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The Newsletter of THE HERB SOCIETY OF AMERICA, POTOMAC UNIT

Vol. XLIV No.03 May/June 2020 President’s Corner, Peggy Riccio

Teleworking from home this past month has been a secret blessing because it affords me more time in the garden. At lunchtime, I am sowing many of my seeds regardless of the expiration date just to see what will happen. I am trying new plants, moving plants around, taking cuttings, and experimenting with the culinary herbs in the kitchen. In the evenings, I also am spending more time on Facebook, answering people’s gardening questions. More people are turning to gardening and growing their food. Someone on Facebook asked if mustard was an herb or vegetable. I said it is an herb, vegetable, and an ornamental plant. Its large purple leaves add color to the garden and flavor in the kitchen. Someone also asked about garlic mustard, which as you know, is blooming small white flowers now. Most people think of it as a horrible weed, but it is also an edible herb -- one person said she made a tasty pesto! The Herb Society of America website says that herbs are plants valued historically, presently, or potentially for their flavor, fragrance, medicinal qualities, insecticidal qualities, economic or industrial use, or in the case of dyes, for the coloring material they provide. As I work in the garden and grow new plants, I think of the plants’ uses beyond ornamental, their hidden uses those past generations or other cultures knew about. Knowing their potential (in the kitchen for me) changes my perception and I see additional value. This time we are in now has taught me about “perception.” What is one person’s weed is another person’s pesto.

Brassica juneca ‘Red Giant’ Mustard

Alliaria petiolate Garlic Mustard

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Membership Renewal, Annual Meeting & Picnic As many of you know, we scheduled an annual meeting and picnic at Barry Eigen’s home in Ellicott City. However, because of the coronavirus, we will have to cancel that event in May. Because so many members turn in their membership renewal checks to Karen Kilday at Barry’s home, it will be easier if people send their renewal membership checks and forms to Barry instead of Karen for this time. This way, Karen does not have to mail everything to Barry to deposit in the bank. Karen is still handling membership, but this will save her many trips to the post office. Barry will inform Karen of the members’ renewal status. Barry Eigen’s address is 12205 Mount Albert Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail Barry at barryeigen112@gmail.com or Karen Kilday at kildaykaren8@gmail.com. The membership renewal form is at the end of this newsletter. NATIONAL HERB GARDEN NEWS

It is still there. It is lonely, but the weeds are happy. Chrissy and Piper are mostly working from home. It turns out there are things you can do from home. Plan future exhibits, plant documentation, signage, organize pictures, but you cannot weed. Chrissy is an essential employee so she goes in to water a week here and a week there. She is teamed with someone who cuts the grass, also essential. However, they do not have time to weed. Before the Arboretum was shut down Chrissy and Piper, started seeds of cool weather plants and plants that take a while to germinate, such as chili peppers. We will have a chili pepper border this year! The date for the Chili festival has changed from Columbus Day to October 3 because of a scheduling conflict.

The 40th Anniversary Celebration of the National Herb Garden is still currently scheduled for an Under the Arbor Event June 13 from 1 to 4 pm. The Friends of the National Arboretum cancelled their fundraising dinner event that week and the Washington Area celebration of horticulture volunteers that week was cancelled. Those events take a lot of planning and commitments, including a big tent and caterers.

Our event takes people willing to bake an herbal cake (and I am still waiting to hear from some cake bakers) and gather flowers for tussie mussies. If the event does go on, we will probably have to work out social distancing. Have people weed while waiting for their piece of cake? Chrissy and Piper hoped to have a special display of favorite flowers and signage marking the anniversary. That is not likely to happen because we do not know when the arboretum will open. Once the arboretum opens, we expect people will be there as it is a great place to visit. In addition, even if the beds are not as exciting as we hoped, visitors will be surprised and happy to have a taste of an herbal cake. The National Herb Garden Committee, made up of representatives of Mid-Atlantic Units has scheduled its garden workday for June 12. We often plant at the workday, but this time I think it will be mostly weeding, or weeding before planting. We would be happy to have you join us. Please come. See you in the herb garden! Penni St Hilaire

Arisaema triphyllum Native Jack in the Pulpit

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HERB STUDY Hi Herbies! We had a great meeting on February 23 at Betsy Reece’s home. Kari Barrett introduced us to the citrus members of this year’s theme, the Rutaceae family. Her pithy but comprehensive discussion described origins of fruits in the genus Citrus, identified varieties, and discussed geographic origin and historic notes of the principal species, their cultivation and propagation, and their medicinal and culinary uses. Pat Kenny discussed citron and its Buddha’s Hand form. After a lively discussion and show and tell, we recessed to the dining room and enjoyed a repast including Kari’s citrus salad. Sad to say, by consensus we cancelled our March 22 meeting at Kim Labash’s home. We missed her discussion of the genus Ruta: Rue, the herb of grace. Both Kim’s presentation write-up and Kari’s outline are available to members on request. At this point, we are uncertain when our next meeting may be scheduled. Gardeners are forever hopeful! Ideally, we will be able to publish more information in our July Potpourri. At that time, also, we hope to have more clarity regarding the status of the National Arboretum’s Botanical Brews event. Stay tuned. A favorite function of the herb study meetings is to circulate plant growing information. We were counting on obtaining citrus scented herbs to share and discuss at the summer meeting. So far we can display gas plant (Dictamnus albus) from last year’s silent auction; scented geraniums courtesy of Susan McCall who kindly agreed to brief us at the midsummer gathering; makrut lime (Citrus hystrix); calamondin/calamansi (x Citrofortunella microcarpa), lemon button fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia “Duffii” or “Lemon Buttons”), and lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), purchased from Merrifield Garden Center pre-Covid-19. However, where will we find our herbs now? DeBaggio’s is closed. In Maryland and Virginia, garden centers, plant stores, and for what they are worth, big-box “home improvement retailers” like Home Depot and Lowe’s are open, but none of them typically carry the deep inventory we crave. Many mail order seed vendors have stopped or restricted shipping.

The April Washington Gardener discusses some local plant options. Where will you be shopping for the more unusual items on your lists? Richters? Pepper Greenhouse? Geraniaceae in California? Has anyone patronized Well Sweep Herb Farm (NJ) or Colonial Creek (GA)? Any other retail operations? We could help each other by sharing respected sources. I myself could use your direction! In yet another way, this will be a season of experimentation and exploration. Mary Schwegler Dr. Frederick Meyer’s Plant Exploration Trip to the Mediterranean Region

Philadelphia Flower Show Display 2020 Many of our long-time members remember Dr. Frederick Meyer and his work to get the famous Fuch’s Herbal translated from German to English. Potomac Unit members in the 1960’s, revitalized by Dr. Meyer, John Heller, Emily Emart Trueblood, and assisted by Jo Sellers started this project. Leonhardt Fuch was a German physician and botanist who published his herbal in 1543. The Fuch’s Herbal listed plants and their medicinal uses and was famous for its detailed drawings of more than 400 plants. How surprised was I, to round a corner at this past year’s Philadelphia Flower show, “Riviera Holiday” to face a mounted display, “Exploring the Mediterranean: Longwood’s 1957 Plant Collecting Expedition.” What initially caught my eye was the beautifully arranged succulents on a vertical plane. Upon reading the text, I was surprised to

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read of the trip, which Dr. Meyer and his wife Jean took in 1957. They “boarded a steamer bound for France, rented a Renault in Paris and set out on an ambitious journey that would cover 15,000 miles and survey 80 European nurseries and botanical gardens.“ The objective of the trip was to discover and collect new ornamental plants that were not in general cultivation in the United States. Dr. Russell Seibert of Longwood Gardens launched their plant exploration program and engaged Dr. Meyer to send back plants of special interest to American ornamental horticulture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, and Crops Research Division employed Dr. Meyers at the time, but the trip was funded by Longwood Gardens. The Meyers travelled across Europe from March through November visiting Italy, France, Spain and Portugal with side trips to England and Scotland. “Plant materials from private gardens, botanic gardens, experimental stations and arboretums were acquired on an exchange basis. At commercial nurseries materials were purchased.” The trip covered 15,000 miles and approximately 2,800 plant introductions originated from those sources. They visited: the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Scotland; the Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, Scotland; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey England; the Cambridge Botanic Garden, Cambridge, England; the Botanical Garden, Padua Italy; the Botanical Garden, Palermo, Sicily Italy; the Botanical Garden , Madrid, Spain; the Botanical Garden, Coimbra, Portugal;, the Botanic Garden, Florence Italy; the Botanical Garden, Genoa, Italy; the Botanical Garden, Pisa, Italy; the Botanical Garden, Oporto, Portugal; the Botanic Garden, Lisbon, Portugal; the Botanical Garden, Rome, Italy; the Botanical Gardens, Naples, Italy;, the Botanical Gardens, Pavia, Italy; and the Botanical Garden, Barcelona Spain. In addition, they visited dozens of private gardens and nurseries, as well as the public gardens of the Principality of Monaco and Versailles, France. During the 1957 expedition, the Meyers collected succulents more than any other plant. The Jardin Exotique in Monaco and the Jardin Botanique

(Les Cedres) in France held extensive succulent collections, which were displayed creatively. Dr. Meyer sent back more than 300 succulents collected from the Jardin Exotique to Longwood Gardens and many of these plants are still in their collection. As Dr. Meyer wrote, “I have never seen succulents so beautifully displayed as they are at the Jardin Exotique.” The Jardin Exotique’s site is located at the top of a narrow precipice overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Dr. Meyer was captivated by this modern hanging garden connected by footpaths and bridges. In France at Les Cedres, Dr. Meyer collected more than four dozen varieties of Kalanchoe along with several hundred other succulents. We have Dr. Meyer and Jean to thank for many of the succulents that are so popular today. Visit this link to read Dr. Meyer’s actual report which was published in 1959 https://archive.org/details/plantexploration349meye/page/n1/mode/2up Laura Anthony

Dr. Frederick Meyer & Jo Sellers MEMBERSHIP NEWS Karen Kilday Happy Birthday Wishes go out to the following: Kim Labash May 11 Chrissy Moore May 14 Ida Wallenmeyer May 17 Kari Barrett June Mary Schwegler June 7 Barry Eigen June 13 Betsy Reece June 17 Renee Johnson June 22

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Tom DeBaggio

This photo submitted by Holly Shimizu, was taken at his herbal greenhouse in Arlington, Virginia. He moved the business to Chantilly, Virginia and his son Francesco took over the business when his illness prevented him from managing the farm. Since the recent news of the closure of DeBaggio’s Herbs and Nursery this past spring, I thought it would be nice to revisit his memory. Below is his obituary written by Adrian Higgins, published in the Washington Post.

Thomas DeBaggio, Va. gardener who wrote poignantly about Alzheimer's, dies at 69

By Adrian Higgins, February 23, 2011

Thomas DeBaggio, a nationally prominent herb grower and gardening author who became a defiant and poignant voice for fellow Alzheimer's patients, died of the disease Feb. 21 at an Annandale nursing home. He was 69.

After a brief journalism career - he complained of editors always scissoring out his left-wing opinions - Mr. DeBaggio found himself with little income and a young family to support. He started selling tomato seedlings he raised from his garden in the Arlington County neighborhood of Ashton Heights, near where he grew up.

By 1975, the adventure had developed into a nursery run from his home. He converted most of his yard into greenhouse space, where he raised thousands of cuttings of lavender, rosemary, mint, scented geraniums and other plants that caught his fancy.

Patrons and gardening writers flocked to the home, drawn by the aromatherapy experience of entering the greenhouse and the astonishing range of varieties that Mr. DeBaggio grew.

To his loyal customers, he commended a variety of rosemary that was winter-hardy in Washington, and he introduced about a dozen varieties of herbs that he had raised as selected seedlings or mutations, including a rosemary variety named for his wife of 47 years, the former Joyce Doyle.

Mr. DeBaggio wrote or co-wrote several well-regarded books about herbs. Even while consumed by the business, he channeled his need to write by penning a column in the nursery's catalogue.

In the spring 2000 nursery catalogue, he began to note periodic moments of confusion and forgetfulness. "The seeds become familiar companions as I teeter on the cusp of spring," he wrote. "It is at this time of year that I become acutely aware of the trembling life that is within me, as well as in the seed."

He had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's - a rare disorder that affects those younger than 65 - and said he initially tried to reach out to another new patient on the advice of the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

"I called and his wife answered the phone," Mr. DeBaggio told the New York Times. "I said who I was and that I had been asked to call him. She said: 'He doesn't want to see you. He doesn't want to talk to you. Goodbye.'

"That told me a whole lot about Alzheimer's," Mr. DeBaggio said. "It's a disease you hide."

But Mr. DeBaggio decided to confront the degenerative brain disease by going public about it. He appeared on Oprah Winfrey's TV talk show. His journey into darkness was chronicled by National Public Radio. And he wrote two books about his life and the effects of the disease, "Losing My Mind" (2002) and "When It Gets Dark" (2003).

The books explored early memories - his first haircut and other childhood scenes - with the increasing difficulties he faced as his memory and body began to fail.

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At their most insightful, the books captured Mr. DeBaggio's sprightly sense of humor. "The discipline of the mind crumbles into slogans and short bursts of anger," he wrote in "Losing My Mind." "I should run for president."

Thomas Davis DeBaggio was born Jan. 5, 1942, in Eldora, Iowa. His father was a lawyer who moved to Washington to work for the government.

The younger DeBaggio graduated in 1959 from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington. He came of age during the civil rights era of the 1960s, attended college in Arizona but dropped out to become a journalist.

He started an underground newspaper before working for two community newspapers in Arlington, the Northern Virginia Sun and the Arlington News.

Besides his wife, survivors include a son, Francesco DeBaggio of Chantilly; and a sister.

A passage in "Losing My Mind" noted the supposed healing powers of rosemary bushes and the melancholy Mr. DeBaggio felt as he watched the herb grow in the greenhouse - "splashy blue and subtle white" - on the day he received his diagnosis.

"I was conscious of the plant's long history of medicinal use, an irony that was not lost on me," he wrote. "It was said that rosemary was for remembrance."

"At times melodramatic and maudlin, the books are also poignant, insightful and deeply affecting," Washington Post reporter Fredrick Kunkle wrote in a 2003 profile of Mr. DeBaggio. "Their sometimes repetitive, free-associative structure serves only to amplify their message."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++ You can visit this website to listen to a tribute of Tom by Melissa Block of NPR and hear Tom’s voice. https://www.npr.org/2011/02/22/133971224/Alzheimers-Advocate-Thomas-DeBaggio-Dies Laura Anthony

50 Years Ago First Earth Day

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson came up with the idea for a national day to focus on the environment after Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson realized that if he could infuse the energy of anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States — took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment.

By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air Act. Two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act. A year after that, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. As 1990 approached, an effort to organize another major campaign for the planet began. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. As the millennium approached, another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. Earth Day 2000 built both global and local conversations, leveraging the power of the Internet to organize activists around the world, while also featuring a drum chain that traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa. Hundreds of thousands of people also gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC for a First Amendment Rally. Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge

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for the environmental community. Earth Day Network reestablished Earth Day as a major moment for global action for the environment. Earth Day Network brought 250,000 people to the National Mall for a Climate Rally and introduced a global tree planting initiative that has since grown into The Canopy Project. Earth Day Network also launched A Billion Acts of Green® — the world’s largest environmental service project — and engaged 75,000 partners in 192 countries in observing Earth Day. Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes. 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In honor of this milestone, Earth Day Network is launching an ambitious set of goals to shape the future of 21st century environmentalism. Source: Earthday.org Herbal Beads Sadly, our bead workshops are on hold for now, as are most other group activities, but when it is safe to gather again, we will be back rolling and stringing beads. Fortunately, thanks to our efforts over the fall and winter, we have a substantial inventory of beads for sales at garden events when they are back on the calendar. As always, if you or anyone you know is looking for a gift for a special occasion, you can give me an idea of what you are looking for (color, type of bead...glass, stone, etc.) and I can send pictures of what we have in the inventory that fits the description. You can then select items and get them by mail. Mary Lou Winder mlbwinder@gmail.com Lemon Grass I have a few flats of beautiful lemon grass plants, and, with the plant sale cancelled, they are available for purchase for $5 each to anyone who would like them. If you are interested, let me know and we will work out a way to get them to you or for you to pick them up. For now, they are sitting indoors next to sunny windows, waiting for consistently warmer weather and soil temperatures.

Mary Lou Winder / mlbwinder@gmail.com 301-384-2566

Cymbopogon citratus Lemon Grass Mid Atlantic District Delegate Kim Labash We are treating this new ‘confinement’ as practice for Richard’s retirement in early 2021 and apparently, it is working because we find ourselves unable to keep track of the days. We also find ourselves. Dare we say it, slowing down...but do not worry, only slightly! With the cancellation of exercise class out here, I looked more closely at what I do in the garden and how I exercise. I am delighted to report that having raked weeded and mulched (to the tune of 10 cubic yards) in the last month I think I can safely say I am keeping up. The garden beds have never been ready this early before, the burn pile is almost all gone, the remnants of this year’s wood pile have been returned to the back of the barn, all the winter bird feeders are put away and by the time this newsletter goes out we will have the hummingbird feeders up. The greenhouse is full of plants and, as all growers can attest to, there are always a few pots of ‘odds and sods’ of something one is trying to master germination on or such. Such was the case with a Vitex that I have been sparring with for more years than I care to admit. Therefore, this year having finished the herbaceous border I thought I would try one last time and have been nursing a pot of seed on my bench. THEN just one morning last week, I forgot to close the greenhouse door. When I went down at the end of the day - yes, you guessed it - a French cuckoo

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mirren had managed to walk around the entire greenhouse and knock just one pot over...of course, the Vitex! I popped everything back in the pot and have come to terms with the fact that I will no doubt be visiting this subject again in late summer. Despite my complaints about the gals they have been keeping us in eggs and I have even picked up two new customers during the last couple of weeks. The family room is currently a lavender aroma filled haven (embroidering my lavender filled hearts and blanket stitching my lavender filled moth chasers) and the deck sports a new craft -copper hatted gnomes - hanging over one of the sedum filled hypertufas. Thinking I may have to make more for the Bluemont Fair. Don’t worry; I have come to terms with the fact that some of this crafting is an illness, though to be clear, I am not considering joining any 12-step program for it. There are quite a few of us around. I have been playing with recipes and have been trying to replicate my Grandmother’s coconut cake. I have a wonderful memory of us enjoying a slice of the cake with an afternoon cup of tea in her pale greenish blue cup and saucers in her kitchen. Her kitchen was very narrow and we were seated at a Hoosier cupboard/cabinet. Grandmother on one side of the drop down front and myself on the other. The cake was dry, with a plain white icing, was not very tall, and had fluted edges and always half a maraschino cherry on top. It was delicious. I have pored through various and sundry cookbooks and on the internet and it would appear that as I get closer the current book I am working from is the winner. You can you believe it is a free cook book given to my grandmother when she purchased her new “CANNON” oven/stove - this was some time in 1950 - and came with an Autimo that pre-heated the oven and only took twenty minutes to pre-heat! I have not completely mastered the texture of the coconut cake and there is of course the real possibility that I may not be remembering this cake correctly (it was, after all well over 50+ years ago!) Most of my problems seems to relate to the cake being too spongy, shades of an angel food cake. I am striving for a crumby cake. I will eventually master this recipe but in the meantime

the gals are very happy to be getting the ‘failures’ and since I am not eating all those calories, I too am happy though somewhat frustrated with the journey. Whilst I realize that, it may be hard to believe this writer ever takes the time to ‘stop and stare’ I share with you Leisure by W H Davies. I cannot think of a better poem for our current situation. Best read with a soft welsh accent. Enjoy! Leisure WHAT is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?— No time to stand beneath the boughs, And stare as long as sheep and cows: No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass: No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night: No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance: No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began? A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. W. H. Davies 2020 FONA plant sale I want you all to know that our growers came through BIG TIME for the Potomac Unit. Having spent an inordinate amount of time coming up with a Plan B to propose to the Board to unload our contracted plants, both Hillcrest and Sunflower Cottage forgave the orders - this was a huge savings to us in so many ways. Both Peggy and I have sent thank you notes and at the last Board meeting, the decision was made to send both businesses a free one-year HSA business membership for their support. As it turns out Melwood, another of our regular growers, were not ‘in the mix’ this year because our contact had moved on and it would appear that due to computer challenges at their end and staff changes, our order went amiss. So we dodged a bullet from them this year. The only outstanding plants to find buyers for are the Lemon Grass, which Mary Lou is very kindly plant sitting and peppers, which Chrissy, considered essential staff at USNA, is plant sitting for us. Mary Lou says the lemon grass looks

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fabulous, so to those of you in Maryland that might want some - give her a call. In addition to our Growers coming through FONA confirmed that there would be no charge for rental space, tents etc. and we are exploring a paid membership with them. I will let Peggy speak further on this subject but want you to know that whilst we will not be making the usual money this year because of the cancellation of our one big fundraiser. We did discuss continuing our customary financial contribution to HSA. I would like to say thank you to all of you who were so supportive and ready to roll up those proverbial sleeves and help me in whatever direction we were facing for the plant sale. From offering driveway pick up in Fairfax to reaching out to neighborhood groups for virtual sales in Takoma Park, thank YOU so much. 2020 Northern Shenandoah Master Gardener Symposium Thought you would like to know that it did indeed happen - the last show before our current shut down - and I set up a Potomac Unit membership table for anyone interested. 2020 Annual Meeting Big sigh, as we all know this had to be cancelled. We did not want to jeopardize the health or safety of our members. HAS Headquarter staff having been working on refunding monies to members. However, knowing how disappointed members were to miss Charleston, SC I am delighted to report that it is on the schedule for the 2022 Annual Meeting, at the North Charleston Marriott, Friday April 29 with an opening reception on Thursday April 28, 2022. 2021 Educational Conference & Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge, LA Plans are afoot and as Penni kindly pointed out to me the FONA plant sale is always held on the last FULL weekend of April that means there will not be a conflict for us wanting to work the plant sale and attend the Ed Con/Annual Meeting. Full steam ahead. September 25-26, 2020 Mid Atlantic District Gathering in Williamsburg, VA Registration is being fine-tuned, and in light of the current climate, we do not feel a need to rush

getting the information out. There are a number of new locations worthy of a visit and for those that have not yet travelled down to Williamsburg there are a number of wonderful spots they may want to put on their list starting with Colonial Williamsburg where the Friday night reception is to be held. Mid-Atlantic BUSINESS MEMBERS Please do not forget our business members both in our Unit and in our District - these are lean times for them, particularly those with retail establishments, and they would appreciate your support. A complete listing can be found in your most recent District Newsletter and I will cut and paste the list herein. If you do not see what you are looking for, there are plenty of other business members in our society further afield - a full listing of business members may be found on the HSA website. Blooming Hill Lavender Farm, Cyndie & Peter Rinek PO Box 211 Philomont, VA 20131-0211 bloominghillva@gmail.com bloominghillva.com/ facebook.com/blooming-hill-173935579323757 twitter.com/blooming_hill KIPOS Botanicals, Konstantina A. Zaras 4364 Lorcom Ln Arlington, VA 22207-3308 kiposbotanicals@icloud.com www.kiposbotanicals.com/ facebook.com/kiposbotanicals twitter.com/kiposbotanicals Lavender Hill House, Billi J. Parus 1156 Lawson Cove Cir Virginia Beach, VA 23455-6823 757-499-6671 rosemaryqn@aol.com facebook.com/lavenderhousecommunitykitchen Loudoun Valley Herbs, Kim Labash 19405 Woodtrail Rd Round Hill, VA 20141-2049 loudounvalleyherbs@yahoo.com New Naturals Organic Spices, Helene Wallis 112 Darwin Ln Stuart, VA 24171-5190

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admin@newnaturalsonline.com www.newnaturalsonline.com/ Pennsylvania Herb and Garden Festival, Susan Eggleston PO Box 4761 Harrisburg, PA 17111-0761 pennsylvaniaherbfestival@msn.com www.paherbfest.com/ facebook.com/pennsylvaniaherbandgardenfestival Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, Kate Jayne 316 Surrett Cove Rd Leicester, NC 28748-5517 plants@sandymushherbs.com www.sandymushherbs.com/ facebook.com/sandymushherbs Still Room at Pitch Pines, Susan Hess 1651 Drake Ave Mays Landing, NJ 08330-4182 farmatcoventry@aol.com www.stillroomatpitchpines.com facebook.com/farmatcoventry/ The Barnes Arboretum at St. Joseph's University, Jacob Thomas 300 N Latch's Lane Merion, PA 19066 jthomas1@sju.edu www.barnesfoundation.org/whats-on/arboretum facebook.com/barnesfoundation twitter.com/the_barnes The Essential Herbal, Tina Sams 1354 N. Strickler Road Manheim, PA 17545 tina@essentialherbal.com essentialherbal.com facebook.com/essentialherbal twitter.com/EssentialHerb The Growers Exchange, Jessica Smith 951 Tech Park Place Sandston, VA 23150 jessica@thegrowers-exchange.com www.thegrowers-exchange.com/ facebook.com/the.growers.exchange twitter.com/growhere The Herbal Brain, Dr. Emory E. Prescott P.O. Box 275 Sylva, NC 28779

emory.theherbalbrain@gmail.com theherbalbrain.com The Rosemary House, Susanna Reppert 120 S Market St Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6329 TheRosemaryHouse@aol.com www.therosemaryhouse.com/ facebook.com/therosemaryhouse twitter.com/herbsandtea Triple Oaks Nursery & Herb Garden, Lorraine & Ted Kiefer PO Box 385 Franklinville, NJ 08322-0385 lorrainekiefer@gmail.com www.tripleoaks.com/ facebook.com/tripleoaks twitter.com/tripleoaksllc SEED EXCHANGE It is not too late, I am reading about seed companies being inundated with requests for seed – so much so that some are having to close down ordering every so often just to be able to play catch up. You know how to reach me.

Primula

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Blooming Hill Lavender Farm Blooming Hill Lavender Farm & Gift Shop is open to the public Fridays and Saturdays, 10am until 5pm for lavender plant sales. Curbside pick-up available. Call Cyndie at 703-431-0779 or contact her at bloominghillva@gmail.com for details. Plant prices range from $4.95-$10.95 depending on the variety and/or size of the plant Friday & Saturday, June 12 & 13th - Annual Lavender Festival at Blooming Hill: contingent upon Governor Northam’s Covid -19 restrictions being lifted as of June 12, there will be a limited event with craft vendors, tea out in the garden ($15/person), pick-your own lavender (.15 cents per stem), talks and demonstrations. 10am until 5pm each day. Admission: $5/person and children under 10 are free. Parking nearby but an easy walk to Blooming Hill. Life in the Time of Covid-19 (at Blooming Hill) It all started with a virus that we are very unsure of, to say the least. So, now we manage our lives in a very cautious way that starts with social distancing, washing hands endlessly and wearing stylish masks that help stare down this strange disease with the steeliness of Anthony Hopkins playing “Hannibal Lector.” The very talented Kim Labash made my beautiful lavender-motif mask pictured here. When in Rome, right? That, in turn, led me to dig into my own fabric stash and make one for my husband as well as my son and daughter-in-law who live in South Carolina. Then, they asked for two more to be sent to them for close friends. Those four masks are now on their way down South. The dog—well—she also wants to get into the act by wearing her “Corgi Bling” (which is her chewed out Frisbee) around her neck constantly. We wear our masks out in the lavender field, in the shop and around farm visitors as Mother Nature waits for no one. Stay safe and be well. Yours in Lavender, Cyndie Rinek

Food Safety Check out this link – you can search “real use by date” information for food items. https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/foodkeeper-app Recipe Corner Since we all find ourselves cooking more at home, the following recipes are provided for your enjoyment. Pasta with Broccoli (Serves 4-6) 1 pound pasta- any type of short to medium cut shapes 1-teaspoon anchovy paste (optional) 1-2 cups very hot pasta cooking water or broth - vegetarian or chicken 1 ½-tablespoon olive oil 1-2 cloves minced garlic – or more to taste ½ - 1-teaspoon red pepper flakes – or more to taste 1 ½ - 2 pounds of broccoli cut into florets – 2-3’ in length Freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh herbs of your choice Cook pasta until al dente - in meantime prepare sauce- stir anchovy paste into hot water or broth and set aside. In large skillet heat olive oil and add minced garlic and pepper flakes and sauté on medium heat for 1 minute.

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Add broccoli and anchovy sauce and stir ingredients to combine well. Cover pan and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta to sauce and stir to combine and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and chopped herbs of your choice. Enjoy! Laura Anthony Found the following recipe and those of us who were regulars at Joan Burka’s luncheons with Chef Dionot at L’Academie de Cuisine will note, the recipe very closely resembles his recipe sans the fried bread! Kim Labash Cressy Soup 3 or 4 large carrots 1 small onion 2 oz. drippings 3/4 oz. flour 1 quart of stock Bunch of herbs, including parsley Pepper and salt Melt the fat in a saucepan over a low gas. Slice the carrots and toss them with the finely chopped onion in the fat for 5-10 minutes. Add the stock and the bunch of herbs and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. Press the vegetables through a sieve, removing the herbs Return to the saucepan, stir in the flour, previously blended with a little cold water and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with slice of toast or fried bread. Mary Ober's BASIC OATMEAL COOKIE This recipe was gifted me in 1995 by Mary Webster Ober, former Potomac Unit Chairwoman & retired teacher. Since then, perhaps, at least 50 bakings for family, friends, and potlucks, I've varied the kinds of sugars From maple to herbal syrups, the flours, the kinds of fruit, seeds, and nuts (flour: wheat, barley, almond, pecan, sweet rice, teff to coconut flour - yet always kept some pastry wheat flour, soaked fruit: cranberries, goji to cut-up jujubes, seeds: pepitas, sesame to chia, nuts: walnuts (English or black), pistachios to macadamia). I have started to vary the powders, carefully, since we do consider cinnamon medicinal. Today

I am using butter in which I have warmed diced fresh ginger - don't know whether or how the pungency will transfer. Mix 1/2 cup softened butter with: 1 cup sugars (i.e. 1/2 brown, 1/2 c. white) 1-2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla Add 2 cups rolled oats with: 1 1/2 cup flours combined with 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 – 1-cup dried fruits 1/2 - 1 cup chopped nuts Drop on cookie sheets & bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 40 min. depending on your oven. (We just realized 20 min. was enough for the last batch - new gas oven; maybe ingredients make a difference as well.) Pat Kenny

Mary Webster Ober

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END NOTE: We encourage all our members to help get the word out to all plant interested friends and colleagues that the Potomac Unit is ‘here and happening’ and eagerly awaiting new people with a similar interest. We now have a variety of membership levels - $15 (for the Unit newsletter). $25.00 for an interim (trial) one-year Unit membership as well as the traditional $ 60.00 HSA membership. We also have over half of our Unit meetings scheduled on an evening or weekend day time to better accommodate those with a customary 9-5 work schedule. Opinions expressed in the Potpourri are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Herb Society of America (HSA) or the HSA Potomac Unit. Responsibility for the safe use of any herb or herb product lies with the reader. POTOMAC POTPOURRI is published September, November, January, March, May and July by the Potomac Unit of The Herb Society of America, Peggy Riccio, Chairperson; Laura Anthony, Editor Spring & Summer and Cyndie Rinek, Editor Fall and Winter. Material appearing in the Potomac Potpourri may be reproduced. Potomac Potpourri should be credited as the source. Non-member subscriptions to the Potomac Potpourri are $15.00 per year. Send check made out to Potomac Unit, H.S.A and mail to: P.O Box 1055 Springfield, VA 22151 ****The content deadline for the next issue of the Potpourri is June 20, 2020 to Laura Anthony (lanthony@aoc.gov).**** News of member and civic or nonprofit horticulturally themed events is welcome. Publication is at the sole discretion of the editor, who reserves the right to edit for brevity or any other reason. Neither the Potomac Unit nor the Herb Society of America endorses any product or event unless the Unit or Society specifically sponsors the product or event. 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. As previously stated, opinions expressed in the Potpourri are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Herb Society of America (HSA) or the HSA Potomac Unit. Any herbal information provided is for educational

use only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you experience symptoms, see a physician for treatment.

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The Herb Society of America Potomac Unit

Annual Membership Dues Due by July 1

Please Print All Information: Date: ________________________ Name: ____________________________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________ City: ________________________________________ State: _________________ Zip: ___________ Home Phone: _____________________________ Work Phone: ________________________ Cell Phone: ______________________ Fax----------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: __________________________________ Check here if new email address Birthday: ______________________________________________ Optional. Do not include year. Please Check Membership status: Category Dues

Individual $60 Individuals – mid-year $30 (6-months) Joint $87.50 Business $95 HSA Life Membership $2,000

[Additional Annual Potomac Unit Dues] $5 Joint HSA Life Membership $3,000

[Additional Annual Potomac Unit Dues] $7.50 Interim Membership: $25.00

[Available to prospective members and does not include affiliation with the Herb Society of America]

Make your membership dues check payable to Potomac Unit, HSA and mail to: Barry Eigen12205 Mount Albert Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042 Members who submit their dues and form by July 1 will be included in the annual membership directory. Thank you for your support of the Potomac Unit of The Herb Society of America, Inc.