March 2014 Program Information and More!

LATEST NEWS FLASH:

Hello Herbies!

OK, I was wrong about the March program. It will be "Grow Some Lemongrass" presented by Cindy Meredith and Linda Collins. So our next meeting is Wednesday March 12 at 10:00 at the usual location.

Pam Wheat-Stranahan will give her program at the April 9 program on "Native American Uses of Plants".

Hope to see everyone soon!

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Hey Herbies!

Boy what do you think about this weather? Ugh! One day it's in the 80's and the next in the 40's! I know that we are all ready for some nice weather so we can get out in our yards and play in the dirt!

NEWS FLASH: 
 

OK, I got it wrong. Pam will give her program at the April 9 program on "Native American Uses of Plants."

OK, told you I wasn't thinking clearly. I think I know the March program but let me double check and get back to you.

This is what I orginally posted:

 

OK, I've been out of commission (see message below), and I don't have the exact title of next month's Rockport Herb & Rose Study Group program, but it is to be given by Pam Wheat-Stranahan and will be about herbs and foods used by the Native Americans. Sounds fascinating to me! So our next meeting is Wednesday March 12 at 10:00 at the usual location, i.e. ACISD Maintenance Department (Formerly Rockport Elementary), 619 N. Live Oak Street, Room 14, Rockport, Texas.

Also I want to let you all know that I've been working with Carol Krank from the Botanical Gardens. Right now it's Cindy and me giving a program on "Culinary Herbs 101: Growing, Harvesting and Using" on Saturday April 26 from 10:00 to noon! Carol said that the public wants to know more about culinary herbs, so culinary herbs it is. Anyone interested in working with us, let me know. Also if you just want a ride over, let me know and you can ride with me.

On another note, some of you know, but not all of you, about my broken foot. Oh boy it hurts like the dickens, but a pretty cast don't you think?! For those of you that don't know here is what happened:

On Wednesday February 12, I was out on our pier with my dogs. FooFooToo, my 9-pound Maltese, is going blind but she must be totally blind now because she fell off the pier. It's a good fall, but with the tide being out it was even further. I didn't even think about the tide being so low and jumped into about 18" of water rather than the normal 3' to 4' depending on the time of year i.e. summer. Oh my it hurt when I landed and was in the water for about 15 minutes until Terry saw me. James Fox told me that temps in the bays are in the 40's. A ramp has been talked about but is going to happen now. James gave me the name of a person that can do some work for us on our pier.

I went to the Urgent Care Center immediately. They took X-rays read them, sent them immediately to Houston for a second opinion and concluded it was a straight line break in the heel. Then early Friday about 3:00 am I had Terry call 911 because the pain was so bad that I knew I was getting ready to go into shock. The ambulance driver literally tried to talk me out of going to the ER saying that it wasn't that bad! Oh boy, I maintained my temper and told him that I had two kids natural birth, a broken pelvis and a broken ankle and that I know what shock is. Take me to the hospital! So we went to the ER in Corpus where they took more X-rays and said the same thing about my foot being broken. The doctor also gave me a strong shot of Dilaudid which helped me sleep until noon.

A week ago today, I went to my orthopedic surgeon in Houston that I used the last time I broke my ankle. He ordered more X-rays and decided surgery is not necessary. He put a cast on me and I go back next Wednesday, March 5 to have the cast removed, more X-rays and then he will decide what needs to be done. Hopefully it's healing OK, and I'll be able to use a boot.

The good thing, if that is possible LOL, is that my little dog is OK. She wouldn't have lasted long in that cold weather. So alls well that ends well!

So I hope to see everyone in two weeks at our next meeting!

Great Gardening,

Linda T. Collins
Rockport Herb & Rose Study Group
Post Office Box 1988
Rockport, TX 78381
361-729-6037 (Land)
713-582-2268 (Cell)
361-729-6058 (Fax)
http://rockportherbies.blogspot.com

 My kitty thinks my cast is a scratching post!  LOL! 

"What Do I Do With Rose Hips" The Herb Cottage Newsletter February 2014

Cindy Meredith a/k/a Herbiecott has a wonderful Newsletter on The Herb Cottage this month.  Be sure to check it out.

 

What Do I Do With Rose Hips?

My friend Karen Ribble, Hair Braider extrordinaire and long time friend asked me about Rose Hips last month, so I decided to write this month's newsletter to answer some of her questions, and to refresh my own memory about how to harvest, use and store them. Since it's February, the month of Romance due to Valentine's Day, I thought this aspect of roses would be very appropriate.

Roses have been used for flavoring, ceremonies and health for centuries. Evidence of the use of roses dates back to 2000 BCE in Crete where drawings of roses appear on the walls of the Palace of Knossos. 

From that period forward to today, roses are evident in many cultures, including ancient Rome, Persia, India and China, to name just a few. Here is a short article on some of the ancient history of the Rose.

In America, fossil evidence of the rose has been dated to some 40 million years ago. It was then that a rose left its imprint on a slate deposit at Florissant, Colorado. Fossilized remains from 35 million years ago have also been found in Montana and Oregon. Here is further information on the Rose in Amercia from Texas A&M Horticulture.

Now that we have determined Roses are a fabulous flower, some originating in the United States, wtih myriad uses, let's concentrate on Rose Hips, the seed pods of the Rose. Oh, you didn't realize Roses produce seed? Of course they do. Just like any flower. It's just that mostly Roses are grown from cuttings or, now, tissue culture, that we rarely think of growing Roses from seed.

Not all Rose Hips are created equal. If you notice the pods or hips on various rose types, some are very large while others are much smaller. The large hips are the ones prized for collecting for tea and other uses. Many people think the rose that produces the best hips is the common wild rose, also known as the Dog Rose. 

Click the following link to read the rest of the Newsletter.  You won't be sorry!

http://theherbcottage.com/2-14_rose_hips.html

http://www.theherbcottage.com/2-14_rose_hips.html

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium Program!

Hey all of you Herbies out there!

Yes, it's cold, but spring is just around the corner. Now is the time to start thinking about our gardens, and in my case, herb gardens!! So be sure to be at our program tomorrow, Wednesday, February 12, 2014 presented by Cindy Meredith and Pat Baugh on the herb Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. It is a great herb for your yard! It is drought resistant, comes in an array of colors and is a favorite of butterflies! 

Check out some of the photos of yarrow at website: http://www.everwilde.com/store/Achillea-millefolium-WildFlower-Seed.html