As you are driving through the industrial estate in Warwick I hope you notice a new building with something different painted on its walls.
I like things that are a bit out of the ordinary and show someone thinking outside the box and this fills both those criteria.
Full height on this very large new building, are depictions of assorted flowers done very nicely in green on a white background.
Each flower is named with both the common and botanical name.
The first one I recognised was Echinacea purpurea, commonly known as purple cone flower, does well in gardens as a decorative flower but also has many uses in naturopathy for treating ailments and virus infections such as the common cold and ‘flu and for strengthening the immune system.
It grows to about two to three feet (60-90cm) in height and has purple/pink daisy flowers with a central brown seed head. It is a perennial, dying down in winter but appearing again in spring.
Eschcholgica californica, commonly known California poppy, that bright and happy orange, yellow or cream flower that grows like a weed in sandy soil and survives well in a dry time and comes back year after year from seed that falls each season.
Native Americans have used it for many years. It is used to promote relaxation and to treat depression, long term mental and physical tiredness, nerve pain plus a variety of other ailments.
Centella asiatica, commonly known as Gotu kola or asiatic pennywort is a frost tender flowering herb. It is native to the wetlands of Asia but grows wild over a large area of North and South America and Australia and is used as a vegetable and as a medicinal herb.
As a vegetable, Thai people use it to make a drink sweetened with palm sugar while Sri Lankans make a sambal with the leaves, fresh coconut and lime juice.
It is used medicinally to treat fatigue, anxiety, depression Alzheimers and for improving memory and brain function.
Passiflora incarnata or passion fruit flower has been used medicinally since the 16th century and is said to help insomnia and anxiety. Apparently a clinical study in 2016 found that it decreased anxiety and improved memory in rats.
Calendula officinalis is another one of the flowers depicted and is the bright orange or yellow common variety that we all know in our gardens. It is such an old plant that its origin is not really known but is believed to be Europe.
It is the birth flower for October and is characterised by contentment, excellence gratitude and love for nature. Some of its suggested uses medicinally are for treating sore throat, stomach ulcers and is applied to the skin to reduce pain and swelling and to treat poorly healing wounds and leg ulcers.
Valerian is the last one to be seen on the side wall of the building. It is a flowering perennial plant and may reach a height to 1.5 metres with sweetly scent pink or white flowers.
It seems that it is the root that is used in herbal medicine and is said to help with sleep disorders and anxiety.
It is an easy plant to grow, is cold but not frost hardy, and may become invasive if care is not taken. The way to prevent this is to keep the pretty delicate, perfumed flowers cut before they seed, as they make pretty cut flowers, or by growing it in a pot where the plant can be contained.
I hope that you will have a new appreciation for these decorative and useful plants and for businesses that think outside the square.
All this information is from the internet and anecdotal and certainly not intended to be read as an endorsement for the uses of any of these herbs. They should definitely not be used unless directed by your doctor, naturopath or herbalist.
All can be grown in the garden and are decorative and this is what intrigues me about them.
The next event for the Horticultural Society is the Gardening Extravaganza during Jumpers and Jazz in July.
The Extravaganza will be held on Wednesday and Thursday 24-25 July. For something different come to St Mary’s Hall in Wood Street and see a wide range of plants and things to do with gardening.
A range of warming soups served with bread will be available along with scones, jam and cream, barrista coffee, pots of tea and delicious slices and cakes.
