Dewdrop Delights

"Gamma, what's dis?" Little 'J' was fascinated and excited by the dew drops in the Lady's Mantle we have growing all over our property. I told him they were dew-drops. "Shrewshrops?" Although he did not master the pronunciation of the word, his excitement and delight over dew-drops did not cease.He carefully emptied each little dew-filled leaf he encountered. We have a lot of Lady's Mantle around here, so Little 'J' had a very good time. "Earth's liquid jewelry, wrought of air." Philip James Bailey on dewdrops "The leaves of Lady's Mantle are like shallow pleated cups. The soft hairs make water form droplets that roll around on the leaves." About.com ~ I have always thought the dew-drops in Lady's Mantle look like diamonds when the sun shines on them. In the morning there are tiny dew-drops all around the edges of the leaves, making the whole leaf appear sparkly and jeweled. "Lady's Mantle ( named for the Virgin Mary ) is an old-fashioned flower still popular today for it's fuzzy, cupped leaves that hold water droplets after a rain." About.com ~ Little'J's delight over something so simple, yet amazingly beautiful ,makes me happy to be part of his life and also reminded me of the simple joys we forget to appreciate as we get older.Raindrops, dew-drops, miracles of God's creation. ~"The dew-bead. Gem of earth and sky begotten." ~George Eliot

"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants." Deuteronomy 32:2

Spot On Lady's Mantle ( Dewcup )

Candy Cat walks along the stone wall , Lady's Mantle ( Alchemilla vulgaris ) is growing on either side of her. Lady's Mantle, or Dewcup, grows well and easily in the shady, sunny, damp, and dry parts of our gardens. Lady's Mantle grows well along the wooded edges, in the driveway, and it pops up in our red stone entrance gardens.

Lady's Mantle is growing here, next to the hostas. Lady's Mantle is very hardy and grows 6 to 20 inches in height ...but it grows bigger in our gardens. If you click on the picture below , it will enlarge and you can clearly see the dew drops that collect in this plant and will glisten like diamonds when the sun catches them.

"From "little magical one" , the Arab alkemelych ( alchemy ) comes Alchemilla, so-called because of this herb's healing reputation and the dew that collects in each enfolding leaf. The crystal drops of dew have long inspired poets and alchemists and were part of many mystic potions. So powerful a herb was acquired by the Christian Church , which named it 'Our Lady's Mantle'." THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HERBS by Leslie Bremness

I read many of my herb books and in all of them Lady's Mantle is recommended as the herb to infuse as a tea and drink to help alleviate "women's troubles". I harvested the leaves of this herb , dried them, and then when the time came I thought I needed some tea of this plant, I quickly changed my mind when I caught a whiff of the smell. YUCK! I decided that the smell alone was enough to make any woman decide she really did not feel so bad after all...

My Lady's Mantle is a lovely plant for our gardens. It is now beginning to bloom. I will take more pictures of it in bloom later. The blooms are gold, and on long stems.

My herb books say that Ladys' Mantle leaves are good for making a green wool dye, I might try that. The leaves are also supposed to be good for making infusions to help skin conditions, under eye puffiness, and to make compresses for healing wounds. I just might try this too . I have used comfrey to heal wounds, and calm irritated skin. But no, no...never, never will I consume this in a tea!

"I would heartily advise all men of meanes , to be stirred up to bend their mindes,

and spend a little more time and travell in these delights,

of herbes and flowers, than they have formerly done,

which are not only harmlesse, but pleasurable in their turn, and profitable in their use. John Parkinson (Theatrum Botanicum 1640 )

Spot on Laughing Dove Cafe ( Herb Garden )

~~Detail on my dove pen in the herb garden. We call our herb garden Laughing Dove Cafe. ~~ ~~~Autumn is here, my herb garden is covered in leaves and I have just now begun to harvest herbs I should have attended to a month or so ago. Here ( below ) is a front view of the dove pen my Hubby made me for my birthday a few years ago. Every day now I find there are wild doves in the herb garden, they seem to be seeking the company of my penned doves. They also eat the seed my doves scatter and spill outside their pen.

~~~"See how that pair of billing doves with open murmurs own their love and heedless of censorious eyes , pursue unpolluted joys ; no fears of future want molest the downy quiet of their nest." Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

~~~One of the bottle trees my Hubby made me. I collect blue bottles.~~~

~~~The other blue bottle tree in my herb garden.~~~

~~~I have a variety of herbs and really, if I pay attention to the weather and remember to harvest my herbs BEFORE frost sets in, why...I would have no need to buy most of the herbs and seasonings called for in many recipes. Here I have cut some Rosemary and 2 varieties of oregano. Hmmm....spaghetti sounds yummy right now. ~~~Lady's Mantle :"A hardy perennial that grows in Northern temperate climes, lady's mantle grows no higher than 12 ". "....Early in the morning , what appears to be drops of dew collect in the furrows of the leaves. Horses and sheep are said to find the plant tasty but they will not touch it until these "dew drops" have disappeared. Resembling minute crystal balls the sparkling drops of moisture are produced by the plant itself and were thought to have magical powers in the Middle Ages. Known as 'water from heaven' the drops would be carefully collected and used by an alchemist in his search for the philosopher's stone. Hence this dainty little plant bears the Latin name Alchemilla which is derived from the word alchemy.The common name , lady's mantle, has it's origins in the Middle Ages when it was one of the many plants dedicated to the Virgin Mary." from THE COUNTRY DIARY HERBAL , by Sarah Hollis ~~~Here is some of my Lady's Mantle. It thrives here and when I have to clear out a lot of it I toss it to my sheep who eat it like it is candy. My chickens eat it too. I once followed the recipe for Lady's Mantle tea which is supposed to help alleviate ,ahem...ladies' problems.....anyway, the tea smelled so foul and was so repulsive, I decided I was fine and dandy and did not need any remedy for what ailed me after all..thank-you very much !

~~~Here is my sage bed, in front of my pink chair.~~~

~~~The sundial in our herb garden. I am sure glad we do not have to rely on sun dials to tell time or season. Here in Washington you really can't count on the sun making an appearance to help you schedule any appointments or even tell when it is lunch time. ~~~"Herbs can be tucked into existing flower borders, vegetable beds or decorative pots. As adaptable plants, many will grow happily on a balcony or patio, or even indoors. When more space is available , a separate area set aside for herbs often becomes a special place for peace and enchantment." The Complete Book Of Herbs by Leslie Bremness