Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) Bruise Balms, Salads and Good Cheer
The Oxeye Daisy (part of the Aster Family) also known as Marguerite or field daisy, was introduced to Canada from Europe with the early settlers.
Leucanthemum is from the Greek meaning ‘white- flowered’ while vulgare (Lat.) means common.
You'll find it growing wild in meadows and disturbed areas. It flourishes on our land and you can see dots of white absolutely everywhere right now. There are daisies in my raised beds, vegetable gardens, flower gardens and all throughout the meadow. This is such a cheerful sight and it brings me a lot of happiness and hope that they'll come back year after year.
When I lived in the far North where only the hardiest of things can grow wild, I used to buy daisies and plant them in my garden every spring. When we first moved here I bought some and a neighbor chuckled at me for paying money for and planting them in my garden. Now I know why! Seeing the field awash with daisies is sort of dream like. (almost as good as a field of lavender).
The young spring leaves are edible but very strong in flavor and extremely bitter. One or two leaves in a big salad is about all I can tolerate. We prefer to pluck the petals and toss them into salads which is very lovely.
You can make a soothing bruise salve with the daisy, by infusing the flowers in oil, just follow my recipe for thyme lavender salve but replace the thyme/lavender with daisies.
You can also dry them for later use which is what we've been doing. My husband has been gathering a basket of them for me every day so I don't miss out once I am feeling better. He did have to learn that you must 1. give the flower a little shake before picking and 2. always leave the flowers outside in a basket so all the little bugs have time to escape before bringing them in.
In the language of flowers Daisy means: patience, beauty, cheerfulness & loyalty. It is said that the daisy offers milder/weaker benefits similar to its cousin chamomile which is well worth studying if you happen to have an abundance of daisies like we do.
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Oh honey, I'm so sorry that you are feeling bad still but it's super sweet that Ryan is collecting the daisies for you. I hope they bring you cheer so that you heal faster!
So many 'white men's footprints' in the form of imported plants - but I do love the richness they bring to our multi cultural landscapes.
It really is sweet of him especially because it's not really essential but it is an important ingredient in a few of the products I am making this year so I am so happy to have them. My mother in law is here for a few days and I am sure she'll do a bit of gardening and maybe help with a few things I am eager to see completed. There is so much to do that my eyes twitch when I look at it all. I think it scares everyone to touch anything though because no one is ever sure if its a "weed" or "one of char's special friends".
Seeds certainly are resilient and adaptable little travelers!!
I hope you get better soon, it is so hard trying to rest and knowing you have so much to do. I love daisy's I have none on the land I'm on but I do have chamomile. It is easy to see how the represent cheerfulness and beauty. Sending you lots of healing xx
You’ve been visited by @trucklife-family on behalf of Natural Medicine!
Thank you for once again sharing your healing wisdom with us, just looking at your beautiful photos brings one to such a calm and relaxed state of being x
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