SEA-HOLLY AND MULLEIN 



145 



Helen's tears. In our Herb-garden this last summer 

 some plants of Elecampane growing close to the 

 bright blue blossoms of Alkanet, and not far from a 

 patch of crimson Bergamot, made a lovely splash of 

 colour, set off to advantage by a generous drift 

 behind them of feathery grey-green Wormwood. 

 Our illustration, ' Herbs by the Waterside,' shows 

 Elecampane in blossom very well, only there it is 

 growing along with a flowering blue Sea-holly, 

 which some may deem out of place in the Herb- 

 border ; we admit it on the strength of the roots 

 being good for food, and because the Sea-holly is 

 one of the useful wild plants of Great Britain. 



Mullein possesses the same good character for its 

 medicinal qualities as Elecampane, so much so that 

 in Ireland it is cultivated in gardens to supply the 

 local chemists. It is the leaves that are used, 

 boiled in milk, which is strained, then drunk while 

 w^arm. The tall plant, with its spikes of yellow 

 flowers and large flannel-like leaves, is handsome. 

 Roman ladies who loved golden locks tinged their 

 tresses with a hair-wash made of the flowers. 

 Mullein oil is known to be a valuable destroyer of 

 disease germs. 



Vervain is not much of a plant to look at, but as 

 the parent of our delightful garden Verbenas must 



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