WesternPA4-09herb thymes - The Herb Society of America

HERB
THYME
S
THE HERB SOCIETY OF AMERICA
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA UNIT
Volume XXXVI Number 3 March, 2009
Editor: Liz DePiero 412-341-8014 lizarddep@verizon.net
CHAIR’S MESSAGE FOR APRIL
It’s no joke ---spring is actually here, sneaking in late in March. But
someone forgot to tell the weatherman to warm things up!
And the April showers sneaked in early too. Not that we really cared,
since we needed some rain. And we know what April showers will bring.
On one of those few truly warm days nestled among all the cold, cold
ones, I treated myself to a sunny luncheon on the patio. Not much was
stirring. But a lone wasp settled on the concrete table beside me…searching
for what Warmth Certainly not food there Maybe just to gather strength
to move on after a long winter sleep. It provided an unusually long
observation period in a comfortable setting – no alarm or fear. What
gorgeous creatures nature holds, if only we have the opportunity to
experience them.
The garden visitors are just beginning to scurry around: robins,
squirrels, and bunnies – yes bunnies. Just in time for our “Tea with Peter
Rabbit” on April 6th. We welcomed in springtime with glorious sandwiches
and cakes along with tasty teas. This activity was a lot of fun, and we added
to our Scholarship Fund.
The gentle rains reminded me of a little poem from childhood:
Flower of the
Month is
daisy

The Herb Society of America is dedicated to promoting the knowledge, use and delight of
herbs through educational programs, research, and sharing the experience of its members
with the community.
The Western Pennsylvania Unit maintains public herb gardens at Mellon Park, in Shadyside,
and at Old Economy Village, in Ambridge. Monthly meetings, with lunch, are usually held on
third Mondays, at the Garden Center about half the time.
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 2
RAIN
The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.
Robert Louis Stevenson
And now the rains will really push things ahead. The Cornus mas is a
glorious gold. And a few daffodils are already blooming, along with the early
small beauties – crocus, snowdrops, and the sky blue scilla.
Are you familiar with Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty' (Family Liliaceae)
It is such a gorgeous blue, and naturalizes easily across woodlands and
shady banks. (Some may have white flowers.) Some classic plant pairings
(from Internet site) include snowdrops (Galanthus) dotted among clumps of
hellebores, Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica) with white daffodils, and
pale yellow tulips with creamy primroses (Primula).
I have one tiny creamy-yellow primrose valiantly trying to perk up the
little sidewalk border. Otherwise only the greenery of leaves poking up break
the monotony of winter’s brown. And in the back – the bluebells have
walked away I fear. Nothing showing.
A few reddish sprouts herald the arrival of the rhubarb plants. And
soon there will be other green sprouts – such good eating. Our last program
made us all salivate for fresh from the garden foods. One early one is, of
course, asparagus.
Eating Asparagus
Asparagus is an ancient vegetable, first cultivated by the Romans and used
in such curious recipes as puréed asparagus tips simmered in white wine
with onion, lovage, coriander, and savory, then thickened with egg yolks. If
you don't want to go to all that trouble, fresh asparagus tastes fabulous
briefly steamed and served with melted butter or as a salad with a
vinaigrette drizzled over the vibrant green spears.
Asparagus in Vinaigrette

• ½ pound pencil-thin asparagus per person
2 tbsp. white champagne vinegar
3 tbsp. walnut oil
3 tbsp. grape seed oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 3
Bend each asparagus spear gently, snapping off and discarding the tough
ends. Steam the asparagus until just tender, about five to eight minutes.
Plunge into a bowl of ice water, then drain and pat dry. Prepare the
vinaigrette by whisking together all the ingredients, tasting to correct
seasoning. Coat the asparagus with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.
from: Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) by Carole Saville
Ah – spring, and new life begins. Our lively unit bursts with energy into
the new calendar year looking forward to exciting programs, another plant
sale, and continuing our Herbes de Pittsburgh. Garden events and our own
garden spruce-up bring us close to the Earth as Persephone once again
resumes her role in bringing forth new growth.
We wish only the best for our Unit members who battle to once again
enjoy the springtime, dear Nancy and Marilyn. And always, too, those who
may have lesser yet constraining problems such as health and/or age.
However we can help and remember them will be a part of keeping them
close in our hearts.
We are fortunate to have many new members joining our Unit – a
tribute to the quality of our work and those members who continue to reach
out to the broader “herbal” community. Welcome each one warmly…get to
know each one as we bring their special interests and ideas into our
remarkable pool of talent.
Wasn’t the tea fun
New! PETER RABBIT
TEAPOT by James
Jane Konrad
APRIL UNIT MEETING – MONDAY, APRIL 20, 10:30 am,
Gathering at the Herb Garden in Mellon Park for our annual
WORK DAY IN THE ELIZABETHAN HERB GARDEN.
The roses have been pruned. Now we need to finish spring clean-up and
weed the garden. The Magnolia tree just outside our garden is almost in full

loom now, at the very beginning of April. Some years it has been in its full
glory during this work day. Hope that the weather forecasters are wrong
about a freeze warning overnight. Magnolias fail to blossom 3 years out of
4, because of late spring freezes. Not a good sign that I woke up today with
more than an inch of snow in our yard. :-(
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 4
Please come to work, dressed for the weather, in layers. Bring your
favorite garden tools for weeding. (Please mark your tools.) You may want
to try out your garden gloves.
Peggy has planned an alternate activity for bad weather or those who
feel they cannot work in the garden. This will be a meeting in the Garden
Center Library. We will work in the garden outside, as long as it is over 45°
and not raining (any more than a slight drizzle).
Please bring your own bag lunch. Drinks and dessert will be provided.
Hospitality: Pat Leiphart, Jean Reiland and Mercedes Piesco
Liz DePiero
RACHEL CARSON BIRTHDAY PARTY IN THE ELIZABETHAN HERB
GARDEN IN MELLON PARK Sunday, May 17 th , 3:30-5:00
Our annual celebration of Rachel Carson, Biologist, Writer, and Pioneer
Environmentalist. Please join us for herbal birthday cakes, lavender
lemonade and party games. More birthday cakes may be needed!! for more
information contact Jean Daniels william.daniels88@comcast.net or 412-
741-0898
MAY UNIT MEETING: MON., MAY 18 TH 10:30 am at Old Economy Village
ANNUAL MEETING AND PLANT AND GARDEN TOOL EXCHANGE
followed by a tour of Jane Konrad’s garden Those who can arrange it,
PLEASE COME AT 9 TO HAVE A WORK SESSION IN THE OLD ECONOMY
GARDEN. Committee chairs and officers: please prepare written reports of
your work during the year since May, 2008, to present (in summary) at this
meeting. Hospitality: Jean Daniels, Ella Gibson and Mary Reed Cochran
OUR UNIT GARDENS WORK TIMES
The Western Pennsylvania Unit of The Herb Society of America
maintains two public herb gardens. Members and other volunteers take care
of these gardens. Of course, spring is a big time for work in gardens.
The Medicinal and Dye Garden at Old Economy Village Pat
Leiphart, chair, leads work sessions there on Wednesdays mornings
starting at 9:00, every week. She also has volunteers from the Beaver
County Master Gardeners. Old Economy Village has a greenhouse (they

carry over scented geraniums and start new heirloom tomato plants, etc.)
and the other gardens are maintained by employees and other volunteers.
The Elizabethan Herb Garden in Mellon Park, Liz DePiero,
chair, leads work sessions there on most Wednesday mornings,
providing it is over 45° and not raining more than a drizzle. She usually
works there the two nicest weather days of the week. Ruth Rouleau works
in the Fragrance bed (has done so since joining our Unit in 1976!!). Jean
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 5
Reiland works in the Shakespeare bed. Peggy Trevanion works in the
Medicinal bed. Both these gardens could use more helpers. Please contact
the chair of the garden you want to help, to arrange different times, if
needed.
WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
The committee decided that the Plant Sale and Herbes de Pittsburgh event
will be our main fund-raisers for this year. Peggy is Chair for the Plant Sale
and Nancy Hanst and Paula Lockhart are Co-Chairs for HdP. These chairs
are looking for members to work on these events. Please let them know if
you are interested in participating. We will have some small fund-raisers
during the year and we invite your suggestions.
Ella Gibson and Nancy Hanst, Co-Chairs
PROFILES OF NEW MEMBERS:
Peg Campbell: retired from teaching in 2007 and took the Phipps Master
Gardener Course. She worked in the Herb Garden in Mellon Park as part of
the Master Gardener class, and enjoyed it. Since then, Peg has visited our
meetings several times and joined our Unit in February, 2009. She has lived
in the Pittsburgh area all her life. She has planted some basic herbs in
planters near her vegetable garden. She plans for more herbs this growing
season. Peg also co-chairs a community garden in Butler, for the food bank,
where she uses herbs among the vegetables, seeing if companion planting
works. Another of her interests is how to use herbs in cooking and to attract
beneficial insects.
Silloo Kapadia: retired from her career as a surgical pathologist and took
the Phipps Master Gardener Course in 2007 and became a docent at Phipps
Conservatory in 2008. Her first contacts with our Unit were during the
Master Gardener class when Ruth Rouleau gave the class about herbs and
Liz DePiero led a work day in our Herb Garden for the Master Gardener
students. Silloo is originally from the Madras region of India. Her husband
is a metallurgist. They settled in Pittsburgh and have a daughter and 2

granddaughters in the Pittsburgh area, also. Her special interests are
gardening, culinary and horticulture. She joined our Unit in February, 2009.
Debbie Clark: has been interested in plants since childhood when she
helped her Grandmother in her garden with her perennials. A trip to colonial
Williamsburg about 10 years ago influenced Debbie’s thinking on the
usefulness of plants as well as enjoying them for their beauty.
Her family has lived in the Pittsburgh area for generations. After retiring, she
realized she could devote more time to learning more about plants,
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 6
specifically herbs. She saw the Unit's ad for the plant sale last year at May
Market. There she picked up some literature about the Herb Society and
began to follow up on visiting with the unit and becoming a member.
Even though she thought she was well read about herbs, the Society has
opened up a whole new world concerning them. She really looks forward to
learning how to successfully grow them, cook, and generally integrate them
into her everyday life! Debbie joined our Unit in February, 2009.
…AND A NOTE FOR OUR OLDER MEMBERS –
Looking at the By-Laws, we have a category of membership called
SAGE MEMBERS. These have been a member for 20 years and have
reached age 85. Dues for Sage Members are free to the member, paid by
the Unit for local and National dues. Sage members are welcome at all
meetings and receive all mailings.
If you have been shy about revealing your age, this may be an incentive
[Emily gleefully reported her age!!]. Please let the chair (Jane Konrad),
treasurer (Pat Leiphart), membership chair (Paula Lockhart) or newsletter
editor (Liz DePiero) know if you have reached this golden birthday!!
THE FLOWER OF THE MONTH, DAISY
The daisy represents innocence, given its sheer simplicity and whiteness.
Children love to gather huge bouquets of daisies growing in fields.
The flower has another meaning, dating back to the Middle Ages: the
knight who bore two daisies on his shield was the Lady’s choice. If the
Lady wore a crown of Daisies, it meant that she still had not made up her
mind.
The petals of the daisy are plucked one by one, leaving it up to pure
chance to determine if “He loves me, he loves me not.” Few may put stock
in the ritual, but it is still an amusing little test.
from Marthe Seguin-Fontes: The Language of Flowers Sterling Publishing Co., New York, 2001
The name comes from the Old English daegeseage, day’s eye, so called
because of the pupil-like yellow center of this round white flower, and from
the habit of daisies to shut their petals when the sun is gone.

The Greeks tell this story of the daisy’s origin. One morning the wood
nymphs decided to dance in the sunny edge of the forest, where the
orchards began. The god of the orchards, spying them at their games, drew
near to watch. One nymph in particular stung him with her beauty, and he
fell instantly in love and rushed at her. But she and her sisters, vanished,
taking refuge in the form of daisies, growing there at the edge of the forest.
The daisy, wrote poet Walter de la Mare, “make a skylark of every
heart.” Botticelli used the daisy in his paintings to symbolize the innocence
of the Baby Jesus. from Gretchen Scoble and Ann Field: The Meaning of Flowers
Chronicle Books San Francisco, 1998
Liz DePiero
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 7
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AT FRICK ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER
Saturday, April 18 th , 10:30-4:30
This is a day of celebration and stewardship of the earth. Park restoration
projects, demonstrations, music food, crafts and nature exploration activities
– fun for the whole family! Our Unit will have an information table about
herbs. We could use a few more volunteers to help out for a couple of
hours. Please contact Jean Daniels – william.daniels88@comcast.net or 412-
741-0898
ANOTHER CELEBRATION FOR RACHEL CARSON
As you may have heard, we are holding the 3 rd annual Rachel’s
Sustainable Feast–Pennsylvania, at the Rachel Carson Homestead on May
24, 2009.
We reached more than 1,100 people last year and expect around 1,500
this year. Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was a scientist and author whose
1962 book, Silent Spring, helped form the modern environmental
movement. Promoting local sustainable agriculture/food, eco-friendly
vendors and regional environment and conservation groups, as well as
educating the public about sustainable living, provides a unique opportunity
to highlight Carson’s environmental ethic:
• Live in harmony with nature
• Preserve and learn from natural places
• Minimize the impact of man-made chemicals on natural systems of
the world
• Consider the implications of human actions on the global web of
life.
We look forward to seeing you at Rachel’s Sustainable Feast (and birthday
party, Carson was born on May 27)! For more information call 724-274-5459
Jean Daniels

AND ANOTHER PLANT HEARD FROM…
Coffeehouses keep coming up. J. S. Bach went to the Zimmermann
Coffeehouse and wrote “The Coffee Contata”.
The following is from a book about Joseph Priestly, the discoverer of
oxygen, who also lived at the time of the American Revolution in England.
He befriended Benjamin Franklin, and, when his liberal thinking became
unpopular in England, came to Pennsylvania seeking religious freedom. The
book is full of information crossing from England to the Colonies and crosscultural
influences:
The impact of the introduction of coffee into Europe during the
seventeenth century was particularly noticeable since the most common
beverages on the time, even at breakfast, were weak “small beer” and
wine….Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began the day alert and
HERB THYMES APRIL, 2009 PAGE 8
stimulated, rather than relaxed and mildly inebriated, and the quality and
quantity of their work improved. …Western Europe began to emerge from an
alcoholic haze that had lasted for centuries.
page 54, Steven Johnson: The Invention of Air – A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth
of America Riverhead Books (Penguin USA group) New York 2008
Liz DePiero
To those newsletter readers who are not members of The Western Pennsylvania
Unit of The Herb Society of America: If you are interested in joining, please contact
Paula Lockhart, membership chair, 412-767-5044. It is our practice for new people
to come to two or three meetings before making the decision to join.
BIRTHDAYS:
APRIL DIAMOND MAY EMERALD
22 Amy Core 17 Sally Johnson (wow!! 1908)
27 Elise Reeby 17 Jean Reiland (she is younger than Sally)
23 Pat Leiphart
[Please send your birthday date to Liz, editor, if it has not yet appeared in this
newsletter. Thanks!!]
UPCOMING EVENTS: PLEASE NOTE!!!
Ongoing: CLOSING April 18 th Spring Flower Show at Phipps Conservatory,
Monday, April 6 th 12-5 (serving at 2) at the Garden Center -- SCHOLARSHIP TEA
Saturday, April 18 th , 10:30-4:30 at Frick Environmental Center
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION see page 6
Monday, April 20 th , 10:30 am, in the Elizabethan Herb Garden in Mellon Park
UNIT MEETING: WORK SESSION IN THE GARDEN see pages 3-4
Saturday, May 16 th , 9-2 at Beechwood Farms Nature Center in Fox Chapel
Piccadilly Herb Club Annual Herbal Festival, plant sale, herbal products, etc.

Sunday, May 17 th 3:30-5 in the Elizabethan Herb Garden in Mellon Park
RACHEL CARSON BIRTHDAY PARTY see page 4
Monday, May 18 th , 10:30 at Old Economy Village
UNIT MEETING: ANNUAL MEETING, PLANT AND GARDENING TOOL EXCHANGE
PLEASE DIG AND POT PLANTS, NOW, SO THEY WILL BE READY TO SHARE.see p. 4
Saturday, May 24 at the Rachel Carson Homestead in Springdale
Rachel Carson’s Sustainable Feast-Pennsylvania see pages 6-7
Thursday, June 4—Saturday, June 6
(With Garden Tours The Day Before And The Day After)
at The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel In Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Herb Society Of America 2009 Educational
Conference and Annual Meeting Of Members
THYME TO GARDEN IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA APRIL, 2009
Right away: PULL AND GET RID OF WEEDS BEFORE THEY GO TO
SEED: dandelions and Pennsylvania bitter Cress
and in our herb garden, LESSER CELANDINE: “The flowers would
originally appear to have been designed with the object of attracting
insects for their fertilization, the bright-coloured, burnished petals
having honey sacs at their base, but the flowers can face colder days
than the insect can, for whom, the honey has been provided,
blooming when few on the insects have emerged, with the result that
comparatively few become fertilized in this country and not many
seeds are produced. The plant, therefore, has recourse to another method
of reproduction, independent of all external aid. At the point where the
upper leaves join the stem are to be seen little objects like minute round
tumours, which grow about the size of a grain of wheat. In the early
summer, when the leaves and stems are dying down, these grains become
loose and drop to the ground. Each is capable of producing a new plant.
…The root of the Lesser Celandine is perennial.
…A dressing of coal or wood ash is said to effectually destroy the whole
plant.”from Mrs. M. Grieve: A Modern Herbal volume I Dover, 1971 and Harcourt, Brace, 1931
We will have to see if Mrs. Grieve’s suggestions works!!
Please dispose of weeds in the trash.
They will grow and go to seed if you add them to the compost pile.
Another garden job to do right away:
UNCOVER THE TOPS OF IRIS RHIZOMES. I have seen both Jean Reiland
and Ruth Rouleau do this in our herb garden. Apparently Iris, or maybe only
Bearded Iris, will bloom only if the upper part of the rhizome (horizontal,
underground stem that sends out roots and is the base of the Iris stem) is at
the soils surface, open to light. If the plants are in the ground for a few
years, they work their way up so the rhizome is correctly placed. If you

ush the soil off the top edge of the rhizome, you may be hurrying along
the blooming process in your garden.
Bearded Iris bloom in late May and early June, and their foliage
continues all summer.
My last nag for garden jobs: The Forsythia is still blooming. This is
your phenological (garden observations and care based on observation of
the natural world, not the calendar) clue to apply corn gluten meal and
water it in (unless Mother Nature has done so) to stop weed seeds from
germinating. This works in your lawn and in your flower and vegetable
beds. Please write down the date you apply it, and keep from putting in any
seeds in that area for 5-6 weeks. When its seed-stopping quality is finished,
the corn gluten meal becomes a high Nitrogen fertilizer.
THYME TO GARDEN IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA APRIL, 2009 PAGE 2
BACK TO COMPOSTING: It is time for me to discontinue my back porch compost
container. The soil in the area where I plant annuals in the vegetable patch is now
completely thawed. I just have to do it on a relatively dry day.
I dig a trench or uncover an area down to about one shovel’s depth, and spread
the partly decomposed winter compost into the bottom. Then I cover it up with the
topsoil I removed. The earthworms and the microbes in the outdoor soil will finish
the job, turning my kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps into rich soil.
Now it’s time to establish my nice-weather outdoor compost pile.
We have a large, heavy, compost tumbler at the back of our yard, that we put
in 32 years ago when we bought the house. Does anyone want it Yours for the
taking.
I think this year we need to make compost simpler, just by having a pile.
I plan to make a chicken-wire frame, about 36” on each side, square, with the
4 th side loose so you can open it like a gate. The wire is about 36” wide so it will be
that tall.
Then you use greens and browns –at least twice as much brown as green.
Greens include fresh kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps (Pat is collecting tea bags
and coffee grounds, too.), grass clippings, garden waste; and browns include dried
and brown leaves. When starting a compost pile, purists layer the greens and
browns, like a lasagna.
Add some native topsoil from your yard to the compost pile, to give it the local
micro-organisms which do the actual decomposing for you.
Then you turn the pile with a large garden fork, every day if possible, and water
it if we don’t have an inch of rain each week. When you have more kitchen scraps,
add them, under the top layer. The lasagna look disappears as soon as you start
turning it. COMPOST IS DONE WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE RICH, DARK EARTH.
Bacteria and worms from the soil under the compost pile come in and help with
the decomposition process. A compost pile really doesn’t smell, unless you have
too much green and kitchen stuff in it, and it isn’t decaying. The temperature
inside the pile heats up. You can get a very long thermometer, which looks like a
meat thermometer with a 3 foot long spike on it. Stick it into the middle of your
pile, and wow your grandchildren with the speed the needle goes up!!

Compost tea: put finished compost into a bucket and add water. Let it soak for
a day or so, and then use the “tea” to water and fertilize.
BACK TO ORGANIC LAWN CARE:
IN APRIL: Apply Corn Gluten meal in area where weed seeds may germinate and
cause even more work than you want.
Pull weeds by hand or spot-spray with vinegar-clove mixture, as needed.
Apply compost tea.
IN MAY: Apply calcium-rich fertilizer and other amendments, as suggested in the
results of your soil test.
Dethatch (vigorously rake with a fan rake, after the grass is growing well, to
remove old, dead grasses) and aerate as needed.
Liz DePiero
Western Pennsylvania Unit, The Herb Society of America