Melanie’s Herb Diaries

Brian, whoever you are.. you certainly know the way to a herbalist's heart! I found these seedlings in the greenhouse at Living Under One Sun, a community growing space in Tottenham, North London, where I have been learning horticulture these past couple of months. They weren't for me (sadly!), but it was exciting to see that someone had lovingly propagated seedlings from one of the most important native plants in our Materia Medica.

I felt as though I had stepped into a small corner of the South of France by mistake..

As a herbalist, I often find my gaze wandering to all that is green - and potentially medicinal - growing about my feet. I was smiling to myself as I walked along a suburban footpath this afternoon, registering how much growth there has been in the past couple of weeks, when I suddenly stopped short at the sight of what I thought looked like some sort of miniature sweet violet. In fact, it was nothing of the kind. Like so many before me, I had been deceived by a pretty herb called Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea). No wonder it has gone down in folklore as "The Deceiver"! I was far from disappointed when I took a closer look and realised my mistake, as it's a very useful herb that I like to have in my dispensary.

I just came across a recent episode of Radio 4's Food Programme all about Garlic, one of my favourite plants, both for food and medicine. Well worth a listen!