The Druid&#039;s Well

Week 33 of the PBP. Poke weed holds the dubious honor of being the first plant that I took it upon myself to identify because no one I talked to knew what it was. In a sense, it was the guardian to the world of knowledge through guidebooks. I checked…

Pine

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Week 32 of the PBP. Pine. The native peoples of this area called the white pine the “Tree of Peace.” Standing in the white pine grove on the shores of Brewer’s Brook, it’s not at all difficult to imagine how the name came about. There is a deep stillness in…

Ocymum basilium (basil)

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Week 31 of the PBP. Basil: the king’s herb. I believe this to be the tastiest weed on this good green earth. So many different flavors, so many colors, I could go on and on. With just a little pinch back at the beginning of the season, you’ll soon have…

Maple

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Week 26 of the PBP. If you ask me, this is probably one of the fundamental trees in the New England landscape. And yet, the maple is often lacking in traditions which descend from the British Isles simply because they don’t have these flaming beauties. I grew up on a street lined…

Lavender

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Week 25 of PBP. The other “L” entry is also beloved for its perfume: lavandula angustifolia. The first real memories I have of this beauty are of the endless fields of lavender in Provence. Every medieval garden my family visited in the south of France had glorious lavender plants. I…