Community Garden Club: Right in Your Own Backyard
Medicinal and/or edible plants abound!
Following a presentation by Garden Club member and local Librarian Sarah Payne at the Community Garden Club meeting on March 15 a quest began, “Foraging Texas for Medicinal Plants.”
The search has revealed consumable and beneficial species of plants flourishing throughout neighborhood backyards - and front - in Marlin, Texas! There are chickweeds, marigolds, dandelions, winecups, mulberry, and chickweed - and this does not include the typical herbs and vegetables growing in gardens!
Henbit or Henbit Deadnettle with its purple flowers are easy to identify. Its young leaves make good salads, tasting sweet and peppery! Henbit is a natural antioxidant, reduces inflammation and fevers and is a traditional arthritis herb.
Passion Flower leaves brewed as a tea act as a sleep aid. Stick to the Purple Passion Flower that is native to Texas; it has been used for centuries by Native Americans and heavily studied by modern scientists. “Passion Flower has been shown…effective…treating certain menopausal symptoms such as heart palpitations and hot flashes. Passion Flower can be made into a tea or tincture and is often sold in capsule form,” guided Sarah Payne.
American Beautyberry berries are typically clustered near the branches. They are best used to make jelly, tea, or wine. The tea has been used to treat colic, fever, rheumatism, dizziness, stomachaches, and dysentery.
“Eastern Red Cedar is native to Texas.” Sarah further informed, “…tea from the fruit for colds, coughs, worms, and rheumatism…as gum to treat canker sores…smoke from leaves as an inhalant to treat colds, coughs, bronchitis, and rheumatism.”
There was more to learn at the Community Garden Club with Sarah Payne. Mullein, Cleavers or Sticky Weed, Wild Lettuce, Wild Garlic, and Jewelweed - all are worth being foraged. Each promotes wellness in different ways. One soothes earaches, another gastrointestinal and urinary tract inflammations. Wild Lettuce has pain-killing effects. “Wild garlic is incredibly versatile,” members were reminded. It reduces high blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke…promotes bone health. The juice of the Jewelweed leaves can be used to treat skin rashes including poison ivy or athlete’s foot.
Reference materials on foraging for medicinal plants, such as “Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: 560 Herbs and Remedies for Common Ailments” by Andrew Chevallier and “Range Plants of North Central Texas” by Ricky J. Linex are available at the Marlin Library. Online research is also encouraged.
The Marlin Community Garden Club maintains a commitment to provide education, resources, and networking opportunities for its members to promote the love of gardening, floral design, civic and environmental responsibility.
The Marlin Community Garden Club was the first gardening club in the state of Texas, founded in 1923 by Ida Pauleen Linthicum. It became a charter member of the Texas Garden Clubs, Inc., in 1928.
A sprinkle of CHC gardeners can be seen tending and beautifying Falconer Park, Falls Community Health Clinic/Hospital Statue Garden, Falls County Courthouse Memorial Rose Garden (Triangle) and Bell Garden, and City Hall Shrubbery.
To anyone with a heart for gardening, contact Bettye Trotter at (254) 803-2829.