the house if it comes down…. We’ve watched (and heard) woodpeckers tapping away at it, and wonder what the cause of its demise was. The dreaded bark beetle (Borkenkäfer)?

In any case, I was drawn further into the woods when I saw all the vinca growing there – a blue-green carpet of loveliness!

With filtered sunlight it looks so at home – much prettier than the garden varieties I think.

Then I struggled through lots of dead wood and sprouting bushes to find these…

and these…

and these – my favourites!

Click on any picture below for a closer look.

Coltsfoot

Tussilago farara

The Song of the Coltsfoot Fairy

The winds of March are keen and cold;

I fear them not, for I am bold.

I wait not for my leaves to grow;

They follow after: they are slow.

My yellow blooms are brave and bright;

I greet the Spring with all my might.

(by Cicely Mary Barker)

I only saw a couple of these beauties in March, barely open. The one above was March 2012, and the ones photographed below on April 1st 2013 were still quite small. They certainly need all their might this Spring!

The name (Huflattich in German) comes from their hoof-shaped leaves that appear later and grow to a tremendous size. They can be used in all sorts of herbal remedies, including cough sweets; the “tussilago” part of the name comes from the Latin for “suppressing a cough”. (Ever heard of “Coltsfoot Rock“?)

The next photo is not too clear as the forest floor was quite dim, but here you can see the flower head in more detail -  pollinating insects crawl over the tiny little male florets within the bloom which contain nectar and give off pollen, then they fly to the next flower and use the female outer ray petals for landing, where pollen is brushed over the stigmas. Normally the Coltsfoot is an important early source of nectar and pollen for bees, but I have only seen one bee this year so far. However, the outer petals close over the central florets in wet and cloudy weather, and the plant therefore also self-pollinates. Double safe!

Do you see this plant in your part of the world?

(And if anyone has some better photos of the flower head, I’d love to see them!)

Reclaiming Desert

I often watch TED talks and was recently fascinated by this one by Allan Savory, a biologist, ecologist and “holistic manager” of grasslands.

Reversing desertification – land turning to desert – has become his life mission after he made a terrible mistake in his early career as a biologist; while setting up national parks in Africa the land set aside began to deteriorate and it was blamed on elephants…

With a simple – oh SO simple – method, much desertification can be reversed with stunning speed. Climate CAN be changed – to the positive! If we can change microclimates on a large scale, we are changing macroclimate.

I found this talk informative, revealing and also very moving. So if you get a chance over the weekend, do take a look.

Allan Savory: How to green the desert and reverse climate change

The Tail End of Winter

Words from Chapter One of “The Little Grey Men” by B.B., a wonderful old children’s book set in the heart of the English countryside…

“It was one of those days at the tail end of the winter when spring, in some subtle way, announced its presence.”

“The hedges were still purple and bristly, the fields bleached and bitten, full of quarrelling starling flocks; but there was no doubt about it, the winter was virtually over and done with for another seven months.”

“The great tide was on the turn, to creep so slowly at first and then to rise ever higher to culminate in the glorious flood, the top of the tide, at midsummer.”

“Think of it! All that power, all those millions of leaves, those extra inches to be added to bushes, trees, and flowers. It was all there under the earth, though you would never have guessed it.”