Marigolds
This is a post I did a few years ago...Marigolds truly are my favorite flower of all.
Now, I know that there are a few out there that balk at orange....and I can't for the life of me understand why.
Orange is such a happy color.....so rich and sometimes complicated.
Today's Friday Flower is my all~time favorite flower in the garden. As fall approaches, these babies just get better and better.
How can you not love these happy colors?
Some interesting Marigold tidbits of olde,
---Medicinal Action and Uses---
Marigold is chiefly
used as a local remedy. Its action is stimulant and diaphoretic. Given
internally, it assists local action and prevents suppuration. The infusion of 1
ounce to a pint of boiling water is given internally, in doses of a
tablespoonful, and externally as a local application. It is useful in chronic
ulcer, varicose veins, etc. Was considered formerly to have much value as an
aperient and detergent in visceral obstructions and jaundice.
It has been asserted that a Marigold flower, rubbed on the affected part, is an admirable remedy for the pain and swelling caused by the sting of a wasp or bee. A lotion made from the flowers is most useful for sprains and wounds, and a water distilled from them is good for inflamed and sore eyes.
An infusion of the freshly-gathered flowers is employed in fevers, as it gently promotes perspiration and throws out any eruption - a decoction of the flowers is much in use in country districts to bring out smallpox and measles, in the same manner as Saffron. Marigold flowers are in demand for children's ailments.
The leaves when chewed at first communicate a viscid sweetness, followed by a strong penetrating taste, of a saline nature. The expressed juice, which contains the greater part of this pungent matter, has been given in cases of costiveness and proved very efficacious. Snuffed up the nose it excites sneezing and a discharge of mucous from the head.
The leaves, eaten as a salad, have been considered useful in the scrofula of children, and the acrid qualities of the plant have caused it to be recommended as an extirpator of warts.
A yellow dye has also been extracted from the flower, by boiling.
---Preparations and Dosage---
Fluid extract, 1/4 to 1
drachm.
From Eleanour Sinclair Rohde's Old English Herbals:
undefined marygold we learn that Summe use to make theyr here yelow with the
floure of this herbe, not beyng contet with the naturall colour which God hath
geven the.'
Dodoens-Lyte (A Niewe Herball, 1578) says:
- undefined hath pleasant, bright and shining yellow flowers, the which do close at the setting downe of the sunne, and do spread and open againe at the sunne rising.'
All quotes are from: http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/marigo16.html
Thinking ahead to Autumn
With the summer marigolds in full autumn like color, my mind has turned to the fall fairs that although seem far away, are not really. It's hard to believe that autumn is just around the corner, isn't it?
Last year I made little pumpkin hats with yarn I purchased, but this year, I have decided that I will dye my own yarn for those little hats......it will be fun to see how many different shades of pumpkin,rust, orange and green I can come up with :-)
Have a great weekend!!!
