Autumn has its own vibe for me – September is my birthday month and usually I am doing some teaching so it marks the start of the new academic year. But it is also a time to explore as there is still so much going on around us, and with warmer extended seasons, there are so many plants still in flower.
A couple of weeks ago we launched our first herb walk as part of the new Cotswold Herb Centre. I wrote about the herb walk and all the goodies we found on Substack. The centre is a hub for the local community to gather and talk herbs. We’ll have a monthly walk, talks and other activities. My co-founder Laura bagged us a display at the Dursley produce show, and other co-founder Angela as herb-bombed the planters and has her eye on some of the wild spaces around the town. I’m so grateful that our paths have recently crossed and I’ve met these two amazing women.
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On the allotment, the wild plants have certainly outshone the vegetables. The borage will take over if I let it, and have purchased a second compost bin now to accommodate it! There is field mint just popping up with its beautiful rich fragrance. But the winner for artistic design must be the teasels. Such a fabulous seed head but not to be messed with.
Teasel, teazel, brushes and combs, makes it quite obvious what it was traditionally used for. Like the dried flower of Echinacea angustifolia, it was used to comb hair. Teasels were used in textiles and was used to tease apart sheep wool and cloth. Medicinally, the roots were used for cleansing. I’m interested to read it is within the Caprifoliaceae family or honey suckle family. Closer cousins include scabiosia or pin-cushions. There is some research into teasel and scabiosia, and they share the chemical properties of being rich in flavonoids, iridoids and phenolic acids. Traditionally in Korea and China they are used for arthritis and joint problems.
So enjoy your autumnal days, or spring days if you are around the other side of the globe.