Evening star., 1936-04-03
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Plant some Sweet Woodruff this Spring,
some time in May. If you want peren-
nial that grows on you, in the best sense.
Asperula Odorata, or Master Of the
Woods, in time will demonstrate to you
why 1t got that latter rather high-down
title.
Those who already had 1t In the ground
are now reaping the pleasure Of watch
ing 1t spread beneath the evergreens.
That is why it is called Master Of the
Woods, because of its tendency to spread
so widely, once planted.
It does this by means of runners, evi-
IDENTIFY, new plants coming up farther
and farther back beneath the spruce.
There were no flowers on the half
dozen specimens which were put in last
May about the Goth. So propagation
must be by runners, as well as by seeds.
This is one of Natures marvellous plans.
Everything about this plant is as
pretty as its various names.
Even the scientific name, Asperula
Odorata, is pleasant to the ear and
tongue. AS for Sweet Woodruff, that
speaks volumes all by itself.
This is one of the herbs, but let no
amateur gardener be foored by that fact.
Herbs, despite their present vogue, are
just plants!
Why, every one has herbs, even in
some Of the most popular Of annual
flowers.
And Sweet Woodruff, despite the legen-
Diary lore which has clustered around it
for centuries, is a nice little plant, about
a foot high, and maybe as much around,
with small white flowers in season.
y
The leaves, when dried, are family
aromatic. When infused in hot water
they make beverage which is lauded in
all herbal literature, but which, accord
ing to modern taste, is rather fiat. Mace
rated with Rhine wine, the leaves give
the particular aroma to the German
"Maiwein." 1t is said that old Teutonic
warriors carried small bag full Of Sweet
Woodruff leaves when they went into
battle as a sort of charm.
Sweet Woodruff herb makes an "ex-
hilarating and refreshing" tea, according
to the books but the drinker perhaps
has to have very good imagination to
find anything eXhilarating about it. A
little lemon juice, as with most herbal
teas, improves it immensely. The tea is
oeAAo ~ OS SOOA AOA 4liNASOStAOA4, oAld AL
colds to induce perspiration. The hot
water probably does the work in both
cases.
Herbal uses may be forgotten in the
planting of Sweet Woodruff in the aver
age garden. 1t is best to secure plants
rather than fool around with seed. Plants
usually are available about May IS,
which is time enough to set them out.
They do well in shade or semi-shade,
which makes them particularly valuable.
Other wild flowers coming up at the
present time are the Spring Beauty, the
bloodroot, hepaticas, Mayapple, shoot
ing stars, Jacobs ladder, Dutchmans
breeches. These are all "herbs" in the
true sense. The Mayapple, for instance,
is the famous podophyllum of the phar-
macoepia. used the world around for
constipation in combination with nux
vomica.
The violets and the Virginia bluebells
are up. We have reports of violets in
full bloom, but not ours. This is the way
it goes, the same plants blooming one
place several days, or even many days,
before they blossom elsewhere.
Watching the uprising and blossoming
Of the little plants of the garden is a
great deal of pleasure. Any one can see