Lettuce Share

There are so many Purely Pretty P’s in my garden that I couldn’t Possibly decide on just one…First up are the edibles: Peppers, Purple Dark Opal Basil and Pineapple.

Now for the non-edibles: Purple Pentas, a Planter full of Periwinkle Plumbago and a Perennial Perfume Delight Hybrid Tea Rose.  Roses are actually edible but not around this house.   

And finally my number one Pick of all the P’s found in my garden today: Luke’s one Pink Paw Pad.

Happy ABC Wednesday!

The two plants in my herb garden that manage to survive summer after summer are rosemary and oregano.  I’ve already given you the rundown on rosemary, so this time I pulled out my Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Herbs to find some random facts on oregano.  The name translates to “joy of the mountains” and bald men used to rub it on their heads mixed with oil in the hopes of regrowth.  Oregano’s medicinal uses date back to the Greek physician Dioscorides in the first century.  The Greeks used it to treat aches, sores and bites from scorpions and spiders.  It’s fascinating what doctors are doing with oregano today.  Studies are finding it more effective in treating giardiosis, a parasitic infection, than one of the standard drug treatments…and no side effects!  Oregano is quite the superb herb! 

There’s nothing not to like about nasturtiums.  Their petals are bright, vibrant shades of red, yellow and orange.  They help keep bugs away from your garden edibles, and the colorful blossoms are edible themselves.  Nasturtiums are my favorite salad topping - more for their color than for their taste, although I don’t dislike the flavor.  It’s along the lines of arugula - a little bit peppery.  They’re a great pick for Florida gardens because they’re low-maintenance and heat-tolerant.  They’ll grow no matter how sandy the soil and the more sun the better.  Shade greatly reduces the amount of blooms.  I like to mix my nasturtiums in with my vegetables because they’re common companion plants.  They repel insects, particularly squash bugs, and supposedly make cucumbers taste better.  Another random fact about nasturtiums: Back a few centuries when every bouquet of flowers came with a meaning, nasturtiums represented patriotism.

Yesterday I posted about having too much rosemary, but today I may not have enough.  Stacy commented that she uses a rosemary and ginger shampoo, but she doesn’t know why it’s good for her hair.  Thanks for the comment; it prompted me to pull out my Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs.  It’s a 1987 edition that undoubtedly came from a Good Will book store - the absolute best source for cheap books.

Back to your question, Stacy - a rosemary rinse will brighten up brown hair, but the most likely reason it’s in your shampoo is the pleasant piny scent.  The next best reason is that it can perk you up in the morning.  Rosemary contains a volatile oil that gets your blood pumping.  It can stimulate and refresh a tired, worn body.  Make a strong tea from the leaves and add to a bath.

A few of the more reaching reasons of why rosemary could be in your shampoo are to improve memory, treat headaches or ward off bad dreams.  In ancient Greece, students wore rosemary garlands in their hair when studying.  They believed the rosemary would help them remember.  In the Middle Ages, rosemary was thought to have protective powers.  People would place sprigs under their pillows to ward off demons and bad dreams.