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Updated Aug 28th, 2008
By Robin Corwin - LCF Outlook
Hard-Working Herbs
The common conception is
that herbs are plants used for flavoring
culinary dishes. But
they’re so much more.
One of the hardest-working
plant groups, herbs serve
mankind in many practical ways.
Culinary herbs are just the tip of
the iceberg. Medicinal herbs have
been used for ages to soothe
human ailments and cure diseases.
Household herbs have
cleaned and scented humans,
their clothing and their homes.
Sadly, the popularity of many
medicinal and household herbs
has dwindled with the advent of
modern chemical compounds that
now line supermarket and drugstore
shelves. Are the chemical
replacements better? Who
knows?
Even discounting their known
practical uses, herbs are garden worthy
plants with scented, colorful
foliage and flowers that add
height, texture, variety and historical
connotations to any garden.
They also attract beneficial
insects.
On a recent trip to England, I
visited Sulgrave Manor in
Oxfordshire, the ancestral home
of our country’s first president.
George Washington’s great-greatgreat-
great-great grandfather
once owned this historic Tudor
estate which was purchased and
renovated with donations from
both sides of the Atlantic.
English schoolchildren visit
the manor to learn about how
their ancestors lived and worked.
Besides the historically accurate
rooms of the house, there’s a
George Washington exhibit of
memorabilia, as well as wonderful
grounds. These include a rose garden,
a formal parterre, an orchard
of heirloom apples and the English
National Herb Society’s demonstration
garden.
In the herb garden, a bed is
dedicated to the herbs that English
colonists took with them when they
braved the ocean crossing to new
lives in America. Here you’ll find
many old friends, such as germander
(Teucrium chamaedrys), borage,
catnip, catmint, cheddar pink
(Dianthus gratianopolitanus), hollyhock,
hyssop, mullen, pot
marigold (Calendula officinalis),
various thymes and winter savory
(Satureja montana).
Another bed holds those herbs
brought back to Britain from the
colonies. Most have colorful Indian
and American common names,
such as black cohosh (Cimicifuga
racemosa), American cranesbill
(Geranium maculatum), coyote
mint (Monardella odoratissima),
Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum),
pokeweed (Phytolacca
americana), squawbush (Rhus
trilobata) and Tennessee coneflower
(Echinacea tennesseensis).
A list of the herbs, a garden
plan and more information about
this historical venue can be found
at www.sulgravemanor.com.
A fun note. Patriot George
Washington, born and bred in
Virginia, stated he would never set
foot on English soil. When a large
bust of the president was erected at
the manor, soil from Virginia was
specially imported to place beneath
it, honoring his wishes.
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