tansy

[asakiyume]

All the tansy in my yard had flopped over, so I cut it way, way back and turned some of it into a door wreath. My front door gets BAKED BY THE SUN. Seriously, the healing angel and I have talked about the possibility of using it, somehow, for electricity or power generation. But anyway. This means the tansy wreath will . . . not freeze-dry, but the opposite. Flash bake?

Later in the day, the healing angel was going upstairs (the stairs are right by the door) and said, "I smell an intense smell of tomatoes."

Now we know what tansy (which has a pretty unique and powerful smell when it isn't baking) smells like when it's baking.

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

That's a very pretty wreath.

(And now I want to smell some tansy.)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It's very strong and distinctive!

[sovay]

Now we know what tansy (which has a pretty unique and powerful smell when it isn't baking) smells like when it's baking.

That's great.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It was quite surprising, in a nice way.

[dudeshoes.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it is mummifying. (Looks delightful!)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

That might be what it is!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I'd never even heard of tansy until today...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It has a very button-like look and great foliage and a strong smell. There's a great description of its use in Easter cakes and things at A Modern Herbal [not really modern!], here (http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/tansy-05.html).

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

Have you read Ruth M. Arthur's A Candle in Her Room? Tansy always makes me think of that.

I'm very impressed by your wreath-making, BTW. That's lovely. And highly competent.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I haven't! How does tansy figure in the story?

(And thank you! I am a rank amateur, but it's fun to play around.)

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

The tansy has a mystical, witchy association with an Evil Doll.

I loved the novel as a girl, and so did many girls I knew. Reading it later I found the writing clumsy on a sentence/paragraph level. But the characters and their trajectory were still compelling.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

OMG, now I'm thinking maybe I **did** read it! Checking on title…

YES! I remember this cover!!



THAT WAS A TERRIFYING BOOK!

I only remember being scared by it and that the doll was terribly manipulative--and does tansy work for evil or good? (I can't remember) It *ought* to work for good, but….

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

My best recollection about the tansy was that it was a mystical preservative of some sort-- that the doll initially found surrounded by it in a box under the floor.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Talking of Tansy- have some tunes- the Brides Favourite and Tansy's Fancy. :o)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Oh I like this very, very much--thank you ♥

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

I've never tasted tansy, though it's a traditional (make that, historical) flavouring.

I was going to say that Elizabethan recipes for tansy must have been used by people who'd never tasted tomato, but that looks to have been about the point tomatoes were introduced to Britain (John Gerard, he of the Herbal, grew them, apparently). Well, well.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Wow, so tomatoes have been part of European cuisine for that long! I didn't know either. And I've never tasted tansy either--the smell is so strong, and while not unpleasant, it's not something I've ever wanted to *try*, if you know what I mean.

[wuweibaby.livejournal.com]

You know the names of all the things, and do very lovely things with them.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I *love* knowing the names! I feel like that's a good way toward becoming friends--like Alice in Wonderland being introduced to her food and then not being able to eat it.

Lovely

[docdad2.livejournal.com]

Ahyup - really - Lovely wreath.

Re: Lovely

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Today, predictably, it's much shriveled, but the yellow is still bright and the form is still good, so maybe i'll keep it there a while!

[cecile-c.livejournal.com]

Your wreath looks lovely! If it dries well, it would make a pretty Christmas wreath ;)

(incidentally, if your front door is so warm, have you ever tried building a sun-dryer for fruit and vegetables to put there? I've been wanting to make one for a good while, but still haven't come around to it...)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

THAT IS AN AWESOME IDEA! Why didn't I think of it--much better than using my oven on a low setting, which is what I currently do.

Thank you! I absolutely will do that!

[cecile-c.livejournal.com]

You'll have to let me know how it turns out :)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

bien sûr!!

[c-maxx.livejournal.com]

Great wreath! And herbal lore to boot.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Gotta love the herbal lore :-)

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

beautiful wreath

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Glad you like it! (It's a little less perky today, but I'm hoping it will still look nice dried)

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Oh, it is so pretty!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I was considering the French form of Tansy (Tanaisie) for a name if Junebug would have been a girl, but J vetoed it on account of it sounding like the French word for euthanasia. :P

That is a most lovely wreathe. It will be interesting to see if it dries in keepable condition.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Tanaisie is so pretty, what a shame that it sounds like the word for euthanasia!

Yeah, I'm hopeful that it will dry prettily but it all depends on what happens with the flowers, I think.