What’s new is already older
I was given dozens of elephant garlic bulbils, which are small bulb-like parts which in two years grow into large bulbs which someone thought look like the foot of an elephant. Planted in autumn, they produce a modest bulb during the first year which balloons into the full-sized bulb after another year. Elephant garlic is closely related to leeks. A friend pointed out I already grow more garlic than I will eat in a year, so why did I need elephant garlic? Good point. Maybe because I never grew it before, and also why not, and also because garlic does wonderful things for our bodies.
For example, put four or five freshly peeled garlic cloves in your mortar and crush them to release potent compounds from sulfur and manganese plus vitamins C and B6, all antioxidants which keep hearts healthy. Then clean a lemon and zest it. Add the garlic and zest to your favorite tall mug and pour on hot water. Squeeze in juice from the lemon and add a dab of local honey if you choose.
Let it steep a while so the flavors can meld, then strain out (or leave in) the zest and garlic parts. You just made a tonic to moderate your cholesterol. Drink a little first thing in the morning.
On a spring morning three years ago, a maypop plant sprouted in my garden. I usually like to learn about new things, but I was warned that maypop vines are aggressive and will climb over whatever is near and send runners hither thither underground. True to the warning, that has been my experience. Vines develop exotic flowers like tropical relatives and eventually bear apricot-sized fruits. These fruits get softer, yellowish and wrinkly in late summer, and they fall to the ground when ripe. Just cut them open and munch the fruit right out of the skin sort of like eating a kiwi. There are recipes for maypop jelly.
Tallest plant in my garden is a hearty mullein. The central spike is almost seven feet tall. Its large velvety leaves are ragged now, but they make good mulch when you tear them into pieces. Another use for torn-up dried mullein leaves (before they get raggedy) is making your own ear drops. And yet another use for torn-up dried mullein leaves is brewing a warm cup of hearty tea which helps to remove mucus and soothe inflammations in your lungs. And, you guessed it, there is another use for torn-up dried mullein leaves (depending on whom you ask) – you can smoke it. Proponents claim it is “an exceptional respiratory tonic.”
Almost as tall as the mullein are two papalo plants rising above a mob of zinnias. Papalo can handle summer heat because it is native to the hottest part of our hemisphere. It has a bold, unique flavor which in some literature is compared to cilantro, but I think that’s a stretch. It has been part of Mexican cuisine since the Aztecs. The leaves do not dry or cook well, so it’s best to chop them with your best intentions into pieces and sprinkle them on beans or tacos. You’re a better cook than me, so you decide. The plants reseed easily, so that’s a good thing if you like papalo.
And a quick word about rosemary. There was a hedge of rosemary in front of my house in northern California. My friends in Eureka Springs had a healthy rosemary shrub by their house that survived our winters. I don’t even try anymore to overwinter rosemary on my property, so no shrub for me. However, how much rosemary does a person need? I get by with a plant in a modest pot which winters inside. I harvest a couple branches as needed for culinary uses and for a pungent healthy tea. Research indicates components in rosemary aid our immune systems, improve focus and memory while being rich in phytochemicals. We all love our phytochemicals, so remember your rosemary tea to help you remember.