Winter Solstice

Cotoneaster berries in snow

Today, as we celebrate the Winter Solstice, I'd like to share with you my favorite quote about this time of year.

"There is a long standing rumor that spring is the time of renewal, but that's only if you ignore the depressing clutter and din of the season. All that flowering and budding and birthing - the messy youthfulness of Spring actually verges on SQUALOR. Spring is too busy, too full of itself, too much like a 20-year-old to be the best time for reflection, re-grouping, and starting fresh. For that, you need December." - Vivian Swift 

I fully expected that by the time I reached my 60s, I would be eager to move to a place with warm, sunny winters. But that isn't what happened. Instead, I fell in love with winter in the Pacific Northwest. I love how the season beckons me to come inside, both physically and metaphorically. Winter restores me. It is a time for me to pause, look toward the future and imagine a new year. There's nothing I have to do right now. The garden is sleeping and so can I. There will be plenty to do in Spring.

I hope that your Holidays are Merry and that the New Year will be one filled with Health and Happiness. I am grateful that you have joined me here this year. I look forward to sharing more Outlander Plant adventures in 2015.

Slainte mhath!

'Tis The Season For Fraser Firs!

Immature cones on Fraser fir (Abies fraseri), photographed in spring at
the South Seattle College Arboretum.

I don't recall any mention in the Outlander books of Claire and Jamie having a Christmas tree. But if they did, you can be sure it would have been a Fraser fir.

Fraser firs are native to the Appalachian Mountains, in an area that includes western North Carolina, which is known to Outlander fans as the location of Fraser's Ridge. (I am NOT making this up.)

The trees are named, not for our beloved Jamie, but for the intrepid Scottish botanist, John Fraser, who explored the region in the 1780s and early 1800s. He trekked through areas no European had gone before, collecting plants that he sent back to his nursery in London, where they were propagated and introduced into the local landscape trade. Those plants included the firs that bear his name.

Here are some fun facts about Fraser firs:

• Fraser fir is the official Christmas tree of North Carolina.
• Fraser firs have been used more often than any other tree as the official White House Christmas tree by Presidents of the United States.
• Steve Jobs had two fresh cut Fraser firs set up and decorated in the windows of every Apple store in the world at Christmastime in 2009.
• Fraser firs are one of the most desirable Christmas trees in the world because of their shape, fragrance and tendency to hold onto their needles long after being cut. 
• Fraser firs are grown on plantations in Scotland and sold throughout the UK and Ireland.  

Botanical Information

Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Abies
Species: Abies fraseri
Common name: Fraser fir, she-balsam, and sometimes (incorrectly) balsam fir, which is closely related (A. balsamea)

Fraser firs like acid soil and a cool, moist climate. They are well adapted in the UK and parts of Canada. They have a conical growth habit in youth, opening to a nearly parallel branching pattern as they age. They reach a maximum height of 30 - 50 feet. Unlike other conifers, firs, including the Fraser fir, hold their cones upright (as you see in the photo at the top of the page).

These trees are highly susceptible to attack by a non-native insect called the balsam wooly adelgid. This invasive species made its way from Europe to the US in the early 1900s. In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, adelgids have destroyed 95% of the Fraser firs, creating what are called "ghost forests" of dead tree trunks.

Fortunately, there has been rapid regrowth of these trees with new seedlings replacing trees that have been lost. The future of the trees is uncertain, however. As Fraser firs mature, their bark begins to develop fissures which allow insects to penetrate. Perhaps it is best to cut them for Christmas trees before the insects get them, aye?

So there you have it Outlander fans. If you are shopping for a Christmas tree, you now know what kind to buy. As I always say - the thing about being an Outlander fan is that pretty soon everything in your life seems connected to a plot line or character from one of the books. And that includes Christmas trees.

Adventures in Food and Drink Inspired by OUTLANDER Plants

I've been exploring new food and drink territory lately, thanks to being an OUTLANDER fan and starting this blog. I enjoy trying new things and watching how one adventure leads to another. When I start working on a blog post, the research invariably turns up something I didn't know before about how certain OUTLANDER plants are used in food and beverages. These discoveries inspire me to try new things and experiment with recipes. When I write about what I've discovered, readers write back with their experiences and suggestions, and that leads to more discoveries.

What new foods or beverages have you tried since joining the OUTLANDER family? Here are a few things I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't become a fan:

1. Stinging nettles.  The post I wrote about nettles has consistently been one of the most popular posts on this blog. I've known for a long time that they are nutritious, but until I did more research, I didn't realize that they are a good source of protein. Even that information failed to get me out to gather some and try cooking with them. What it took was a nudge from Theresa Carle-Sanders, chef and author of Outlander Kitchen. (If you haven't had the pleasure, I suggest you click on over to her kitchen and check out her collection of "character inspired"recipes.)

Here's a basket full of stinging nettles, foraged from 
a fearsome patch that grows on a steep slope near my house.

I wrote to her to tell her that I wanted to use her nettle foraging video in my blog post. She was enthusiastic about the idea. Theresa is a big fan of nettles and encourages people to cook with them. She suggested I try her recipe for Nettlekopitas - spanikopita made with nettles instead of spinach. And THAT is what finally got me out the door with my wee basket. Thank you, Theresa!

(I also have to thank her for inspiring me to start this blog. I had been subscribing to hers for a couple of years when it dawned on me that I could do something similar, only with plants. She has been very supportive of my humble efforts, for which I am most appreciative.)

2. Heather Ale. In the 20+ years I've worked in the horticulture industry as a landscape designer and sales person in retail nurseries, I've probably specified, sold and/or planted acres of heather. I know a lot about these plants: how they are used in the landscape and how to care for them. But it wasn't until I was doing research for this blog that I discovered that ale has been made from heather flowers for 4,000 years!

That, of course, led me to wonder what heather ale would taste like. Which led me to The Beer Junction, a local specialty store, to see if they carry such a brew. And they do! It's called Fraoch Heather Ale, brewed in Scotland. It has a hint of unusual flavor, but overall, I would describe it as being a very good pale ale.

3. Crabbie's Ginger Beer. After I wrote about the heather ale, I started hearing from readers about other brews to try. One of those is Crabbie's Ginger Beer, something I would never have known about if not for reader comments. Unlike ginger ale, it is alcoholic. And unlike regular beer, it is gluten-free. (However, be sure to check before you drink. Apparently the Crabbie's made in Scotland is gluten-free. Crabbie's USA might not be.)

This beer is a bit sweet and has a strong ginger flavor. If you happen to like ginger and have given up regular beer because of gluten issues, this may be just the brew for you.

Slainte!

4. Sausage. Here's another inspiration from Outlander Kitchen. I ruled out the idea of making my own sausage long ago because I thought I'd have to buy a meat grinder and wrestle with stuffing the meat mixture into casings. But when I took a look at Theresa's recipes for Garlic and Sage Sausage and Fennel, Mint and Lemon Lamb Sausage, I realized that meat grinders and casings aren't necessary. Ground meat - pork, lamb, chicken and turkey - is readily available at my local grocery store. And sausage doesn't have to be made into links - patties are just fine. (I don't like casings anyway - they're like chewing on a piece of an old balloon - I usually cut them off of larger sausages before cooking.)

It is said that once you've seen how sausage is made, you'll never want to eat it. But that applies to products made commercially. If you make your own, you know exactly what goes into it - no mystery meat or nasty chemicals. Plus, it's easy. All you have to do is combine the ingredients, let the mixture spend a little time in the refrigerator while the flavors meld, then take it out, form it into patties and cook.

Learning how to do this inspired me to create my own recipe for chicken-apple sausage. I like this kind of sausage because it is low in fat, but the chicken-apple sausage I buy at the store has cinnamon in it. I don't like cinnamon in meat dishes. I wanted my Chicken Apple Sausage to taste like Thanksgiving Dinner. So I created my own recipe, which I've added at the bottom of this post.

4. Barley - When my kids were little, I used to make beef barley soup. It is inexpensive and filling, important qualities when you are feeding teenaged boys. It has been along time since my sons were teenagers, though, and many years since I made that soup. I pretty much forgot about it until I started working on the article about barley.

I discovered that barley is very nutritious - a good source of protein, micronutrients and fiber. It is a particularly good source of magnesium, which is important because an estimated 68 - 75% of Americans are deficient in this mineral. This information, plus the fact that I had a good supply of barley left over from the photo shoot for the article, inspired me to start making beef barley soup again. Yum!

Of course, barley is probably best known for it's role in brewing. Although I am not that fond of either beer or whisky, I found it interesting to learn about brewing and distilling. I would even consider doing a whisky tasting - especially if I can do it in Scotland! My interest led me to try a beverage I've heard of for years but never tried - barley wine. You can read my review here.

5. Potatoes - Did you know that the cultivation of potatoes was responsible for a quarter of all the population and urban growth in western Europe between 1700 and 1900? That was news to me. I still don't think of potatoes as being a super food. Their nutritional profile is not as impressive as stinging nettles or barley. But the fact that this single food could fuel SO much growth certainly got my attention.

So did the fact that I can buy a 4-pound bag of organically grown potatoes at Trader Joe's for just $4. I'm not in the habit of eating a lot of potatoes. I generally prefer non-starchy vegetables. But since I learned more about the power of the potato, I've been using them lately as the main ingredient in certain meals. For example, potato soup, with lots of chopped carrots, onions, celery and bits of crispy turkey bacon, makes a fine supper. Fresh fruit and a plate of latkes, which are simple potato pancakes, make a hearty breakfast. I now understand how potatoes were such an important fuel source for western Europeans. Potato dishes give me energy and I don't get hungry again for hours. (If you'd like to try making your own latkes, I've included my recipe below.)

What new foods or beverages have you tried since you joined the OUTLANDER world? Please share in the comments. 

Marie's Chicken and Apple Sausage

1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 c. minced tart apple (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp work well)
1/4 c. minced onion
2 tsp. ground sage
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1-1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 c. bread crumbs (I use Panko)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Wash your hands (as Claire would remind you) and use them to mix everything together. Take some time with this to be sure the spices are evenly distributed. Form the sausage mixture into a roll and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook, unwrap the sausage, cut slices to form patties and fry in just enough butter to keep them from sticking to the pan. Be careful not to overcook or the patties will be dry.

A Simple Recipe for Latkes 

4 large potatoes (russet or Yukon gold), grated and drained on paper or cloth kitchen towels

1 small onion grated or cut into very thin slices

4-5 Tbs. bread crumbs

1 beaten egg

1 tsp. sea salt

sunflower oil for frying

Combine all ingredients. Heat oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Drop spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan and flatten out to form pancakes. Let cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until crispy and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Makes about 8 pancakes. Some people like to top them with sour cream or applesauce. I like to serve them with slices of fresh apples or pears. 

3 Good Gifts for OUTLANDER Plant Lovers

Happy Holidays, Outlander Plant Fans!

As long as you're online shopping for other people, why not buy a gift (or two) for yourself? I know you all are readers - how else could you be fans of books that can be over a thousand pages long? I also know that many of you love reading about Claire's herbal preparations and how plants are used as food, medicine and more. With these interests in mind, here are three books I think you might enjoy.

1. The Complete Medicinal Herbal: A Practical Guide to the Healing Properties of Herbs, with More Than 250 Remedies for Common Ailments by Penelope Ody. This book comes highly recommended by readers because it combines clear, detailed botanical information with high quality photography, explains which herbs to use for particular complaints, and describes how to prepare them (as tinctures, salves, cough syrups, etc.) for medicinal use. This puts the information you need - plant identification, parts of the plant to use, when and how to use them - all in one book. Before you know it, you'll be channeling your "inner Claire."

2. The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor  by Jerry Traunfeld. Jerry was the executive chef at the Herbfarm Restaurant in Woodinville, Washington, until 2007, when he opened his current restaurant, Poppy, located in Seattle. His inspired use of herbs and local ingredients won him a James Beard award in 2000 for "Best American Chef: Northwest and Hawaii."

If you've never done much cooking with fresh herbs or you're intimidated by Jerry's credentials, you can relax. This book has recipes for elegant dishes that are surprisingly simple.  Would you like to start an herb garden to supply your kitchen? You'll find lists here for what to plant: "The Essentials," "The Nice to Have," "Easy to Buy, But Nice to Grow," and herbs "For Adventurous Cooks." He also includes tips for growing, harvesting and storing herbs. This is the kind of book that gives confidence to new cooks and inspiration to experienced ones who are ready for some fresh ideas. Read this and Mrs. Fitz will have nothing on you. 

3. The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes: Personalize Your Craft with Organic Colors from Acorns, Blackberries, Coffee, and Other Everyday Ingredients by Sasha Duerr. This is a book that fans of the OUTLANDER TV series will enjoy. One of the scenes in the "Rent"episode involves women dying fabric with human urine. That has led viewers to wonder what other substances might be used to color fabrics. This book may not be long on information about what was used historically, but offers plenty of practical information for anyone interested in experimenting with botanical dyes, using readily available plant materials. (No mention here, however, of the use of bodily fluids. Which may be just as well, aye?) 

Whatever your interests - reading, botanical medicine, cooking or textiles - there's plenty of information here to help you pass the time until the second half of Season 1 starts to air in April. So treat yourself and enjoy! 

How To Distill Your Own Wee Dram

These are troubling times in the Fandom. 

Starz announced this week that instead of the second half of Season 1 of Outlander beginning in January, it will start on April 7, 2015. This news went down badly with fans who were already wondering what they were going to do with themselves from the time when Episode 8 airs on September 27 until the first of the year when Episode 9 was going to arrive.

Waddya mean? We have to wait six whole MONTHS? Waaaaah! 

This from people who should be used to waiting. Diana Gabaldon, prolific as she is, says that it takes her three to four years (not months) to write one of her Big Books. Doing the math, that means that since the most recent book in the Outlander series, In My Own Heart's Blood, came out in June of this year, we won't see the next book in the series until summer of 2017 or 2018. That makes waiting until April for a new TV episode seem like no big deal.

It happens that this upset over the date change is happening at the same time that I am doing research for a post on barley - a far more interesting subject than I ever expected. The research has led me to do some reading about how barley is used in the making of barley wine, beer and whisky. And once I got past the information on malting and fermenting, the next thing I wanted to know was how whisky is distilled.

As I was watching YouTube videos, it occurred to me - if anyone needs an Outlander-related activity to keep them occupied for the next 6 months, building a still and making whisky could be just the thing.

You're going to start by making wort, a liquid drawn from the mash of malted barley which contains the sugars that will convert to alcohol in the fermenting process. Unless you are really desperate for something to do, I'm not going to send you to the malting shed with bags of wet barley grain. To keep this simple, go to your local home-brew store and buy malt extract. That will save you the steps of malting the barley, making the mash, and extracting malt from it. You simply mix the malt extract with water to make the wort. While at the home-brew store, ask about recipes and buy the yeast you will use for fermenting the wort. You will also need to buy a large glass container in which to store the wort while it ferments. When fermentation is complete, you are ready for distilling.

This article, How to Make Whisky - Step by Step, is a good overview of the entire process. Before you get invested too much in this project, you should give it a read.

The basics of still manufacture are pretty simple, as this article 3 Ways to Build a Still explains. If you are more of a visual learner, here's a video, below, that explains what to do. You can probably build a still for around $100.

There's enough to do here to keep you busy for weeks. And if your attempts are less than hoped for, you can always pop into a bottle shop on April 6 and buy a bottle of the good stuff to sip while you watch Episode 9.

Slainte mhath!

3 Reasons To Love Latin Plant Names

Cue Tina Turner...

♫ What's Latin got to do, got to do with it? 

What's Latin, but a sweet old fashioned language? ♫

What's in a name? Quite a lot, as it happens, in the world of horticulture. Consider the flap over plants in Episode 3 of Outlander. Claire correctly explains that Convallaria majalis, commonly known as lily of the valley, is often mistaken for wood garlic, Allium ursinum. However, the plant she identifies as lily of the valley is not Convallaria - a fact pointed out by many viewers - it doesn't even look similar. Because the script was so clear, specifying Convallaria, one wonders how such a mistake could have happened.

Lily of the Valley shrub - Pieris japonica 

My guess, and this is only a guess, is that the person sent to find the plant for filming the episode was simply told to find a "lily of the valley." That seems innocent enough, especially to people who don't have much experience, but if you want a specific plant, the only way to assure accuracy is to use its Latin, scientific name. Using the common name, lily of the valley, can get you into trouble because more than one plant may have that name. Possibilities in this case include: false lily of the valley (Maianthemum dilatum), which seems most likely the plant used for the show, or lily of the valley shrub (Pieris sp.) 

I can sympathize with the producers of the show, because of my experience as a landscape designer. Designers and architects specify plants for landscape plans using Latin names because we are very particular about form, size and color. We know precisely which plants will deliver those characteristics, and we strive to be as clear as possible with our instructions. But nearly all of us have had the experience of visiting a job site and being horrified to find that an installer has taken it upon himself to make some substitutions. If I have specified a dwarf conifer that will fit nicely into a small, urban garden, I am not happy to see that one of its relatives, a forest tree that wants to be 150 feet tall, has taken its place. 

That said, if you are not in the horticulture business, do Latin plant names really matter? If you are a gardener or have any interest in plants, I believe so. Here are three reasons:

1) Latin botanical names are names without borders. No matter what country you live in and no matter what language you speak, botanists, biologists, nursery professionals, landscape designers, architects and savvy gardeners all use the same Latin, scientific name for the same plant.

2) Using Latin names eliminates confusion. Plants have common names, but these names vary from place to place. You can't assume that the common name that you have for a plant means the same thing to other people.

Is this a mango? 

One of my hort instructors told us a story about ordering a pizza while visiting in Ohio. Looking through the list of toppings, he was surprised to see that mangoes were offered. Thinking that an orange, tropical fruit was rather an exotic choice, particularly in the midwestern US, he had to ask. Turns out, "mango" is what the locals there call green bell pepper. It's one more example of how common names can cause misunderstandings.

3) Finally, when ye have a wee bit o' the Latin, the names will tell ye more about the wee plants, ye ken?  Here's brief list of Latin species names to give you an idea.

alba - white
aurea - yellow or gold (Au being the chemical symbol for gold)
baccata - having berry-like fruit
callosum - thickened, calloused
compacta - small, compact
dendatum - toothed
fasciata - bound together
ilicifolia - having leaves like holly
indica - native to India
lacteum - milky
macrophylla - having big leaves
nana - small
nigra - black
palustris - loves marshes
pendula - pendulous, weeping
purpurea -  purple
rubra - red
spinosa - spiny or thorny
sylvatica - of the forest
tortuosum -  twisted, contorted
umbraculifera - umbrella-like
variegata - variegated, usually refers to foliage with more than one color
viridis - green
vulgaris - common

Want to know more? Have a name you want to look up? Go to the Botanical Dictionary at Dave's Garden.

Related Post:

Right Plants, Wrong Season?

Black Jack Randall in the Garden

Blood grass (Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra')

Welcome, Dear Readers, to the dark side of gardening. This post is a departure from my usual format because I cannot think of a single passage in any of the Outlander books in which Black Jack Randall's name appears in the same sentence as the word "garden." There is nothing in his demeanor that indicates that he has an appreciation for horticulture, and it's best not to dwell on some of the uses he might find for certain garden tools. 

However, there are plants that may remind us of Jack, that tortured villain we all love to hate. It might be because they have black leaves or flowers. Or it might be because their names suggest violence. Take a look. 

At Chilhuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, a glass sculpture representing the sun hovers over a mound densely planted with black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens') - a classic illustration of Dark vs. Light. 

Of course, there are no true black leaves or flowers. What appears to be black from a distance turns out to be a very dark purple when you look closely or see the plant in direct sunlight. Still, this near-black hue has a striking effect in the garden, as you can see from the leaves of this Rex begonia (Begonia Rex-cultorum).

There are many daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.) that have near black flowers. This one is called 'Smoking Gun.' Others have names like 'Cinderella's Dark Side,' 'Dracula,' 'Sinners Anonymous,' and, well, you get the idea. This post on GardenWeb lists more, along with photos. 

Black hollyhocks are easily grown from seed and will re-sow themselves year after year. These in my garden have been perpetuating themselves for close to 10 years. 

Black potato vine (Solanum jasminoides 'Blackie') is a striking annual that adds interest to containers and hanging baskets.

Other BJR plants to consider:

Blood Flower (Asclepias curassavica)

Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus)

Devil's Horsewhip (Achyranthes aspera)

Purple Contorted Filbert (Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic') - near black leaves on twisted, contorted branches

Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia sp.)

What plants can you think of that would fit the Black Jack Randall theme? Please add them in the comments. 

Related Post

Lavender Blues

Outlandish Hair Grasses

The Gem That Is Jewelweed

 Alas, jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) doesn't grow here in Seattle, so I can't
photograph it for you. For images of jewelweed flowers and habitat,
watch the video at the bottom of this post. The popular bedding plant
shown above, busy lizzie (Impatiens walleriana), is one of jewelweed's sisters.

"'Wonderful,' I murmured. My own immediate plans for the goose grease involved a salve of wild sarsaparilla and bittersweet for burns and abrasions, a mentholated ointment for stuffy noses and chest congestion, and something soothing and pleasantly scented for diaper rash - perhaps a lavender infusion with the juice of crushed jewelweed leaves." 

- From THE FIERY CROSS, by Diana Gabaldon, Chapter 34

I didn't know what jewelweed was until after I posted an article here on stinging nettles. Readers wrote to tell me that the sting from the nettles could be relieved by crushing jewelweed stems and applying the "juice" to the sting. I was told that wherever you find nettles, jewelweed can be found growing nearby.

Really?

I don't claim to be an expert on native plants of the Pacific Northwest, but this was news to me. I was pretty sure I could identify every plant in my local nettle patch, but I went back to see what, if anything, I had missed. I found plenty of horsetail (Equisetum hyemale), Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) and wild clematis (Clematis vitalba), but nothing resembling the jewelweed plant that had been described to me.

So I consulted the "bible," Arthur Kruckeberg's book, GARDENING WITH NATIVE PLANTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. A professor of botany at the University of Washington for more than 30 years, Kruckeberg has spent his lifetime studying and cataloging the local flora. He apparently hasn't found jewelweed here, either. He makes no mention of it in his book.

By then, I was intrigued with this plant and wanted to find out more. After a little research, I discovered that jewelweed grows wild throughout the eastern part of the United States. (No wonder I couldn't find it.) Margaret Roach, a garden writer who lives and gardens in upstate New York, describes it as a good weed because it offers so many benefits to wildlife. There are many videos on YouTube describing this plant, often shot in woodland areas of the Southeast, that show how to use the plant to protect against poison ivy rashes or soothe the itch of insect bites. It's easy to see why jewelweed comes highly recommended by readers and Twitter followers.

Botanical Information

Family: Balsaminaceae
Genus: Impatiens
Species: Impatiens capensis also known as I. biflora; the yellow-flowering variety is I. pallida
Common name: Orange jewelweed, Common jewelweed, Spotted jewelweed, Spotted touch-me-not, Orange balsam

Jewelweed is native to North America. It likes moist, mostly shady areas and can be found in ditches and along stream beds. Its showy, trumpet-shaped, orange flowers are popular with pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds and bees.

It is called JEWELweed because raindrops and dew drops cling to the leaves and look like little jewels. It has been nicknamed, "touch-me-not," because its ripe seedpods explode when touched, scattering seed everywhere. If you want to collect the seed, grasp the pod in your fist to capture the seed before it falls. Jewelweed seeds are edible, but the leaves and stems are toxic, causing vomiting and diarrhea if ingested.

Medicinal Value

Jewelweed is used to relieve skin irritations from stinging nettles, minor burns, and insect bites. It will also relieve and even prevent the rash and itching caused by poison ivy or oak.

Basic preparation is simple. If you've been stung by a nettle or an insect, grab some jewelweed, mash the stems to release the juice, and rub it on the affected area. The sooner you do this, the better the results. Many people say that if you rub jewelweed juice on exposed skin before you go near poison ivy it will keep you from getting the rash. Conveniently, in certain parts of the country, the two plants are found growing next to each other.

The beneficial qualities of jewelweed can be captured in soaps and salves, like the one Claire was planning to make for diaper rash. A "tea" can be made with it, not for drinking, but for applying topically to relieve discomfort. It is made by taking the whole plant - leaves, stems and flowers - chopping them coarsely and putting them into boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool, pour into a glass jar, put a lid on it and store in the refrigerator. When needed, wet a cloth with the tea and wipe it over the affected area.

If jewelweed doesn't grow where you live, you can still find it (sort of), at your local drugstore. According to Wildman Steve Brill, "jewelweed contains methoxy-1, four napthoquinine, an anti-inflamatory and fungicide that's the active ingredient in Preparation H." So there you have it - jewelweed is a remedy for the ages, soothing diaper rash in the 18th century and hemorrhoids in the 21st.

The video below is my favorite of the many I watched while doing research for this post. It shows you how to identify jewelweed,  harvest it, and make a soap to use when your skin is irritated. If you are lucky enough to have jewelweed growing near you, you might want to give this a try.

Related Post

Stinging Nettles

Claire and the Case for Cleanliness

"...she began digging in a painted wooden chest by the hearth, emerging finally with a pile of ratty cloths.

 'No, that won't do,' I said, fingering them gingerly. 'The wound needs to be disinfected first, then bandaged with a clean cloth, if there are no sterile bandages.' 

Eyebrows rose all around. 'Disinfected?' said the small man, carefully.

 'Yes, indeed,' I said firmly, thinking him a bit simpleminded, in spite of his educated accent. 'All dirt must be removed from the wound and it must be treated with a compound to discourage germs and promote healing.'"

- From OUTLANDER,  Chapter 3, "The Man In The Wood" by Diana Gabaldon

Discouraging "germs" is a bit off- topic for a plant blog. But we are talking here about the Outlander books and Claire Fraser's pragmatic approach to healing. She could use "Russian penicillin," also known as garlic, to treat infection, but why allow infection to take hold in the first place? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I'm sure Claire would agree.

In Claire's time, dramatic improvements in human health had been achieved as a result of good hygiene and sanitation practices. But in the 18th century, no one understood that tiny, invisible-to-the-naked-eye organisms were responsible for a host of infectious and deadly diseases. Even though "germ theory" had been around a long time (Aristotle, in 350 BC, advised Alexander the Great to "boil drinking water and bury feces, to prevent disease."), the idea didn't really begin to gain widespread attention until the mid-19th century.

In the 1850s, John Snow, a British obstetrician, became convinced that drinking water contaminated with sewage was responsible for outbreaks of cholera in London. His conclusion was met with derision from his contemporaries who "knew" that diseases like cholera were caused by "vapors" or "miasma." The Reverend Henry Whitehead sought to discredit Snow's conclusions, claiming that the disease was an act of God.

But Snow ignored his critics and continued observing and collecting data. In August of 1854, a particularly severe outbreak of cholera occurred in Soho, a London suburb. Determined to prove that contaminated water was the cause, he conducted a study of the victims and where they got their drinking water. Writer Kathleen Tuthill quotes Snow as saying, "Within 250 yards of the spot where Cambridge Street joins Broad Street there were upward of 500 fatal attacks of cholera in 10 days. As soon as I became acquainted with the situation and extent of this irruption (sic) of cholera, I suspected some contamination of the water of the much-frequented street-pump in Broad Street."

In spite of all the evidence he collected, connecting hundreds of cases of cholera with drinking water from the Broad Street pump, his conclusions were still met with skepticism. He finally convinced town officials to take the handle off the pump, at least temporarily, so that no one could draw water from it. The cholera epidemic came to an immediate halt.

Despite this dramatic proof, city officials still refused to clean up sewage systems and assure that drinking water was clean. But Snow's conclusions eventually won out.  In the 1880s, a German doctor, Robert Koch, identified the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, that causes cholera. His work showed that cholera is spread by way of fecal contamination of food or water.

By the end of the 19th century, cities in Europe and the United States had improved sanitation systems, keeping drinking water separate from sewage. Outbreaks of cholera in those cities became a thing of the past.

Snow is considered a pioneer in public health research, but he was not alone. Louis Pasteur, for whom the process of pasteurization is named; Robert Koch, the founder of modern bacteriology mentioned above; Charles Chamberland, whose filter was used in the discovery of viruses; Miles Berkeley, who discovered that potato blight was caused by fungal disease - all made significant discoveries in the last half of the 19th century.

As the chart below illustrates, the benefits of all this knowledge were profound. In the first half of the 20th century, improved sanitation systems, combined with public health education about the importance of cleanliness to prevent the spread of disease, reduced mortality rates from infectious diseases dramatically. The one notable spike in those years was the 1918 flu pandemic, nicknamed the Spanish flu. (Fans of Downton Abbey will remember the episode when Lavinia Swire, Matthew Crawley's fiance, died of the disease.)

By the time Claire was serving as an Army nurse during WWII, mortality rates from infectious diseases had declined by 75% since the turn of the century- and that was before penicillin was widely available. As you can see from the graph, antibiotics did have an effect, but nothing compared to the difference made by good sanitation and hygiene. Let's remember that. Three cheers for soap and clean water!

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Pocket Jamie's Spring Garden Tour

If you are an OUTLANDER fan, you are undoubtedly familiar with "Pocket Jamie," the 8" photo of James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser as played by Sam Heughan. Inspired by fans around the world, who take photos of Pocket Jamie wherever they are, I decided to take my Jamie out to explore the garden.

Right away, Jamie started searching Rhododendron Hell, looking for wee Roger.

Then to get away from the "stink" of lavender (Lavandula sp.), Black Jack Randall's signature scent, Jamie jumped into the foliage of David's viburnum (Viburnum davidii).

Even though we were in Seattle, Jamie felt right at home marching across the heath (Erica sp.).

And a clump of bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) reminded him of being home in Scotland.

Finally, Jamie paused in a cloud of Forget-me nots (Myosotis sylvatica), no doubt thinking of his beloved Claire and her trip through the stones.

(If you would like to download and print your own Pocket Jamie, here's the link.)