05/29/2023
Wood Betony (Stachys officinalis) sample on bed. The story is that back in '88 I did not know what this plant was, or what it was used for, but had an attraction for it, and kept trying to find seeds to grow it. Finally I did find a seed company that had it listed, and when the packet came in the mail someone had written on it "last of these." So I planted them with care, sort of feeling like I was saving an endangered species, which actually I wasn't, but that's how it felt. One seed germinated, and from that spare beginning a whole patch was formed, and from that patch seed taken, and from that seed, eventually thousands of packets made, spreading goodness to more gardens than I would have imagined at the start. Now, generally you go after more diversity than the progeny of a single seed, but actually in this case it wasn't a problem. A more vigorous plant I've never seen, and eventually its virtues became evident to me. The rich, tasty tincture of fresh leaf turned out to be the best thing I could find to stem addictions--alcohol or drug--and since then I've used it plenty of times. Meanwhile the butterflies love the flowers. The flowers are for them. I use the leaves.
