Moving Forward, Herbally Speaking!

This is a couple of new cuttings of Cuban Oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus).  This plant is a tender perennial for us in the northern areas.  The Victorians used it in the late 1800's as a bedding plant.  It is also used in some cultures as oregano and added to stuffing for meat and poultry.  It is also widely used in commercial blends as oregano.   Its common names are wide and varied:  Spanish thyme, oregano brujo (Puerto Rico), Indian borage, hung chanh (Vietnam), Mexican thyme and Mexican mint.  That brings me to my first resolution of the new year.  Whenever I speak about an herb I will always give you the botanical name.  Common names as you can see for yourself vary by region and sometimes smell or use.  If you know the botanical name, unless a plant is mislabeled (and that does happen) you will always get the correct plant.

One of my favorite herbals is Mrs. Reppert's Twelve Month Herbal.  Each day she talks about what is going on during her herbal day.  So from time to time I will give you a bit from that book to take with you.  A quote on January 2 from Henry Beston is what I will leave you with today.

  "It is only when we are aware of the earth and the earth as poetry that we truly live."

Hopefully over the next year, no matter how many days I may blog, I will share something from many of the herb books in my collection.  Hey, that may be my second resolution.

On a computer note, just very happy to report that Hotmail has gotten its act together.  It was very scary to see the e-mails start to collect and not being able to open any of them!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Going to exercise.  Talk to you later.