Garden Views

We Were in Lavender Country!

2010-03-21T11:27:00.002-07:00

On a recent trip to Provence (October 2009) we went to a lavender museum in the small town of Coustellet, which is about 40 km east of Avignon. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I had to wonder what could be of interest there...

The first thing you learn is that there are two types of lavender used in the perfume industry. Since I am very interested in plants, it immediately became interesting.

Neither of these are the ornamental lavenders we grow in our gardens. One is referred to as fine lavender and it is distilled and sold as a perfume. It is very expensive. It is very hardy and and grows from 800 mt (~2500') to 1400 mt (~4500') in altitude.

The other is a hybrid that was developed to produce more flowers and therefore more perfume. It has many branches whereas the ornamental one has more compact flowers and the flowers are on an unbranched stem.

(taken from the website of the Lavender Museum)

The hybrid lavender is referred to as lavandine. It grows in limestone soils, below 600 mt (~2000'). The perfume has a camphor smell, though you can still tell that it is lavender. It is used to scent things like wash detergent and is called an industrial perfume. It is no longer cultivated in France.

Next was a movie. We were horrified to learn that after the perfume is distilled the waste material (flowers and stems) is dumped over a bank and burned. We mentioned our dismay to the young lady at the front desk, and it seems that others had made a similar comment. She said that the material could not be composted. I was willing to allow her that (after all, she was just an employee) but I asked her to inform her bosses that the material could be shredded and used as mulch, tilled into the soil, etc. I was pleased to see that my son felt as strongly about this as I did!

Once in the actual museum we were handed an object about the same size as a walkie-talkie, which explained all the exhibits to us. They have them available in many languages. We simply pressed the button of the display and we got an excellent explanation. This made a huge difference to our enjoyment of the museum. The tour went at whatever pace you wanted it to and you didn't have to read anything.

On the left in the poster is described the fine lavender, and on the right is the lavandine. It takes 130 kg of lavender flowers to make one kg of essential oil and 20 to 25 kg of essential oil is produced per hectare (2.5 acres). No wonder its so expensive!

Lavender blooms in June, July and early August and is harvested when in full bloom. The countryside is a patchwork of purple fields during bloom-time and many artists are inspired to paint the scene.

The boutique has beautiful (but expensive) products...lotions, massage oil, soaps, bubble bath, eau de toilette, shower gel, etc. We truly enjoyed this museum!!

Kiva

2009-10-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

If I remember correctly, long ago I promised to devote a post to Kiva. I just finished re-investing the loan re-payments and I noticed a nice blurb that I could just drop into this blog post.

I also highly recommend a gift certificate as a Christmas present for all those people who just don't need anymore "stuff" for Christmas. Choosing the loan recipients is a wonderful experience!

Hi!

I just made a loan to someone in Liberia using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Tenneh Saah in Liberia.
She is a widow supporting her 4 children with her very small business. She still need another $750.00 to complete her loan request of $1,000.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Tenneh Saah too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=146600

(I expect that by the time you read this she will have received all the money she needs, but many other have requested loans, so just go to Kiva.org or click the banner on the right side of this blog.)

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, I know that I'm helping them build a
sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.

Thanks!

---------------------------------------------------------
What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'
-- BBC

'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'
-- CNN Money

'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'
-- The Wall Street Journal

'An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity...All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.'
-- Entrepreneur Magazine

Clematis and Siberian Iris

2009-06-16T16:25:00.002-07:00

The clematis was the one I thought I moved a few years ago, and was supposed to be purple and white....a real beauty. No complaints about his one, especially when I saw it next to the purple Siberian Iris!

Magnificent Magnolia Tree

2009-05-08T21:18:00.007-07:00

There are quite a few magnolia trees in Kelowna BC. Most years I seem to be there at the right time to witness their magnificence.

It was very difficult to find a single flower to photograph, and even more difficult to be able to set it off on its own, like this one.

Recipe for Hand Cream, or Lotion

2009-04-16T08:41:00.003-07:00

Years ago a thoughtful quilter gave me a small container of homemade hand lotion, along with the recipe to make more of my own. I can't remember her name, but I know she lived at the time, in Penticton, BC. If she happens to read this, I want to thank her many times over!

Since the only time of the year that I need a hand lotion is in the spring and is to do with gardening, it occurred to me that there may be others who would like this recipe. It is also free of scented ingredients, which has been a real hit with people with allergies, and since my husband discovered it, he uses it more than I do!

The ingredients are available at a pharmacy, and in Canada I have to get most of them directly from the pharmacist. Only the glycerine is likely to be out on the shelves. In our very small town the pharmacist had to order in some of the ingredients for me, but this recipe is now so popular here that he keeps them in stock. The cost is about $15-20 for the 1.5 litres (or quarts) that this recipe makes.

Gardener's Hand Cream

15 gm Sodium Lauryl Sulphate
120 gm Cetyl Alcohol
2 - 100ml bottle Glycerine
15 gm Lanolin Anhydrous
4 cups boiling water

Melt first four ingredients in a double boiler. The sulphate does not melt, but will later, when added to the water.

Add to boiling water in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed until thick and creamy (this takes about 10 minutes). You can add a few tablespoons of aloe vera gel if you wish. Also, some of your favourite essential oil if you prefer it to be scented.

Makes about 1.5 litres or quarts.

I hope you enjoy it.

I Have Planted My Roses

2009-03-20T08:58:00.011-07:00

Sort of. In early March I received a phone call from Rachel at Palatine Roses. I had placed an order last fall and had asked for shipping in mid April. Last year they arrived with lots of long new growth that needed to be removed because the bare roots can't supply that growth with water. So when Rachel asked if she could ship earlier I was torn but her reasoning was good. She wanted to ship all the rose orders to BC in a cold storage truck and then have them distributed by Canada Post from a single point in BC. I explained that I was in the part of BC that gets really cold and snowy, not the balmy part. But she was able to convince me that I could simply heel them in, paying attention to placing them horizontally and covering them with dirt.

The roses arrived and I looked out at our yard and shook my head. No dirt was showing. Not wanting to pot up so many roses I came up with an idea. Logic told me that the huge piles of snow might do. So I dug a hole in a pile that I knew would melt late because of it being in the shade, and I laid the incredibly big and healthy (with no new growth) group of bare root roses in the snow and carefully settled loose snow in between all the roots and around the rest of the plants. I figured they couldn't possibly dry out there, right? And when you think about it, this isn't much different from what Mother Nature does to them. While it is cold in their den, its not freezing. Okay, I think I have convinced myself. They will be just fine.

Update: It worked out superbly and I will definitely do this again.

The Pictures Tell the Sad Tale

2009-01-14T17:47:00.008-08:00

The release of pent-up snow on our metal roof is a pretty significant event. It can fall off the upper roof, onto the main one with a house-shaking thud. Just such a thud was heard but my husband said "I hope that wasn't the chimney. It is leaning." Such a comment definitely piqued my interest!! So out we dashed to view the roof. The chimney was still where it was supposed to be, but it was definitely leaning.

No matter what angle you viewed it from, it was definitely leaning.

So back in we went and in less than 5 minutes. We heard another crash. DH says "That has to be the chimney."

He went up to survey the damage. Its hard to tell from this picture that he is on a roof, but he is many feet above the ground.

So he determined that since it is too cold for mortar to set, we will have to do without the use of our woodstove for the rest of the winter. I sure hope we are done with the coldest part of the winter and will just coast out the rest of it. Dare I hope?

The Snow Kept Coming!

2009-01-11T14:17:00.010-08:00

We are one hundred miles north of Spokane, Washington and I know that if someone there reads this post they will scoff. They had 62" of snow in December, and we had less than half of that. But it was still very beautiful!! Usually when we get snow it starts to melt down in a few days, so it rarely lasts very long on the trees. But this time we had fluffy snow piling up for 3 full weeks. It was a true winter wonderland.

I put this ruler in the snow on our deck. It was fully covered after the next snowfall. What made it so interesting was to check how much snow had accumulated right after it finished snowing, then look at the ruler 24 and 48 hours later. The snow would settle as much as 2", without any melting temperatures!

It started to melt about 4 days ago, but here are some pics I took a few hours before it started to melt.

Annoyance

2009-01-09T21:38:00.005-08:00

About an hour ago I was wandering though Picasa on my computer, deleting some photos. Picasa is a free downloadable image organizer and editor from Google. Very handy, particularly in that you can upload very easily to Picasaweb, a free online photo album.

As I was looking through I said "Why are these images here? I have other copies of them. I will just delete them." So I deleted away, not bothering to read the message that came up in a box where I hit the "Yes" buttom. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of something like "this image will be deleted from your blog". WHAT!!??!!

It seems that Picasa makes folder of all the photos one puts on their blog. That folder does not show up in my Windows folder, only in Picasa.

The box said it may take up to 24 hrs before it happens. I guess I can't re-upload anything until they disappear, or I will have two copies. How annoying this is!

Balancing Acts

2009-01-02T12:01:00.008-08:00

We have had quite a bit of snow so far this winter. Luckily the temperature has been cold enough to keep the snow on the trees, therefore creating a true winter wonderland. Yesterday my ruler in the snow on our balcony read 20" but had compressed down to 19" by this morning.

To keep colour in the forefront in my life, I make quilts in the winter. I call it my indoor gardening.

Freezing Rain

2008-12-07T09:08:00.008-08:00

We have been experiencing freezing rain off and on for the last 2 days. Its pretty scary to step onto our cement pad at the garage and unexpectedly go for a slide. The ornamental grasses that I love to gaze at in the winter are suffering a bit, but hopefully once the ice on them melts, the Calamagrostis will spring back up.

A week ago we had 3-4" of wet snow. The grasses were bent over so I took a stick and gently lifted them out of it. They were just recovering nicely when the freezing rain hit.

The two pics below are of an Oregon grape plant that grows naturally in our yard, and my husband (a committed non-gardener) wants me to incorporate into a new planted area.

This tube is normally smooth.

This afternoon its supposed to either rain or snow. Rain should melt the ice, but snow will sit on top of it and hide it. Not good. And the poor Calamagrostis will never spring up again.

Leeks

2008-10-13T09:40:00.004-07:00

This past spring, in a moment of weakness, I purchased a package of leek seedlings. I have grown them once before, but was frustrated with what a nuisance it was to dig a trench to plant them in, then to gradually fill it in as the leeks grew. Then there was the problem with cleaning the dirt from inside each leek.

With a little more time on my hands now (post-children era) I decided to try again. This time I gave a lot of thought to how to grow them. I figured that if I could keep the soil away from the sides of the stem, then it shouldn't get into the folds, right? As the leeks got bigger in the flat, I had run out of time. So I just dug a trench, set the leeks in, firmed them in the soil, and put smallish leaves (I collect bags of leaves and always have some on hand) between them and the sides of the trench.

Awhile later I filled in the trench, being sure to keep some leaves around the plants. I was not holding out a lot of hope for this method, as I assumed the leaves would break down, but it was the only idea that was feasible at the time.

I am amazed and happy to report that this technique worked incredibly well!! I have completely dirt-free leeks, with an incredibly long section of white...about 10".

Now to deal with them all....

I wrote this about a month ago, intending to include a picture, but I didn't get a photo taken before they were all "dealt with".

Cacti at the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakesh

2008-07-20T17:49:00.003-07:00

Right after the pond and fountain there was a cactus garden. Rather unexpected after the relative lushness of the rest of the garden. However Morocco is not a lush country, so I should not have been surprised.

Too bad I couldn't have put something next to this monster to show the scale. If memory serves me correctly, it was about 5-6' across.

I bet you can guess why I took a pic of this cactus!

It was closing time and we were being kicked out, but I grabbed a quick shot of this wrinkly one.

When I stopped to take a pic of this one, my daughter suggested it would be better from a slightly different angle. So I handed the camera to her and she took the second shot. I can't decide which is more interesting, so why not include both!

He has a green thumb!

2008-07-10T14:16:00.004-07:00

My son has succeeded in growing basil and thyme in his apt in Baku in Azerbaijan. I mailed the seeds around March 15, and they took 4-5 weeks to reach him. I started some basil seeds myself soon after I mailed the seeds to him, but mine are nowhere near as big. He said that his just took off.

You have to give him credit for coming up with containers, however I will have to mention the apparent lack of drainage, at least in the upside down ones.

It also looks like he is growing these indoors, rather than on his balcony. I have so many questions to ask him....

More Colour from the Majorelle Gardens

2008-07-06T09:05:00.009-07:00

I believe that the first three pics below are of windows on the building that houses the Museum of Islamic Art. We didn't go in, as it was almost closing time.

my daughter

Majorelle Gardens, Marrakech, Morocco

2008-06-06T07:56:00.012-07:00

Having heard that Yves Saint-Laurent passed away recently, I was reminded that I had not yet posted pictures of his Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech.

The gardens were originally built in 1924 by artist and serious plant collector Jacques Majorelle. In 1980 Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought it.

The first view is of these colourful pots, amongst a grove of giant bamboo:

The cobalt blue colour was used often in the gardens, and is named Majorelle bleu, after the artist and designer of the gardens.

More pics soon.

Seedling Care - Instructions to My Son in Azerbaijan

2008-06-01T10:51:00.002-07:00

Its too bad it took 5 weeks for those seeds to get to you, but I am happy to hear that you are proceeding. I expect that now your seeds have sprouted and you are ready for instructions on the next step.

Seedling Care

The seedlings need lots of light, and they need warmth to grow quickly. If put outside they may dry out too quickly and since night temps are lower outside that indoors, it is a good idea to keep them inside, as they will grow faster.

So if you have a sunny windowsill, put them on. This is when things get messy. Soil and water comes out of the containers when watering. Put on top of plastic to protect countertops, windowsills or whatever.

The care you give your seedlings in the weeks following germination is critical. Keep moist, but not dripping, as excess wetness will encourage a fungus called damping off*, which kill seedlings. Small pots and flats dry out quickly, so check it often. How can you tell if the soil is dry? The soil shrinks from the edges of the container. The container is light. Or the worst indicator is that the plants are wilting. This is very bad. You want to avoid this!

If your seedlings are growing in a windowsill, turn often to encourage straight stems. Also, gently brush the palm of your hand against the tops of the seedlings to encourage strong stem growth. (I have never tried this. I only read it for the first time today).

The first two leaves you will see on the plant are not true leaves but food storage cells called cotyledons. Once the first true leaves have developed, it's time to start fertilizing. Choose a good liquid organic fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20) and use a half-strength solution once a week.

About a week after germination, you need to thin your seedlings. You probably have noticed that you have waaaaayyyy more plants than you can use. Start by snipping off at ground level (not pulling out) the weaker and slower seedlings. Send me a pick and I will give you further instructions. Crowding will decrease air circulation, which encourages damping off, so thin them!

Yellow and Red

2008-05-14T10:59:00.005-07:00

Its been a good morning for colour. He flew across in front of the window and sat in the tree.

A male Western Tanager
Then came two females. He moved closer to them, watching them like teenages boys watch the girls. Then came 2 more males. No scrapping, but this guy came dangerously close to our cat. Luckily she is 14 yr and her hunting days are probably over.

Another Tanager
Do you suppose they may like our yard because they fit right in, colour-wise?

Beauty of Appledoorn tulips

Seed Starting #1 - To My Son in Azerbaijan

2008-04-24T13:56:00.009-07:00

Use Small Containers First

Start your seeds in small containers, such as yogurt, cottage cheese containers, or a milk carton, laid on its side (about 5cm deep), with the opposite side cut off (staple closed the end that was opened). Some people use egg cartons (expect to transplant quite quickly from such a small container). Make sure you put one or more holes, about half a centimeter in diameter, in the bottom of all these containers. If the holes are too big soil will fall out.

Egg and milk cartons, almost ready for seeds
Prepare the Containers for Sowing

Put newspapers or plastic on your table. Makes clean up much easier.
Fill pots or flats to the top with your potting mixture and firm the soil and level the surface (a flat-bottomed cup or glass work well for this). Water the soil and allow it to drain thoroughly before sowing the seeds. I like to let it sit in a larger container that has water in it, so that the water soaks up from the bottom. That way you are sure to have the entire soil mass wet. This is important, as the soil can be difficult to get wet. You want there to be about .5cm of space above the soil.

Label your containers. If they becomes mixed up you can send me pics later and I can ID them.

Sowing Seeds

Sprinkle the seeds on the surface of the damp soil and cover with a very thin layer of soil. In a egg carton compartment put 2-3 seeds. In a milk carton, put a group of 2 or 3 every couple of inches. Firm the soil. It is important the the seeds have good contact with the soil. The top layer of soil should absorb moisture from the layer below. If possible, continue to water from the bottom. If you must water from a container, use one with a spout or use a thin-lipped glass…something you can control the flow out of. If the water comes out too fast, it will send all the seeds to a corner.

Slip into a plastic bag so you won’t have to water. Leave it open. If you have a heater place your containers near it so they will germinate faster, but be careful, because they will also dry out faster. The top of the fridge is also a warm spot. Some types of seeds will germinate in approximately one week, though some will be faster and others slower. Once germination occurs remove the bag and move them to a sunny spot indoors.

To My Son in Azerbaijan - How to Start Seeds

2008-04-24T13:48:00.002-07:00

I have a son living and working in Baku in Azerbaijan. Where is that you ask? On the west side of the Caspian Sea, between Russia and Iran. Baku is on approximately the same latitude as Northern California, Istanbul and Naples.

Central Asia, with Azerbaijan in orange, to the left of centerMap is from the U of Texas website
He wants to grow herbs on his south-facing balcony, so I have sent him packages of basil, thyme, rosemary, Greek oregano (this is the white-flowered one and is so much better than the purple-flowered plant), along with some marigold seeds. He is ready with some containers and potting soil that he has been able to find in Baku.

He is 24 yr and has never grown anything before so I figure he needs lots of help. So I have prepared detailed instructions for him. I would love to hear from those of you who might have tips to add to my posts.

He has a blog that he has had for a few years, from when he was in India, Cairo and now Baku. There is lots of wonderful reading there! I hope he will show pics of his plants as they progress.

!!!! Arctic Air !!!!

2008-04-21T08:38:00.004-07:00

We have been breaking records all over British Columbia for the past few days. The previous weekend we had the first nice weather, and now we are back to winter. Vancouver and Victoria woke up to snow on Saturday. Actually, in our little town of Grand Forks, we got off pretty easy. To the west of us, in the Okanagan Valley, it was much colder and they had lots of snow on Saturday. The snowfall this morning was our only accumulation of the weekend.

Some Plants That Survive the Dry of Morocco

2008-04-19T13:17:00.006-07:00

All the pics below were taken in the area of Tafraoute, which is a few hundred kilometers south of Marrakech.

Above was the first of these plants that I saw that had flowers. The rest of them didn't even have any greenery. They were just a bundle of crocked stems with thorns.

I was hiking up a small mountain and encountered many clumps of both of these plants. From a distance the mountain looked devoid of vegetation, but there was actually quite a bit once one was up close.

A foundation planting. It is about 30" tall.

Cacti are particularly good as garbage catchers, something which is needed in Morocco.

Fragile Ecosystem and Desertification

2008-04-16T08:53:00.004-07:00

Wikipedia: "Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations. Current desertification is taking place much faster worldwide than historically and usually arises from the demands of increased populations that settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals."

What we saw in Morocco is that the western edge of the Sahara is moving westwards, swallowing up surrounding land by depositing sand. As gardeners know, it is very difficult to grow things in sand. A reduction in productive arable land means people and animals may go hungry. Since 93% of Morocco is arid, the government is working on stopping the encroachment, but 55,000 acres of arable land is disappearing per year. Can mere humans possibly stop it, not only in Morocco, but in many other countries?

At the end of the 19th Century Morocco had over 15 million date palms. Now there are only 4.5 million. This reduction means a huge drop in income for a large part of the local population.

According to Wikipedia: "It has been determined that the primary reasons for desertification are overgrazing, over cultivation, incorrect irigation methods, deforestation, overdrafting of groundwater, increased soil salinity, and global climate change."

I must admit that when our guide told us about the problem of the expanding desert and showed us sandy areas far from major sand dunes of the Sahara, I was puzzled. It was like there was a sand magnet under the ground.

While I have not found an explanation for pockets of sand (I suppose the wind is the main culprit), it seems that (Wiki) "Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well under way. Often little data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation."

You frequently hear the phrase fragile ecosystem. After reading the info on Wikipedia and having seen the edge of the desert in Morocco, I understand it much better. There is nothing like nature's classroom and travelling to broaden our understanding of everything and everyone else.

The Sahara Desert

2008-03-26T19:05:00.011-07:00

Aboard a camel, we approach the dunes of Erg Chebbi
The land around these huge sand dunes is flat as a pancake and bone dry. The palm trees appear to be engulfed by sand dunes. Likely the desert has encroached on them. This process is called desertification, a subject I plan to deal with in the next post.

Is this dragonfly alive or dead?
We were awakened (if we actually managed to sleep) to observe the sunrise over the Sahara. We got out of our warm bedding and climbed the dunes surrounding our camp. It is not warm in the desert at night. The dragonfly was likely just responding to the lower air temperature and would come to life once the sun rose, and warmed it up.

There is vegetation in the Sahara
If you, like me, assumed that the Sahara was only sand, it would come as a surprise to you to see that there are many clumps of grass to be seen.

Animal tracks
While waiting for the sun to rise I noted some tracks, but could not even imagine what animal might make them.

Shadows at sunrise
We were infatuated with the shadows and the lower the sun was, the longer the legs of our camels were! But it was difficult to take pics as camels do not give a smooth ride!

My daughter, and behind her, Lisa
This pic shows some of the vegetation on the dunes.

It was about 2 months ago that I was there. Sigh....it was such a great trip. I absolutely love reviewing my photos.

To the East of the High Atlas Mountains

2008-03-19T12:16:00.007-07:00

Well done Jackie! Yes, the Sahara Desert in on the lee side of the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

So we were on our way to our camel trekking excursion when our guide stopped to point out this plant to us. It is an amazing plant as it was by far the largest plant around and the only broad leafed plant I had seen for hours.

Our guide told us it was called Calotropis procera. Today I did some research on it.

my daughter checking out Calotropis procera
Common names include Apple Of Sodom, Rubberbush, and Giant Milkweed. It is a member of the Asclepias family, and is related to the lovely orange flowered drought tolerant garden plant commonly known as Butterfly Weed. It is one of the few plants that neither goats nor camels will eat.

the flower buds
It seems it is being considered for cancer treatment. From the SciELO website:

"Calotropis procera, a wild growing plant is well known for its medicinal uses in traditional system of medicine for the treatment of variety of disease conditions that include leprosy, ulcers, tumors and piles... The milky white latex obtained from the plant exhibits potent anti-inflammatory activity in various animal models that is comparable to standard anti-inflammatory drugs... It has been well established through various experimental and clinical studies that drugs possessing anti-inflammatory activity also exhibit anti-cancer properties."

The dried seed pod
And from the Herb Society of America website:

"..it is a magnificent shrub, reaching 10 feet tall, with large silver-green leaves, clusters of waxy purple-tipped flowers, and inflated pale green seed pods. The pods split open when ripe to release silk-tufted seed to the wind. The latex is poisonous, containing digitalis-like compounds that affect the heart, and is used to make arrow poison. Medicinally, the acrid sap latex is used to treat boils, infected wounds and other skin problems in people, and to treat parasitic skin infestations in animals. It also yields ash for making gunpowder, and extremely strong fiber."

the seeds
There are a number of interesting comments from people growing it in Florida on the Daves Garden website. It seems that the plant is a favourite of Monarch butterflies.

What an interesting plant!