The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

BY ELIZABETH LACY

At a recent meeting of the Darling Dahlias, Miss Rogers (Darling’s devoted librarian and noted plant historian) gave a talk on old-fashioned flowering bulbs that thrive in Southern gardens. Among the plants she recommended were eleven o’clock ladies, naked ladies, chives and garlic chives, gladiolas, starflowers, and snowflakes, as well as caladium and elephant ear, which are grown for their decorative leaves. Of course, Miss Rogers gave us the correct Latin names, which she recommends that we use to avoid confusing one plant with another. We have a list of those, if you want them. Just ask.

It’s been a busy summer for the Dahlias Canning Kettle Ladies (Bessie Bloodworth, team captain, with Earlynne Biddle, Aunt Hetty Little, and Beulah Trivette). They have been putting up extra produce donated by gardeners all over town, to share with our Darling needy folk in the winter. The team is using the two new big pressure cookers the Dahlias bought with the money they earned from the quilt raffle. (Big thanks to Mildred Kilgore and Alice Ann Walker for organizing the raffle!) The Canning Kettle Ladies put up dozens of jars of green beans, corn, tomatoes and tomato sauce, peaches, and pickles. The residents of the Magnolia Manor will be helping to distribute the canned goods, so if you want to put your name on the list (or the name of a needy neighbor), let Bessie Bloodworth know, or call the Magnolia Manor at 477 and leave a message. Come November and December, you’ll be glad you did. It’ll be like eating summer out of a jar.

Mildred Kilgore gave a demonstration on how to make an old-fashioned rose jar to the Methodist Ladies last week. Several ladies from other churches have expressed their regret that her demonstration was limited to their Methodist friends and have requested her how-to instructions. She says to take a pint of dried rose petals (red are prettiest) and pack them in a jar, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt. Put a lid on it and put it on a closet shelf for a month. Then find a big bowl and mix in 1/4 ounce of orris root, 2 teaspoons each of powdered ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and 4 tablespoons each of dried lavender and lemon verbena. Dump in the rose petals and mix it all together very well with a big spoon. Put everything back in the jar and put the jar back in the closet for another month. To use, put in a pretty bowl, stir every so often, and take a deep sniff when you walk past.

The Dahlias, under the direction of Verna Tidwell, have compiled a companion booklet to their very popular “Makin’ Do” booklet. This one is called “The Dahlias’ Household Magic: A Baker’s Dozen Ways to Do It Easier, Faster, Better.” You may pick up a copy free at the Dispatch office. (Mrs. Albert says she’s going to include it in her latest book, which Miss Rogers has promised to get for the Darling Library. She says that you should put your name on the waiting list now if you want to read it. It’ll probably be a very long list.)

Aunt Hetty Little is inviting everyone to her garden to see the very strange Voodoo Lily (Dracunculus vulgaris, according to Miss Rogers), which is blooming now. It has impressively large (12”) deep purple flowers that last about a week. But you might want to bring a perfumed hanky to cover your nose. The Voodoo Lily (a.k.a. Stink Lily) smells like something crawled under the porch and died. Mildred, who collects exotic plants, reports that the plant produces this smell on purpose, to attract the flies that pollinate the huge blossoms. “Some plants are very clever that way,” she says.

We were cleaning up Mrs. Dahlia Blackstone’s papers recently (Mrs. Blackstone was the founder of our garden club, as you probably know), and found this lovely clipping that we want to share with you. It’s been around for so long that nobody knows who wrote it. We hope it will be around for a long time to come.