-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/45914/archive/files/8c9859ae6c47850f587d5e90cf57c776.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=DjwTbisAcn7Qy7R0lUV0WvsyomHMvA6o0WU-YwM6GmdSNCeq3Ql7ajBB2WsnGtlDPdd9M7QDzOn4l4ihmuYHELu5oEsolmf2oq-aEkzaX3UqjuB%7EBFcnnifAU8K2IOFc%7EhfaQ1aXYQ7Tfp0S38MxLP9qGzgbkU%7EvZ5xLHm7nf7yY3L2QsRwb-nrwohAvw2we8yhaxUBMAVK3igOFdTWNoPs8QqeGToVy8pFhtMevQ-ONutvsp-xarLG0mFMB8MkDydgeQEZ1oYt5IWpA4UAo85su7xs8Su%7ErYDnf1AK5vcgdWm5bwuJqwSUGYt8Qkaob4rvP6jznrhfrnp4T1Zq%7EoA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
a0c5f94f0c83a9c14e0dd434ce516ec8
PDF Text
Text
r "'
U:tirrrr:<
i : iv:<
tri+< iiF:? FFF_ Y:'
rr, .rt:<' r>} r Cb ; F ' tF • ,
Issue # 53
r' F4i{`< F::};: i•
F}
r":." JrrY•r'?;.
iw?
F,;?.• r.; 5::::•,
r:::::
i : •_ '
FA•' rt:
AUGUST
1998
Fairest of months, ripe
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER,
Summer' s Queen
The hey -day of the year
With robes that gleam
With sunny sheen,
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
Sweet August doth appear."
Camomile
german- matricaria
roman
anthcmis
R. Combe Miller
chamomilla
nobilis
August weather so far has been atypical.
we can ever call the weather typical.
has been unusual weather wise.
I am beginning to question if
It seems to me each season each year
It has been either too cold in the winter
months, too rainy in the spring, too windy or too something or other in every
season.
column.
JR. LIBRARY
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION
P. O. Box 1776
This particular summer definitely can be put in the " too
hot"
But we are surviving. The Jr. Interpreters have been most helpful
by drawing water from our well and Layne Chappell was invaluable in
harvesting potatoes with me. My grateful thanks to all those that helped.
I
also wish to acknowledge our peer teacher, Sarah Finkelstein as the winner
of the Name the Scarecrow contest. Our scarecrow this year is Matilda, and
she is withstanding the heat and the cameras.
I enjoyed the experience of growing white potatoes. I have always
grown sweet potatoes in the past. Gerard called the white potato the
Virginia potato, the colonists usually referred to it as the Irish potato. It was
customary to plant it on March 17, St Patrick' s Day. I had a few potato bugs
but not a serious problem. Since there was no real infestation I simply
picked off the pests and dropped them into kerosene. They also would
drown them in salt water in the 18th century. There was a good harvest and
we roasted some potatoes in the Geddy yard and enjoyed them. Now I' ve
planted seed potatoes. I was careful to select potatoes that were larger in
size than an egg, thereby insuring enough stored nutrition to produce new,
strong, shoots and eventually healthy potatoes. I planted in a new location to
avoid any remaining disease in the soil and I was sure to cover them well
�with soil to avoid exposure to light.
When exposed the potatoes become
green and toxic.
The first Englishman to write about gardens was Alexander of
Neckaham who was born in 1157. In The Nature of Things he wrote of the
flowers, herbs and fruits that should be included in a noble garden. Among
those fruits was the fig. Our figs are ripe and plentiful and I enjoy eating
them right from the branches. Phyllis made a fig cake with them that we all
enjoyed.
Among the herbs in my garden is one that was very popular booth in
the' 18th century and today as well, chamomile.
The two chamomiles, German and Roman are similar in appearance
and in their apple — like fragrance.
translated means, "
ground apple."
In fact that name, chamomile loosely
I like the names of the herbs, as they are
generally not named for people or places but relate to the plant itself and are
descriptive and sensible names.
Herbalists say these plants are interchangeable. The chemical
properties in both are alike. The differences are that the German chamomile
is an annual, wild plant, and grows tall whereas the Roman is perennial and
creeps lower.
They are sometimes identified as chamomile 1 and
chamomile II.
I am growing the German chamomile. It' s medical use can be traced
back to ancient Egypt. Oil of chamomile was prepared as ointments and
poultices. Nicholas Culpeper acknowledged its value in the 17th century. It
was suggested that chamomile be used to relax tense muscles and alleviate
fatigue.
Landon Carter used it frequently for his slaves and himself for a
variety of ailments, among them colic, stomach disorders, fever, cold
symptoms and worms.
It was even prepared as a strong tea and washed
externally on small pox ulcers.
Sir John Hill wrote in 1772, "
of virtue."
All parts of this excellent plant are full
The leaves and flowers served in aromatic bitters.
In January
1774 an article in the Virginia Gazette recommended it as one of 17 herbal
teas to be made as an alternative to drinking imported tea.
2
�A receipt from the Good Housewife' s Handbook, 1588 for chamomile
oil instructs; " To make oyle of chamomile — take
oyle a pint and a half, and
three ounces of chamomile flowers dryed one day after they be gathered.
Then put the oyle and the flowers in a glasse and stop the mouth close and
set it into the sun by the space of forty days."
John Randolph' s Treatise on Gardening by a Citizen of Virginia
suggested that you slip your chamomile in the month of March.
Parkinson
mentioned that the plant be planted, " in walks, and on banks to sit on, for
that the more it is trodden on, and pressed downe in dry weather, the closer it
groweth, and the better it will thrive."
Today chamomile tea is well known the world over as one of the
major herbal teas.
It is considered a treatment for insomnia. Some take it as
a cure for diarrhea, for nervous disorders, heartburn, morning sickness,
urinary tract infections, relief for gout, relief of arthritic pains, fever and flu
symptoms.
For those people with allergies it should be noted that
chamomile is related to ragweed and should be avoided if you are sensitive
to ragweed.
Aside from that long list of medicinal uses the versatile plant has been
used cosmetically for centuries as well. Both in the past and now
chamomile oil in the bath water serves as a means of relaxation.
Also then
as now hair washed in chamomile tea brings out color highlights and softens
the hair.
Today chamomile is used as a beauty treatment in facial masks and
also in wet compresses on the eyelids to refresh puffy eyes.
This wonderful versatile plant serves not only people but other plants
as well.
Chamomile tea can be sprayed on mildewed seedlings and by
planting chamomile throughout the garden, sickly plants can be restored to
good health.
I personally am not fond of the taste of chamomile tea but I drink it
mainly because it comes so highly recommended.
Mrs. Rabbit administered
it to Peter and that' s good enough for me!
fae€ leaktie
3
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geddy Garden News
Description
An account of the resource
The Geddy Garden News was a monthly newsletter produced by employee Janet Guthrie who worked for many years as a garden interpreter at the James Geddy House. The Library holds a partial run of this newsletter (issues 33-114 with some gaps) for the years 1996-2003. The newsletter ceased publication in 2003 upon Guthrie’s retirement.
Subjects covered most often in the newsletters are 18th century gardens, gardening publications, gardens of the Founding Fathers, plant uses, early and pre-Christian folklore, and seasonal customs. Much good and interesting information is found within these newsletters, but current users should be alert for some now archaic interpretive sources, Latin errors, and cultural generalizations, especially with Native peoples/nations of North America which are often treated as one culture instead of many.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Guthrie, Janet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geddy Garden News, no. 53, August, 1998
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Guthrie, Janet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation