In a Tiny Tea-cup

Oh I did have fun playing around with this teeny tiny arrangement, in another charity shop find: a miniature tea-cup and saucer. There are spikes of  lavender and purple toadflax held in place by the fluffiness of nigella, and some bluey white miniature veronica blooms.

 

The even tincier cup came as a birthday present, bizarrely stuck to a hair grip.  Its pinkness demanded some pink flowers, and the only ones small enough and currently flowering is the pesky Herb Robert, which is growing in abundance in my front garden, seeding itself everywhere. Just to make sure I had identified it correctly, I looked it up and hey presto! It has uses! And one can eat the leaves in salads!

I’m really very excited about that!

From ediblewildfood.com ‘Edible parts: Fresh leaves can be eaten or tossed into a mug to make a tea.

(The tea tastes a bit like Green Tea, so of nothing much really, I added a little bit of grated lemon rind to pep it up – very pleasant.)

The flower and leaves can be dried and stored so that it can be used throughout the winter months as a tea or tossed into salads as a nutrient booster. The root can be dried and used. Rubbing fresh leaves on the skin is said to repel mosquitoes, and the entire plant repels rabbits and deer.’ And from webmd: Herb Robert is used for diarrhea; to improve functioning of the liver and gallbladder; to reduce swelling (inflammation) of the kidney, bladder, and gallbladder; and to prevent the formation of stones in the kidney, bladder, or gallbladder. Some people use Herb Robert as a mouthwash or gargle. The fresh leaves are chewed to relieve sore mouth and throat.

I might never have discovered this without taking part in Cathy’s ‘In a Vase on Monday’!   (Also, this week, in a teacup – are we telepathically linked, I wonder?)    I love the way these memes open up whole new worlds! And it seems to be the home of ………….? Does anyone know what creature laid these eggs? You might just be able to see the shadow of a little spider on the stalk – spider’s eggs? I got completely absorbed in ‘staging’ the photos ….. …… and tried these clam shells brought back from Tahiti, as a backdrop, with pebbles from Findhorn beach …. and then I got lost in editing the photos and I clicked a button I didn’t mean to,  and this happened – but I rather like it – do you? This little gem now sits on my bedroom window seat and makes me so happy in its teeny-ness!

There many are more wonderful ‘In a Vase’ posts for you to enjoy – here is a small selection by : Christina, Anca , pbmgarden and Cathy.