renaissance poisson

lathyrus japonicus, beach pea, native to BC (and just about anywhere else along the oceans). the seeds can stay viable even in sea water for 5 years, which explains that wide range. in an emergency edible, but the seeds contain an amino acid that can cause "lathyrism" in large quantities, a disease of the nervous system. i don't know of any medicinal uses.

ever since we've lived here, there was a grapevine rootstock around the corner of the house, in the bed infested with bindweed. since the paramour's window has no shade in the summer, i used to train a couple of vines around the corner and let them go wild, so they'd cover the window. the first few years i'd cut back all the vines in the winter, and then train new ones the coming spring. the last 3-4 years i was too depressed to care what those vines did, and cut them back haphazardly in the spring (this did not improve the grape harvest).

last year the landlord killed the entire bed because he wanted to build a car port between our shack and the missile silo. less than half a square foot of soil remained at the very front of the new concrete, with some lemon balm. i was gonna take a cutting from the vine before he murdered the root stock, but that never happened. in protest (or something), i left the last grown vines up, and this spring, well, cutting back also didn't happen. desolately barren vines scraped against the window. i bought some bamboo to provide shade (but it's not fast-growing, so this year it's not providing much of anything. i also haven't repotted it yet. *sigh*.

anyway, imagine my surprise when the barren vines set buds. and leafed out. and bloomed. and now we have more grapes than we had the years before. the two vines i had trained around the corner rooted themselves in that postage stamp of soil that's still left, hidden by the lemon balm.

biannual queen anne's lace, or wild carrot, the progenitor of carrots as we know and love them (you can really smell it; every part of this plant smells like carrot). emergent invasive in BC. roots edible in its first year; 2nd year roots are woody.

salal, evergreen shrub, native to BC. the "berries" are sweet and have a unique flavour. they go really well with the berries of oregon grape because their sweetness balances the tartness of the latter. the young leaves can be used to flavour soups. the mature leaves are a big staple for the flower industry.

last year we had the driest july on record since the 1950s, this year seems to be shaping up to be the wettest. i don't mind; i like it cool and rainy.

nodding onion is native to BC, not uncommon. the entire plant can be eaten raw or cooked, including the bulb -- very oniony flavour. the juice allegedly can be used to repel moths as well as mosquitos and other biting insects.

self-heal, or heal-all, native to BC (and pretty much everywhere else with temperate climate). it is a panacea plant because it has been used all over the world to deal with a lot of different ailments. tough it does appear to have some real medicinal effects; anti-bacterial for sure.

twinflower, native to BC (*wave*), and very common here on the island; it lives pretty much wherever there is forest. it is actually a tiny evergreen shrub; probably the tiniest shrub i've ever seen. like, miniature. you could use it for your model railroad. it's called "twinflower" because each stem divides in two near the top, and has two little bells on the extensions.

native to BC, and pretty much everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, i think. ;)

common yarrow is purported to be a diaphoretic, astringent, stimulant and mild aromatic. the genus name achillea is derived from the mythical greek character Achilles, who supposedly carried it with his army to treat battle wounds.