Over the choppy seas to Jersey the land of glorious gardens.
Plants fall over every wall,
almost tropical in their nature and abundance.
Neanderthal Men inhabited Jersey's caves about
100,000 years before Christ and the Iberians of about 2,000 B.C. left seven
Dolmens or chamber tombs. Its had a right old time of
occupation and changing hands and was French speaking until the turn of last
century.
Jersey’s been through the wars literally, it was the last
stand point of German occupation in the 2nd world war.
With its miles of beaches, amazing rocks, luscious north
coast and majestic castles poking out into the water its somewhere I was loving
hanging out.
Wild carrot and fennel were abundant on the coastal spots,
too early for the seed harvest, its definitely worth a visit in September. Local orchids, yarrow in swathes, and
one of the finest herb garden in Europe.
‘Wild carrot seed is one of the oldest forms of
contraception, used in large doses it is reputed to make your womb
slippery. Mrs Grieves has a boit
more to say about it here An infusion of the whole herb is considered an active
and valuable remedy in the treatment of dropsy, chronic kidney diseases and
affections of the bladder. The infusion, made from 1 OZ. of the herb in a pint
of boiling water, is taken in wineglassful doses. Carrot tea, taken night and
morning, and brewed in this manner from the whole front, is considered
excellent for a gouty disposition. A strong decoction is very useful in gravel
and stone, and is good against flatulence. A fluid extract is also prepared, the
dose being from 1/2 to 1 drachm.
The
seeds are carminative, stimulant and very useful in flatulence, windy colic,
hiccough, dysentery, chronic coughs, etc. The dose of the seeds, bruised, is
from one-third to one teaspoonful, repeated as necessary. They were at one time
considered a valuable remedy for calculus complaints. They are excellent in
obstructions of the viscera, in jaundice (for which they were formerly
considered a specific), and in the beginnings of dropsies, and are also of
service as an emmenagogue. They have a slight aromatic smell and a warm,
pungent taste. They communicate an agreeable flavour to malt liquor, if infused
in it while working in the vat, and render it a useful drink in scorbutic
disorders.’
The gardens at Samares were created in the nineteen twenties by
millionaire shipping magnate and philanthropist, Sir James Knottwere. They were in full bloom when we got
there; globe artichokes, lavenders, lots of mint varieties, lemon verbena,
summer savory (really anisidy flavour).
Vervain, valerian, southernwood…
We use lavender in our digestive delight Liver Cleanse. Its calming for the gut as well as the
nerves, is antifungal and uplifting to the spirits. We can’t sell our product direct online anymore but you can
call us or email for a consultation if you think you’d benefit.
I couldn’t resist a yarrow harvest while I was there. So abundant and fragrant. There was even a few sprigs of the
lesser spotted pink yarrow flowers.
Yarrow is our all time best childhood fever remedy. It literally takes a fever down in
minutes. I’ve used it with my
daughter since she was just a few weeks old and have never used a drop of
calpol in her life.
We hung out with fab family, ziggy looked for crabs in the vast rockpools (the tide goes out for miles), I swam in the sea, benny kayaked, we all rock climbed...it was a well needed mid season escape for a week or so.
Refreshed and restored after a rainy week…ready to head off
on tour to sunny Cornwall! Surya yoga camp and Holi fair here we come...
