After reading the recent blog with the Marie Ponsot poem, Erma Yost, artist, bird lover, blog reader and more, sent a picture of ground cover her husband, Leon, planted last summer at their home in Pennsylvania. Erma wrote, "It's name is 'Wintergreen' and the leaves have the strong Wintergreen fragrance. In the fall, it makes berries the size of cherries. Thankfully, Leon planted several dozen plants of it because the birds love it. Right now it is under about 30" of snow, so it was fun to find this photo. Let's hope it survives."
I might have suspected there would be a wintergreen plant, but I didn't think to look for one. After hearing from Erma, I discovered wintergreen is a group of cold-hardy, shrub-like plants that remain green throughout the winter. I also learned that North American Indians used a tea prepared from the leaves of wintergreen, this for disorders of joints, muscles and rheumatism. Later, American nationals, who boycotted British tea during the American Revolution, used wintergreen tea as a substitute. Eventually, they used the tea to curb headache, muscle pains and colds. (These little known facts, LKFs, add their own kind of pleasure!)
Today? Wintergreen serves as a staple during winter months for animals like the deer and partridge.
Erma, I thank you for bringing new awareness, knowing and appreciation to Ponsot's description: Time is winter-green.
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