Mindful Monday

Harbinger of Spring

Erigenia Bulbosa

Erigenia bulbosa, also known as harbinger of spring or pepper and salt, is a perennial plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). E. bulbosais the only species in the genus Erigenia (Nutt.). This plant is known as harbinger of spring because it is one of the earliest blooming native wildflowers of rich forests in the mid-latitude United States. It is found as far north as central New York and southern Wisconsin, west to the western Ozarks, and south to central Alabama.^[1] It is also found in extreme southern Ontario.Throughout most of its range it blooms from late February through early April. It is a small spring ephemeral reaching only 5–15 cm tall when in flower, and slightly larger afterwards. Each spherical bulb gives rise to a single purplish stem, which terminates in an umbel. The flowers have white petals and large dark-reddish anthers. The teardrop shaped petals are 3-4 millimeters long, widely spaced and do not touch each other. As is characteristic of the carrot family, the leaves of this plant are sheathed at the base and pinnately divided into many small sections.

The bulb is edible both cooked and raw.^[5] The Cherokee were known to chew this plant as medicine for toothaches; it is unknown what parts of plant they chewed.^[6] This plant is sometimes used in native wildflower gardens throughout its range.*

* Thank you Wikipedia

Mindful Monday

"If I have a spade," she whispered, 

"I can make the earth nice and soft and dig up weeds.  If I have seeds and can make flowers grow, the garden won't be dead at all—it will come alive."

Mary Lennox

from

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Fruits of Our Labors

We have the tremendously good fortune of having a wonderful neighbor.  Miss Morell is an older woman who has lived an exceptionally hard life (at least on American terms) and she is one of the "givingest" people I know.  On her single acre of land she grows a phenomenal variety of flowers.  There are fruit trees as well, of many different varieties. The greenness of her thumb is beyond compare.  She also always grows a garden that would put the average prepper to shame  Much of what is in her garden she no longer eats. Between ailments that restrict her diet and time worn habit, she frankly subsists on barely any food at all.  But she keeps on growing it all.  I think most of her produce goes out to family members and friends.  Over the years she has given us a great deal of fresh produce.  Sometimes we are blessed with foods that are not our favorites (okra) and other times there are foods that we relish (last year's cushaw squash dividend, a single cushaw is good for several meals).