Progress in the garden.

MID JULY AND STILL STRUGGLING WITH THE GARDEN.

I’ve not spent a lot of time here recently; most of my time seems to be taken up trying to get the garden finished. 

The one thing I love about all this rain is the way it’s made the dandelions on my neighbours grass grow and bloom, and of course she’s not managed to cut the grass because of the rain. I keep taking photos of her grass with my mobile because I so love the look of it covered in bright yellow dandelions, and I know she will be out there mowing it all away soon.

My struggle with the white masonry paint continues and it’s developed into constant battle against the rain. It seems as soon as I manage to get a coat of paint on the walls the rain pours down and washes it all away before it has a chance to dry.  I am left with a big mess and as soon as the sun comes out………….I start all over again. I suppose some bits are beginning to look ok but ohhhh this is hard work. It is hard to get the paint to cover those walls, it’s messy, so much goes on the floor, so much goes all over me and it really does take an awful lot of paint. Already I’ve had to buy more paint, I never realised painting masonry is so difficult. BUT; I am beginning to see progress, when I look at some of it, especially the bits where I can see the white walls against the blue fences; I remember what the original vision was. When I stand back and look at the bigger picture the mess hits me all over again. I just have to hold that picture of the finished effect in my head and hang on to the belief that it WILL look the way I planned some day soon.

Just to make a change from wall painting, I did another spot of babysitting, and while I was babysitting’ my youngest grandson put on his joke Harry Potter glasses that squirt water out of the frame via a tube attached to a small pump in his hand. He thought this was joke of the century. I thought it was quite funny the first time, and the second time was ok…………..but after 20 or 30 times of being soaked from squirty Harry Potter glasses, well I guess I became grumpy old granny and lost my sense of humour.


Today, my friend from art Class took me out in the car again. We returned to the little tiny hamlet we found last week called Boddin and went in search of the Lime Kilns. I did some drawing and she did a painting and then we went for a wander. Today I did manage to get a shot of the ruined Salmon Station and the old Bothy with my mobile. The photos are not very good but it is the best I can do with out a proper camera.


I found something quite special on the beach today. It’s just a stone but it is a perfect replica of a large chickens egg!! This stone feels like an egg in your hand, it looks like an egg and it’s exactly the right size and shape. I did wonder if it could be a fossilised egg??


Anyhow……………..that just about concludes my busy schedule over the last week or so. And; the hard work is paying off…….it is looking better in the garden already and I suppose I’ve done the hardest part. It will be so nice to sit here and not think about which job I’m going to tackle next.

Medicinal Herbs and plants; Common Dandelion

Medicinal Herbs and plants; Common Dandelion.

 

This is such a common plant every one has them in their garden. It is of the genus Taraxacum, and  has hundreds of ‘new species’ being described as it tends to hybrid naturally; but all of these hybrid plants act in exactly the same way so if they are being collected as a useful herb the exact species or sub species really does not matter. As a medical herb the roots and the leaves are used. The both contain trannins, glycosidic substances and insulin. The milky sap of the plant has a beneficial effect on the liver and kidney. The leaves contain vitamins C and B(2). This herb can help prevent gallstones and kidney stones and is generally recommended by herbalists in the treatment of digestive and bowel disorders. It is also useful in the treatment of rheumatic disorders especially if an excess of uric acids is involved.

 

 

Treatment is usually administered in the form of an infusion prepared by  briefly boiling  one tablespoon of the crumbled dried root to one cup of water and then allowing it to steep for about twenty minutes. This is taken twice per day.

 

 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a serving of uncooked dandelion leaves contains 280 percent of an adult's daily requirement of beta carotene as well as more than half the requirement of vitamin C. Dandelions are also rich in vitamin A.

 

Dandelions are also used as herbal remedies. The white sap from the stem and root is used as a topical remedy for warts. The whole plant is used as a diuretic and liver stimulant.

 

 

Dandelions can be beneficial to a garden ecosystem as well as to human health. Dandelions attract beneficial insects such as ladybirds. In a study done at an American University, experimental plots with dandelions had more ladybirds than plots without dandelions, and fewer pest aphids, (due to the ladybirds eating all the aphids). Dandelions long roots aerate the soil and enable it to accumulate minerals, these minerals are added to the soil when the dandelion dies. 

 

 

 

 

Dandelion Wine

 

 Keep in mind that this recipe was obtained from an "old timer", and has been passed down (hand written) over the years. You can modify it, experiment with it as you please. Note: the secret to the potency of this wine is in the raisins. The more raisins, the stronger your wine will be.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Dandelion blossoms

1 Gallon of Water

1 qt. of Water

2 lbs. Sugar

2 Oranges

1 Lemon

Yeast

1 handful of Raisins

 

Makes one gallon

 

Directions:

 

Use only fresh blossoms, from which all stems are removed (otherwise it will be a bitter wine). For every gallon of flowers (well packed but not crushed) pour one gallon of boiling water over them. Let this mixture sit 24 hours or so. It will smell really weird (sort of like artichoke water - Don't worry this is okay). Then, add lemon, oranges, raisins (Note: I add 2-3 to mine!), sugar (Use a bit less than this for a drier wine) and yeast. Special wine or bread yeast both work well. Add a little (about 1 quart) of hot water over the top of this mixture. Put cheesecloth over the opening of the container (to keep bug-beasties out) and let sit and ferment for 10 days.

 

It will boil and bubble most merrily!

 

After the 10 days, strain into a cask/vat/container. If you don't have fancy wine-making equipment a bottle from those water fountain dispensers (5 gal.) with a water seal works great. For water seal, put a large cork in the top of the container through which you can run some aquarium tubing. Seal the top with duct tape (to ensure no air leaks) and run the tubing from inside the liquid about halfway inside the bottle, downwards into a bucket of water. Water seal lets the carbon dioxide escape from the fermenting wine, into the water, letting no air into the process. Let this arrangement sit for however long it takes, until there is no further fermentation/action taking place, and the liquid looks clear. Then siphon off the wine (taking care not to disturb the sediment in the bottom) and bottle it.

 

This wine can be tasted at this point, but is better if you let it sit about 3 more months.

 

Happy wine making!

 

 

Thanks to the Flower Recipe Group for this recipe.

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