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2007-10-02
Mary Lee Minor It is normal to be thinking of the fruits of the harvest. This can take you through all the vegetables, nuts and fruits you have ever enjoyed. Today, I want to focus on a berried branch many of you have seen but do not recognize. And, in our area, I honestly have never seen hypericum growing. I have never seen the plant offered in a pot. Research will tell us that it grows in temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere. It prefers well-drained spots in full sun, in dry soils. If you live in the tropics, the desert, or in the arctic, forget trying to grow it. Where I have run across this quietly attractive fruit is in mixed bouquets of fresh flowers at supermarkets. That's right. The reddish fruit apparently follows a yellow blossom. In fact, when I checked on its origin, it was called St. John's wort. This led into the many remedies offered by extracted portions of the plant. It has found its way into floral designs in the last few years. It is a wonderful filler material, and the color helps interpret many titles. At first, the color was red to red-orange. Then, a couple of times, the color was present on the top with a creamy color towards the bottom.Last week, I ordered a bunch for our daughter's wedding, because she wanted touches of red and orange. When the shipment arrived, there were two bouquets of hypericum that were nearing peach. The color was fantastic, but we did not need it. There were many stems of the color we sought. The variables of marketing are exciting. Soft and fleshy fruit tops each stem, in clusters of short branches. In fact, I was able to use a few in one corsage. Most of the berried branches ended up in the altar arrangements to complement the white massing and orange and red roses. Sturdy stems made for easy designing. The foliage wants to hang in there meaning it is difficult to rip off. Opposite leaves hug the stem. Each piece of fruit is backed by five minute, inverted pieces of green in the calyx area. When the fruit dries, apparently it splits open, which then releases numerous small seeds. The fresh flesh stage reveals greenish pulp that feels grainy. I realize that this is more information than you would want, yet it is a curiosity to me. It was a thrill to see it growing in Amsterdam as a short shrub. The leaves in my photograph look larger than those that come on our marketed version. Note the buggage (this means places where critters have munched away). It makes me ponder the benefit beyond normal nourishment. The bugs might be profiting from the homeopathic applications of St. John's wort. They might receive healing for twee bruises; eensy, injured fingertips or toes; or sore, tiny tailbones -- I doubt that. Stems from the wedding will live on, and be recycled as I take branches to garden therapy and brighten autumn days for Fairview Manor residents. The curative powers will not be medicinal, but aesthetic. Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth-grade teacher.
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