Page 24 - Jo Ann Gardner & Heirloom Gardens

ISSUE : Issue 63

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1993/6/1

met this woman Pauline; she works at the Highland Village on their genealogy pro? gram. She said, "Oh yeah, we have a South? ernwood at home." And it seems that her great-grandmother got a piece of it when she worked in the Boston States. And of course, this is, you know, the history of Cape Breton. She brought it home. Evidently she thought highly of it. I don't know whether she used it as an herb. It can be used like moth flakes as a moth deterrent. It's an aromatic plant; it has a lot of aroma in the leaf. Doesn't really have flowers to speak of. It's sort of a gray- leaf, lemon-y scent. It's very nice. And it's a kind of shrubby plant; it grows up every year. So she planted it. But she made sure that her daughter had it, and she made sure that the daughter's daughter had it. And now I have it. I have the same plant. She gave me a piece. It was probably less than 6 inches long. And I put it in the soil. And it grows very easily. And there you are. Now, this plant is also a plant that was introduced to the (American) colonies, probably in the 1600s. In other words, it was specif? ically brought over for an herbal pur? pose. And so was Bouncing-bet, that's (found) on our high? way. It was specifi? cally brought over because it contains saponin. You can rub the leaves and they will lather up. And they use it as a de? tergent. It's still used today to clean very delicate fabrics and tapestries and things. It's an an? cient herb that was also used for fulling. (But) when they planted it here, they weren't using it for that purpose; they were using it for gardens. And what happened is that with the introduction of tamer forms, and with the altering of gar? den styles and garden tastes and all this, the hardy perennials that people loved and tended and that were the only ones available to them, fell out of favour. This is why you see them as weeds, growing on the roadside. And we often see Bouncing-bet. It's very interesting. It's called Bouncing-bet be? cause it grows by rhizomes. These are creeping roots. You put it in one place and it creeps and spreads around. Very nice in the damp earth. So what happened was, it just crept out of the garden--no longer wanted--just sort of fell over the bank and into the ditch. And it grows in damp ditches just below where a garden once was. And often, you know, that's a telltale sign. So, over my explorations I became very good at telltale signs. And I have found CAPE BRETON BRACE LTD. -AND- CAPE BRETON MEDICAL present FOOTMAXX 85% of all adults complain of: Foot pain Tired legs Sore knees Aching backs Stiff muscles Tingling Numbness Many others suffer from: Bunions Callouses Corns Hammer toes Heel pain (Plantar Fasciitis) Heel spurs Shin splints Tendonitis (Achilles) The good news is that pain resulting from nearly all of the above symptoms and conditions may be relieved by correcting the way you walk. Your feet are the foundation of your body. With FOOTMAXX COMPUTER GENERATED ARCH SUPPORTS we take the guesswork out of your foot problems and get you back on your feet again. Would you like to get rid of your foot pain? Then call and make an appointment today! (902) 539-5100 • Jake Gale Footmaxji LOW ARCH ' (Pronation) * • FOOTMAXX the main alternative to foot pain!

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