Yesterday my daughter and son-in-law took me on a field trip to visit York County Historical Center in York. PA. Among the numerous exhibits, this was my favorite! De Historia Stirpium Commentaril Insignes (“Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants”) was published in 1543. It features over 500 plants and includes botanical illustrations, structure, medicinal qualities and practical applications. The illustrations are detailed woodcuts. Featured artists include illustrator Heinrich Fullmaurer, Albrecht Meyer, a draftsman, and Veit Rudolph Speckle, a woodcutter.
​Leonhart Fuchs (1502 - 1566) was a German physician and one of the three founding fathers of botany: Otto Brunfels and Hieronymous Bock, the other two. They gave creditability to the study of plants. The herbal is credited for moving herbals from medieval mysticism to accredited modern botanical science. 
Can you imagine sitting quietly with this treasure and savoring each page? I wonder if it’s ever taken out of its case. The next time I visit, I’ll check to see if they have turned the page. 
This is only one of many reasons to visit the York County Historical Center. Actually, you should consider visiting as many historical societies as possible! They are brimming with treasures to remind us to treasure our past and preserve our future. 

Plan to make several wreaths to share with friends!

Even though my dad passed when I was 13, his humor, stories and wisdom live on. This is one of my favorites. Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful fathers - and others who are filling the role of fathers. We are teaching every day, whether we know it or not.

Half of 8 is Zero

I was in an arithmetic class in elementary school and as I looked at the number 8, I realized that "half of eight equals 4" wasn't the only right answer! This discovery thrilled me and I immediately raised my hand to share this with my teacher and the rest of the class. The teacher was neither impressed nor pleased. She was visibly annoyed.
By the time I got home, my dad, a calculus professor at an engineering school, had received a call. He sat me down at the dining room table to have a conversation. His face was expressionless (my dad had made a considerable amount of money in the Korean War playing Black Jack and unlike me, had an enviable poker face).
He told me that my teacher had called and given her perspective, quite negative, on my discovery, and he asked me to explain mine.
"Well, I just realized that half of eight can be zero," I said quietly, my head down.
"Can you prove it?" he asked, and I saw a grin cross his face. He knew I could!
So I drew an eight, and covered the top. 0!
My dad was not angry. He was pleased! And as I looked at the 8 I realize it could be an E or a 3! And if I turned it on its side, it could be an m or a w!
It was then that I realized being creative in school might not be well received. Over the years, many teachers wanted me to **memorize and regurgitate**. Thankfully my dad, a Calculus professor, wanted me to **think**.
My life would have been very different if he has scolded or reprimanded me as my teacher had. I have often wondered over the years as I've worked with young people, how many times their creative ideas and potential contributions have been squelched. Seeing things in new and different ways adds such joy to life.

Note: I realize this may not seem like a good fit for an herbal blog but all of my creative endeavors are influenced by this concept!

Labels are on my mind. I’m in an online gardening group and someone recently posted a photo of a columbine. (Quick sketch of a columbine from my illustrated journal above). She liked it, but her brother told her it was a weed, so they ripped it out of the garden and threw it away.
How often do we allow other people’s perception and labels to determine our actions? Are we so dependent on the approval, or disapproval, of others that we no longer trust our own judgment?
Doing this with plants is disheartening, but even more disturbing is we do it with each other.
Let’s slow down and think before we react and discard. We might miss something beautiful that has value.
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein
We are literally surrounded by, and immersed in, miracles. Don’t miss them.

Primula veris

Gender: Feminine
Element: Water
Planet: Venus
​
The cowslip, herb of Venus, always reminds me of my Dad. He taught me many valuable lessons over the years - this one was humility and a new respect for his wide range of knowledge.
In fifth grade we were formally introduced to poetry writing! I was thrilled, and shared one of my poems with my Dad. He praised the originality, but then noted my “iambic pentameter was off”. I was insulted, and not entirely convinced that he would recognize great poetry if he saw it!
After an extensive search I found an obscure (I thought!) poem by the master, William Shakespeare. I copied it – omitting Bill’s name – and handed it to him. He adjusted his glasses, began to read out loud – "Where the bee sucks, there suck I” . . . A smile crept across his face and he handed the paper back to me, removed his glasses and without pause continued - “ in a cowslip’s bell I lie . . .” and finished reciting the entire sonnet by memory.
Busted! Maybe in addition to being a calculus professor, he had learned a little about poetry. When I see cowslips, I'm reminded to be humble and not to underestimate the talents of others.

Viola spp.

Gender: Feminine
Element: Water
Planet: Venus
​

Last weekend the annual Artisan Guitar show was held in Harrisburg. I’ve been attending with a friend from Baltimore since 2019, excluding the pause during the pandemic. Two of my favorite displays feature the raw materials used to make guitars.

It fascinates me to think that from these gifts from nature, artist can create such extraordinary masterpieces.

My grandmother grew tulips in many colors of the rainbow next to her wrap around porch on her farm in Greencastle, Indiana. She passed years ago, but this poem by Lisa Schroeder reminds me of her.

As a child, tulips reminded me of my grandmother and the promise of spring! The varieties are delightful from the huge Emperor tulips, classic Dutch, double tulips, fringed, flared, parrot and more. All colors from pristine white to deep black, and every color in between are available, with some having two or more colors!  Tulips planted around a home were thought to provide protection from curses and evil spirits, and bring prosperity and luck.

They originated in Central Asia and Turkey, and were associated turbans and protection. I always thought they came from the Netherlands, but they didn’t arrive there until the 17th century, and were a symbol of wealth and status. There was a period during 1636 and 1637, called the Dutch Golden Age, when the prices for exotic and rare tulip varieties skyrocketed.  One of the most expensive bulbs was compared to the price of a brownstone home in New York City. The ‘mania’ was short lived and the collapse of the bubble  had economic repercussions long after the brief period of madness.  

Many of you know I research topics for my workshops and topics using the alphabet. When I got to H as I was researching tulips, I was surprised to learn of the Hunger Winter. Tulips were used as food in attempts to stay alive, but tens of thousands died, and many suffered long term health issues for the rest of their lives. Actress Audrey Hepburn was a teenager living in the Netherlands during the winder of 1944  - 1945. She suffered from malnutrition and hardships as a result of the famine. 

The deaths during the hunger winter resulted from a variety of factors. It was a harsh and brutal winter, and the Germans requisitioned food from the Netherlands to support their war efforts, depleting the food supply for the Dutch population. Allied forces implemented a blockade to German occupied territories, and bombings and military action in the area greatly impacted transporting food. ​

Peter Barr, a Victorian era nurseryman, read Parkinson’s Paradisus in Sole, describing the varieties of daffodils and narcissus that grew in the British Isles in the 1600s. He was frustrated that they no longer existed locally and became obsessed with finding them and giving them a renaissance. 

Barr, a Scotsman, traveled through Europe in the mid 1800s, often on horseback, in search of these wildflowers.. At age seventy-two, Barr expanded his search worldwide, planning a five year trip which actually lasted for seven. He traveled to Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, islands in the  Pacific and the United States to locate and collect the daffodil bulbs. He only spoke Scottish English, so he used pictures to show the locals what he was hoping to find. He told of finding six thousand to seven thousand bulbs in certain areas, and one particularly successful quest resulted in nearly twelve thousand bulbs. All were collected, bagged and returned to  England. 

In 1890, he demonstrated the success of his travels with a four day daffodil festival, and in the years that followed, he put on annual displays of up to two million plants at his nurseries. As a result, the Gardener’s Chronicle, a British Horticulture periodical, gave him the distinguished and well deserved title of the Daffodil  King!

Barr, a modest man, credited Oscar Wilde’s love of yellow. Barr stated, “Wilde used to lecture on aesthetic colors, and to him we owe more than to anyone else the taste for yellow, to my mind the most beautiful color in nature. He took the sunflower, but that is too ‘lumpy,’ and the people soon got tired of sunflowers. Then my daffodils came, and they came to stay.” [Bendico Advertiser 1900]

I found this particularly amusing since Oscar Wilde was once arrested, and charged with gross indecency, for carrying a Yellow Book!  At the time, there were books with yellow covers that were considered scandalous and no decent person would openly carry a Yellow Book in public. But that’s a story for another time! 

It’s impossible to know if daffodils would have been completely obliterated if not for The Daffodil King’s efforts, but it is  likely they would not be as well known, revered and cherished as they are today. There is a wealth of information on Peter Barr, and if you are at all  intrigued, I highly recommend you check  out the links below. . His travel journals were my favorite, describing harrowing, and at times hilarious, adventures!  His writing style is delightful! Here’s an example!