Still in the depths of winter, though the weather here makes it feel otherwise, our ancestors were feeling the battle between winter and spring. The distant sound of thunder made them believe the spring storms were just around the corner while the icy bite of the wind reminded them winter hasn’t yet let it’s guard down. It is my favorite time to bury myself in books and garden planning for the year to come.
One thing I love to talk to folks about on the podcast is the plants they grow in their gardens. Specifically those with ties to our ancestral homelands. Even if we don’t have direct stories or ties to our ancestors, the plants can help fill in the missing pieces. The plants are our ancestors too after all. They carry pieces of our identity with them from soil to soil. And us, with our buried ancestral memories, are able to make connections that we may not be able to find otherwise once we start growing them in our gardens again.
Each year I add a few more ancestral plants to work with them in depth over the growing season so I thought I would share a few of this year’s plants with you. One thing we have to remember is that a lot of the plants our ancestors worked with weren’t actually native to their region. Many plants that are essential to the Slavic medicine cabinet, kitchen, or garden such as hollyhock, allspice, and nutmeg were imported to these regions through trade. Over the centuries these foreign plants gained their own identity in Slavic culture, a sort of layered story that flows between lands and people. This is a beautiful thing when we can share the plants we love so dearly with others.
This is all to say that the role of various plants in Slavic cultures is very diverse. Just as we begin to incorporate the plants native to our own areas into our repertoire, these things shift and transform into something new. Witch hazel, wintergreen, sweet fern. All of these plants that thrive in the acidic forest soil around me have become as integral in my herbal practice as my ancestral plants.
So when focusing on plants to grow in a Slavic garden, growing hollyhock even though it isn’t native to Poland, brings me so much joy and rootedness. As Sophie said in our last podcast episode, you won’t find a garden in Poland without it. But I also love to focus on plants that are native to that area, that have been used for thousands of years before any other plants were introduced.
Over the years I’ve incorporated cornflower, yarrow, chamomile, lovage, wild marjoram and more. All of these plants played such a special role in the gardens of the past. Here are some plants I’m working with this year in the garden:
Horseradish // An absolute staple in any Slavic kitchen medicinally and for culinary purposes. When I met my second great cousin who still lives in the same area my family immigrated to, this was one of the plants she was growing in her garden along with strawberries and shallots. She offered me a container of freshly grated horseradish to take with me while telling me it was quite easy to grow. You just harvest half of the root each year then replant it so it keeps coming back. I’m starting with bareroot plants this year instead of from seed.
Sorrel // I’ve been interested in growing more perennial vegetables and this ancestral plant fit right into that category. Sorrel soups are a huge part of Slavic cuisine. Before the greens we know today were available, sorrel held a prominent role in feeding the culture. It tolerates some light shade too which is perfect for my forest garden.
Flax // If you’ve been here for awhile, you may remember I planned on growing flax last year to try processing it into linen as a personal project. Well, I was doomed from the beginning because I bought the perennial seed variety instead of the annual variety used for linen making. For clarity, Linum usitatissimum, is the variety used for linen! Flax is one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history, so working with this plant from seed to cloth is such an inspiring dream of mine. Crossing my fingers it goes better this year!
Corn Poppy // Nothing is as quintessential of a Polish meadow than the bright red corn poppy waving in the wind. When we think of medicinal uses of poppy we may stray towards the California poppy that is native to the West coast of America and is often used in Western herbalism. This poppy is prized for its nervine properties. What many people haven’t looked into though is the medicinal effects of the corn poppy which is related to the California poppy. In folk medicine, it was used for these same nervine properties. You may also know that poppyseeds are a big part of Slavic cuisine, though these usually come from the opium poppy.
Comfrey // I am as dismayed as you are that I haven’t grown comfrey in the garden yet. It is such a panacea of skin healing properties and we have many records of native Slavic peoples and immigrants using it for this purpose. I didn’t even learn until recently that comfrey is native to Slavic lands. I’ve heard it is wonderful at creating a thick barrier of roots which is great for stopping the spread of runners from more aggressive plants. I plan on planting it next to hops for this purpose.
Caraway // This underrated spice is much more common in Slavic countries where it is native. It is a biennial plant (sometimes perennial) that has been used medicinally and in the kitchen for many generations. All parts of this plant are also medicinal or edible. Leaves are used in stews, salads and teas. Seeds are used to expel gas and assist in the digestive process. They are also incorporated into baked goods. The root is cooked and is treated as other root vegetables such as parsnips.
Dill // I am so excited to have this big beautiful plant in the garden. The yellow flower heads make beautiful additions to bouquets as well as food.
Let me know in the comments if you’re growing any ancestral plants in your garden!
Slavic Artist Feature { Joža Uprka }
A painter and graphic artist from what is now the Czech Republic, Joža Uprka was born in 1861 in a tiny village called Kněždub. Like many Slavic artists, he focused on the themes of folklife. For him specifically, this revolved around the historical lands of Southern Moravia.
His father was also an amateur painter which inspired him and his brother to pursue a career in the arts. You’ll notice that his paintings combine elements of impressionism and Art Nouveau which was all the rage at the time. What is fascinating to me about his work is that most of his subjects are always posed in profile. We never get a full look at their face as if they are always focused on something else just out of the frame. Peasant life was extremely difficult, perhaps they always have their eye on the next task to be finished, the next chore on the list.
Slavic Poet Feature { Srečko Kosovel }
Srečko Kosovel was a Slovenian poet who died at the young age of 22 in 1926. He lived in the turbulent time of a new century as the Austro-Hungarian empire which ruled the region was crumbling. He was a young soul who didn’t quite have the time to figure out his place in such a world before his passing. As one critic stated though:
“These lucid meditations show us Kosovel’s intense appreciation for the natural surroundings of his native Karst region.”
*Note that the word “nada” in Slovenian means “hope”.
The Sun, Nada
The sun,
Nada, has set already,
as if hiding
from my eyes.
The sun
has sunk beyond the grove
and all is silent in the wood.
All? I don’t know!
It’s just that the shadows stare
mournfully,
the flowers breathe out their fragrance
in the dusk.
You can feel the tulips bleeding.
I could weep but I am not allowed.
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Thanks, Val, for another interesting post. I've been growing Russian comfrey Bocking 14, for decades- its roots are indeed good for barriers. This variant has dainty pink flowers that don't self sow, therefore are not invasive. Dill self seeds happily here and I also grow sorrel. I've been wanting to plant horseradish but it's not available locally as nursery plants. Do you know of a source? Can it be grown from supermarket root?
As for the paintings- I'm drawn to the rock chopping fellow! Every year I add more and more rocks to my gardens that I haul from the woods and creeks and even the cemetery- 🙂! Great exercise!
This is so beautiful, thank you Val. I've been trying for awhile to make a personal herbal from journeying with ancestral plants and then combining what I learn with what I can research in Ukrainian (thank you Google translate!) I'm actually at Corn Poppy right now and have had a hard time finding any in commerce that I feel ok with using internally (so, if anyone happens to have any, please let me know!) I'm so excited to get to see the similarities and difference with Cali Poppy and also now realize how needed it is to grow her in my garden. We're moving in a few months so sadly not this year, but excited that I can include her in how I plan the next garden :)