In The Midst Of Summer
The Garden Detail
We’ve all heard of “auto detailing.” Well…instead of auto, think garden. We are introducing a new concept in landscape maintenance, “The Garden Detail.”
For some of us, “mow & blow” just ain’t gonna cut it. 30 minutes of loud mowers and blowers is pure misery for you, and your neighbors. But, just to be clear, mowers and blowers are a necessity, but here at The White Pear we take time for the finer details.
Does a 30 minute visit from your neighborhood mow & blow outfit really get into all those tiny little nooks and crannies? With “The Garden Detail” we do all the dead-heading, pruning, planting, and irrigation, along with the the fine edges and detailing that gives your garden that look of immaculate perfection. Give us a holler and we’ll set up a plan that works for you.
No one has an eye for detail like The White Pear.
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Echinacea / Coneflower
When ever I see echinacea (part of the daisy family) I immediately think back to 1967, “The Summer Of Love,” and remember the small bottle of echinacea in the fridge to stave off a cold or the flu. This is one of Holly’s favorite summertime flowers with its wide variety of beautiful multi-colored blooms.
Many of us have planted and cared for echinacea, but for this newsletter I wanted to find something interesting about this plant that you may not have heard about. I decided to visit one of my favorite websites, Wikipedia, typed in echinacea, scrolled down to history, and here’s what I found:
Echinacea angustifolia was widely used by the North American indigenous tribes as folk medicine. It was used for insect bites, burns, wounds, and many tribes chewed the roots to relieve cold symptoms. coughs, headaches, throat infections, toothaches, stomach cramps and as a pain medication.
Early European settlers took the cue from their Indigenous counter parts and began to use the plant as a remedy for the common cold. The first official preparation that was put out on the market was by, Meyers Blood Purifier around 1880 and was prescribed for neuralgia, rattlesnake bites and rheumatism.
By the start of the 20th century, echinacea was the most common herbal remedy in America. Chemists and pharmacologists began identifying potentially active ingredients in the plant. These echinacea extracts helped in the prevention and treatment of colds, influenza, and infection.
So, the next time you run out of your meds, just run out to your garden and dig up your favorite echinacea, and this should hold you over until the your meds are in.
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
Audrey Hepburn
A Spit In The Eye
What happens when a Euphorbia spits in your eye? It hurts like hell! And that’s what happen to our fearless leader, Holly Stickley, owner and founder of The White Pear. Apparently the milky substance in the Euphorbia is rather toxic and causes horrible pain if spit your eye.
At first, Holly thought the pain would just go away with time, but it did not, and after some time in the tub trying to rinse her eye out I decided to call the poison-hotline and they recommended that we take a drive to the ER. By the time we reached Emanuel Hospital, Holly could hardly see, so they had to assist with a wheelchair.
The physician’s assistant who was assigned to Holly had only seen two other cases of “spit-in-da-eye,” so it’s not common. After pulling out long, thin strands of the milky white gunk out of her eye, the nurse then ran a saline solution through her eye for about an hour to make sure they had gotten it all.
The euphorbia is a beautiful plant, but just beware. This is one of Holly’s favorite plants, and this incident was the first time in 25 years of growing euphorbias that she’s been spit on. She recommends using gloves and eye protection when planting and caring for your Euphorbias. Let this be a lesson to us all.
Let us know how things are growing in your garden—if you'd like to expand, replace, or just interested in some brainstorming. We'd love to hear from you!
Have a wonderful summer from the team at The White Pear!
~ Holly Stickley / The White Pear