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Soapwort Double Pink::
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04.08.05 ::
The Garden
has worts...and a lot of history!
Update: This plant
was once unidentified in my garden, but now
thanks to the forum at You
Grow
Girl.com It has been revealed to be "Soapwort". It is called
this because when you crush the stems and roots it secretes
a sap that will
lather up to make suds and
was used by early farmers as a
substitute for soap. The common name "Bouncing
Bet" (Bet is
short for Bess) is an old term
from England which means washerwoman. I will have to test this out and
see
how sudsy it gets!
I found this to be very interesting because when this house was originally a small farmhouse in the 1920's there was a "wash house" built behind the main house (I always call it the shed, but my dad still calls this building the "wash house") . It is still standing (see photo below) and I have plans to convert it into a painting studio someday. We have a water well on the property that once had a wind mill attached to it and the red pump for the well sits right near it. Inside the building is now a faucet, installed a long time ago, and runs with water from the well.
2004 photo of the "wash house" and water pump in the back yard.
I found this to be very interesting because when this house was originally a small farmhouse in the 1920's there was a "wash house" built behind the main house (I always call it the shed, but my dad still calls this building the "wash house") . It is still standing (see photo below) and I have plans to convert it into a painting studio someday. We have a water well on the property that once had a wind mill attached to it and the red pump for the well sits right near it. Inside the building is now a faucet, installed a long time ago, and runs with water from the well.
2004 photo of the "wash house" and water pump in the back yard.
2005
green sprouting vines in early March beginning to
grow.
This plant is
suppose to have a spicy sweet smell even though I didn't really
notice any particular aroma when it was growing. I will make it a point
to investigate
that more when it blooms again this year. It has five double scalloped
petals
that emerge from long smooth stems and creeping roots. The leaves grow
in double pairs along
the stem from a rosette at the bottom of the plant.
It
is considered to be an invasive herbaceous perennial with possible
poisonous characteristics to some
animals and humans. It is also said to have healing qualities
for a variety of skin conditions among other things. It can propagate
by seed, or by its creeping vines and limbs, and can also be divided in
the Spring or
Fall.
The
illustration below shows the single flower petal variety.
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03.18.05 ::What
Is It?
This is growing randomly on the North side of the house. It seems to be holding on after having been naturalized. It has been neglected without regular watering or fertilizer for a number of years.
It is spreading along the ground by long runners that take root at different spots but still connected like a vine.
The
flowers are a bit droopy but stand upright when in bloom. I
have transplanted some of them (March 7th 2005) so I can see if they
will root after having been cut from the vine.
I
Would
love to know what these are?
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