Herbs - Garden talk

[smithyveg]

At our horticultural society the other night we had a talk from Lynne Tann-Watson on 'Herbs through History'. Now, she turned up dressed in black and with a shock of aubern hair and proceeded to lay out a load of pamphlets entitled ' The Witch's Garden' and I though 'Oh sh*t here we go' as I'm not shy at admitting I think herbal cures and the like are a load of mumbo jumbo but I must say she gave a very entertaining talk that almost had me believing that a tincture of lemon balm and spearmint can cure my upset stomach (or was it piles?). Anyway, she has a website:

http://www.witchsgarden.i12.com/

And she has some very interesting looking recipe books that I was almost tempted to buy. It seems our ancestors ate just about anything that they found growing underfoot and the Romans introduced all sorts of goodies when they invaded our shores......especially rosemary which is about the most fantastic herb I can think of, but only when used in conjunction with a lovely slab of dead Larry the lamb!

If anyone is looking for a good speaker (in the Midlands I would suggest) then I would certainly recommend Lynne to you.


Simon
www.smithyveg.blogspot.com

[runnerbean]

Very interesting, I don't believe herbs cure, but they are good for your health, and we don't use them enough. I use herbs all the time, instead of salt. My Auntie who brought us up, in Ireland always made fresh nettle soup every Spring, as she believed it was full of iron, and therefore good for your blood.