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Monday, May 5, 2014
Borago officinalis

Borago officinalis


A tall, attractive plant, often grown in flowerbeds. Bright blue star-shaped edible flowers. Grow in a sunny spot with well drained fertile soil. Borage dies down in the winter, but probably you will not need to buy any more seeds as it self seeds quite vigorously and spreads around the garden. Luckily, it is so attractive that it adds to the general design.
Will grow almost anywhere but prefers well-drained soil. Can be transplanted when young but older plants do not move well.
Only use young (small) leaves in salads as they get bigger they get fury.
Borage is a dynamic accumulator, it is great at absorbing nutrients from the soil. So you pull up the plant, soak in water and make a tea which you use on your plants as a fertiliser. The flowers are also edible.
ARNICA

ARNICA


(Arnica montana)
The other common names for the herb arnica are Leopard's bane, Mountain tobacco, Common Arnica, Mountain Arnica, Mountain Daisy and Wolfsbane.
The word arnica comes from the Greek "arnakis", meaning lamb's coat, and refers to the felt-like sepals covered in soft hairs that surround the flower. Arnica is an alpine herb with a long history of use in the folk medicine of Russia and the Swiss Alps. Today, many plastic surgeons recommend that their patients use arnica creams to reduce post surgical bruising, and athletes often carry a tube in their gym bags to soothe sore muscles. One of the best known herbal sports medicines, arnica has dramatic results if used immediately after an injury.
Arnica is an herbaceous perennial plant. The stem of the herb which bears the flowers is normally not branched and slightly hairy in appearance, this flowering branch tends to reach from twelve to twenty four inches in height, and is noticeable by bearing only one to two pairs of leaves on opposite sides of the branch. The plant height ranges from 30 –60 cm. One or two pairs of leaves form a flat rosette. They are entire, bright green, toothed and somewhat hairy on the upper surface. The lower leaves are clustered, ovate, and ciliated and have rounded tips. The upper leaves are smaller, lance-shaped, opposite and attached directly to the stem. From the centre of the rosette rises a round and hairy stalk that ends in 1-3 flower stalks bearing each one orange-yellow daisy like blossom. The fruits are bristly achenes. The rhizome is dark brown, cylindrical, usually curved, and bears brittle wiry rootlets on the under surface.
The most commonly used parts of the herb arnica are the roots and the flowers for its medicinal and commercial purposes.
 AGRIMONY

AGRIMONY


More common names Agrimonia eupatoria has other common names like agrimony, liverwort, cockleburr, sticklewort.
The name agrimonia may have its origin in the Greek word "agremone," which refers to plants that supposedly healed cataracts of the eye.
Agrimony (Agrimonia) is a genus of 12-15 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with one species also in Africa. The species grow to between 0.5-2 m tall, with interrupted pinnate leaves, and yellow flowers borne on a single (usually unbranched) spike. This has long leaves, dented about the edges, green above and grayish underneath, and a little hairy; a strong, round, hairy brown stalk, two or three feet (60 to 90 cm) high, and small yellow flowers one above another in long spikes.
It is distributed widely in the United States, Southern Canada and Northern Hemisphere - abundant throughout England and more localized in Scotland.
The most preferred habitat for agrimony is full sun, average soil and dry weather. It mainly grows on hedge banks, sides of fields, dry thickets and all waste lands. Agrimony tolerates dry spells well.
LOVAGE

LOVAGE

The other common names for the herb lovage are love parsley, sea parsley, lavose, liveche, smallage, European lovage, common lovage, Cornish lovage, English lovage, Italian lovage, maggi plant and old English lovage.
Lovage is a herb which belongs to the Apiaceae family derived its name from the Latin word denoting ‘Ligurian’ which was thrived from Liguria a province that comprises the Italian Riviera.Lovage came to America with the English colonists and was brought over for both food and medicine. The name entered English in Chaucer’s Day as ‘love-ache’ or ‘love parsley’. The name lovage is for the only fact that breath sweeteners prepared with lovage may stimulate romance. Thus this old English herb that was formerly very generally cultivated, and is still occasionally cultivated as a sweet herb and for the use in herbal medicine of its root, and to a less degree, the leaves and seeds. The herb has a peculiar name Baldmoney,' which is said to be a corruption of Balder, the Apollo of the northern nations, to whom the plant was dedicated.
Lovage is a hardy perennial herb, with ribbed stalks and hollow stems that divide into branches near the top. The thick, erect hollow and channelled stems grow 3 or 4 feet or even more in height. The stems bear umbels of yellow flowers about 30 mm across similar to those of Fennel or Parsnip. Leaves are dark green, opposite, compound, leaflets wedge shaped maybe toothed or ridged. Lovage has a strong taste and odour.Their surface is shining, and when bruised they give out an aromatic odour, somewhat reminiscent both of Angelica and Celery. The elongated root is crowned with fibres, which is about5 or 6 inches long and they have a nutty flavour.The fruits are extremely aromatic yellowish-brown in colour, elliptical in shape and curved, with three prominent winged ribs. The whole plant has a pleasant aromatic smell.
The roots, leaves and seeds are used for its medicinal purposes and the young stems for flavouring and confectioner
Hyacinthus

Hyacinthus

Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous flowering plant
Plants are commonly called hyacinths
The genus is native to the eastern Mediterranean (from south Turkey to northern Israel), north-east Iran, and Turkmenistan.
Several species of Brodiea, Scilla, and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with hyacinth in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genus Muscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths.
Hyacinthus grows from bulbs, each producing around four to six linear leaves and one to three spikes (racemes) of flowers. In the wild species, the flowers are widely spaced, with as few as two per raceme in H. litwinovii and typically six to eight in H. orientalis, which grows to a height of 15–20 cm (6–8 in). Cultivars of H. orientalis have much denser flower spikes and are generally more robus

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Celosia cristata

Celosia cristata


cockscomb
Chi Kuan
Brain Celosiacalgha
Wool Flower
Celosia is a very interesting and unusual flower shape, resembling a cockscomb or folds of the brain.
the blossom is large and found singly at the end of a heavy stalk
The plants are hardy and resistant to most diseases, and grow equally well indoors or out, though the perfect place is one with no shade and a well drained soil, as the plant is susceptible to fungal diseases.
The plant is used frequently as an ornamental plant indoors.
Their leaves and flowers can be used as vegetables. They are often grown as foods in India, Western Africa, and South America.
Delphinium

Delphinium


larkspurPronounced del-FINNY-um, this flower derives its name from the dolphin shaped buds and is more commonly know as larkspur. Originally from China, there are now over 250 different species found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the mountains of Africa. The flowers have five petals which grow together to form a hollow flower with a spur at the end. Delphinium blooms in shades of blue, purple, white, salmon, and yellow with the primary blooming season from April to October. Delphinium is a poisonous plant, so handle with care and do not consume. They make great dried flowers, grow in full sun or afternoon shade, and can get up to a eight feet tall. When growing them, carefully stake each flower spike to protect it from breaking in the wind. To prevent mildew, avoid wetting leaves when watering. They combine well with poppies and foxgloves and have attractive uses in vases and as flowerbed borders.
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