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In the Herb Garden this week – Blessed Thistle

Blessed Thistle (Cnicus Benedictus/Carduus Benedictus/Centaurea benedicta)  This member of the thistle family struggles with its name in Latin and even in English as it is sometimes called Holy Thistle instead. However, it has been valued for many centuries as a remedy for a wide range of ailments and is recommended in numerous historic herbals. In…


In the Herb Garden This Week – Soapwort

In the Herb Garden this week no. 12 (15.8.20)   Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis)   This vigorous perennial plant threatens to take over the Apothecary’s Garden at times but the pretty pink flowers are welcome in late summer and have just appeared in the garden this week. Soapwort has been used as a medicine for liver…


In the Herb Garden this week – Tobacco

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)   Tobacco was administered by medical practitioners in the 18th century to treat everything from colds to cholera but surprisingly it was tobacco smoke which they liked to use, as well as more conventional forms of the medicine.   In 1774, two London doctors, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan, formed a society…