I count my blessings with the flowers,
never with the leaves that fall.

- Lady Johnson 1912

Thank you for all your quotes and comments on the subject of gardening. The interest in the pre-war gardens which contained plants for medicinal purposes as well as cooking, certainly generated memories of parents and grandparents in the garden. One plant of interest is the humble onion.

Introduced and named by the Romans, the name onion comes from the Latin word “unio” meaning large pearl. From the Middle Ages onwards onions were often hung in the home, as it was believed that the scent protected the inhabitants from the “curse of infection” which prior to antibiotics would often kill whole families. In Victorian times the antiseptic properties of onion were recognised and its juice was often used as a disinfectant. Also slices of onion were applied to ulcers and wounds. They were often laid into the ill-fitting shoes and boots of the poor, to heal the inevitable blisters or industrial wounds that regularly occurred before the days of shoe fitting, steel toecaps and modern comfortable materials.

There is certainly scientific evidence to back up the old wives tale that onions could cure infection and I can remember my grandma poaching onions in milk to feed to granddad when he had flu. I had a family history completed by Brian Drescher of www.english-roots.com and was quite upset to find out that three of my great great Granddad’s children all died of scarlet fever within one month of each other. The overuse of antibiotics is a great concern for my generation but it must have been so much worse before we had them, to live in a time when nothing could be done to stop the spread of infection throughout a family. The thought that boiled onions were the only medicine that could be afforded is desperately sad.

On the subject of sad thoughts I unashamedly admit I was and am a great Diana fan. Yes she was flawed but that’s integral to the human condition! Somehow the flaws made her seem more real. The pictures of her on the television this week, as the trial came to an end, brought some of the acute feelings of sadness, at her early loss, back to me and reminded me that death is an ever present part of all our lives. I think that the best we can hope for is acceptance and positive memories. This poem read at my Gran’s funeral (no idea of the author) always cheers me up when I think of special people who have died

I’d like to leave an echo, whispering down the ways
of happy, laughing times & bright & sunny days
I’d like the tears of those who cry, to dry in the sun
of happy memories that I leave when life is done
To someone greatly missed

My Gran was a very keen gardener and loved her little back garden and shed in Blackburn, Lancashire. As children we certainly enjoyed the produce – her raspberries were divine but we never really appreciated the scraggy lettuces.

I think slugs were the problem with the lettuces and my Gran’s tip for dealing with slugs was to sink saucers into the soil and fill them with beer slops form the local pub into which the slugs were drawn out and drowned. We have tried it in our garden with beer at 15p a can in the supermarket – surprisingly effective – try it!

I have a few other tips to share:

1. For calloused feet, mix ground rice (from pudding section in supermarket) with foot relief cream or massage oil and massage in vigorously.
2. For bruised hands apply arnica cream.
3. As an insecticide on delicate plants tie a rag gently around stem and add a few drops of tea tree, please avoid contact of the oil on the plant.
4. If you have a rodent problem, you need to be careful not allow any infection from the germs they carry. To lessen the risk, make sure you bathe regularly in a bath into which 12 drops of tea tree have been added.
5. For post gardening fatigue use fatigue relief balm or add citrus oils to a ribbon and tie to a domestic fan.

If you have any poems or garden tips I would love to hear from you julie@potions.co.uk.