Down in the dirt, water soaks deep. Roots drink it in, and a long-legged spider stilt-walks over the streams.
from Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
written by Kate Messner
illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
Chronicle Books, 2015
Let’s not talk about the hydrangea fiasco from a couple of years ago. The guys who came over from the garden store to plant the five hardy baby bushes did not say not to prune them. So… well, I have two left. I’m sure they’re hardier than the three wimps who did not survive my clippers.
My son-in-law teaches science, especially botany, in a high school in their town. For several years, he ran the school’s greenhouse and gave his students hands-on experience.
He told me he had extra Joe Pye weeds and asked if I wanted some. I told him I’d get back to him. Well, after I looked them up, I quickly knew they’d be perfect. I could even out the lopsided bed that runs the length of our house.
Joe Pye weeds are tall, purple perennials that are “easy-to-grow.” We’ll have to see about that, but pollinators love them, so I’m willing to try.
Last time we visited my daughter, son-in-law, and the grandkids, I brought home six little baby plants, still in their nursery dirt. My instructions were to nurture them till they grew to about 12 inches. Then they’d be ready to transplant. This past Wednesday, I planted them in the ground near Wilson, our cat who died of kidney failure at the beginning of summer 2022.
And I couldn’t help wondering why they were called Joe Pye weeds. Who was he, and why did he get a plant named after him?
For a long time, a couple of hundred years, the real Joe Pye was a man of legend. His backstory was vague. It took until The Great Lakes Botanist, 2017 edition, when Richard B. Pearce, noted botanist, and James S. Pringle of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, Ontario, reported just who Joe Pye really was.
After combing through confusing accounts in a vast number of historical records, they presented the man behind the myth.
Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican leader, sometimes used the English name, Joe Pye. He lived from 1722 to around 1809 and spent much of his time in the Stockbridge, Massachusetts area.
Even though the literature of the day promoted Joe Pye weed as a remedy for typhus, Shauquethqueat was a public servant, not a medical man. There’s no known reliable evidence that he used the plant for anything medical.
In Daniel Moerman’s Native American Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary (Timber Press, 2009), Moerman lists lots and lots of uses for lots and lots of native plants, but does not mention Shauquethqueat, Joe Pye, or even the Mohicans. And no mention of typhus.
So there’s plenty of room for more research. We’re left knowing the man, but not his connection with the plant.
Before the discovery of chemistry to manufacture them, drugs and medicines all came from natural sources. Shamans and healers were well-versed in using plants, animals, and fungi for cures and remedies. Today, it is the physicians and pharmacists who work with drug manufacturers to isolate ingredients from natural sources.
From a paper written for the Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University, “synthetic chemical ingredients are made in laboratories or industrial settings. The goal is to create a specific molecule in a controlled, scalable, and consistent way.” Natural ingredients come straight from plants, animals, or minerals. Physical extraction, simple processing, or natural fermentation are used to release ingredients needed for the drug.
And while synthetic production allows for greater purity, and natural sources may carry more variability, our bodies can’t tell the difference. We react to the structure, not the source.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still employs chemists, clinical analysts, microbiologists, pharmaceutical scientists, pharmacologists, and toxicologists to do the important work of determining the safety and effectiveness of medicines.
And it is the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), one of six main centers for the FDA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that specifically does this work. The agency regulates over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including generics, and manages more than just medicine. Fluoride toothpaste, antiperspirants, dandruff shampoos, and sunscreens are all considered drugs and all fall under the jurisdiction of the CBER.
Under “doge,” CBER staff has decreased from 5,785 on September 30, 2024, to 1,373 now. (FDA.gov).
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), at the beginning of the 21st century, only 11% of the 252 drugs considered as basic and essential by the World Health Organization (WHO) were exclusively of flowering plant origin.
Discovery continues.
Crunching up petals, berries, stems, and leaves might sound natural, but you really have to know what you’re doing.
So far, I still trust Walgreens.
My Joe Pye weeds are still very small. But, I read in the care instructions that I found online, they might bloom in their first season. I hope so, but I marked each spot so I know where to look for them next spring, just in case.
I just started reading How to Tell a True Story by Tricia Springstubb (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, 2025). It’s a little bit mystery, a little bit thriller, and if I know Tricia, it’s wrapped up in a whole lot of heart. Tell you more next time!
Be curious! (and tend your garden)
from Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
written by Kate Messner
illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
Chronicle Books, 2015
Let’s not talk about the hydrangea fiasco from a couple of years ago. The guys who came over from the garden store to plant the five hardy baby bushes did not say not to prune them. So… well, I have two left. I’m sure they’re hardier than the three wimps who did not survive my clippers.
My son-in-law teaches science, especially botany, in a high school in their town. For several years, he ran the school’s greenhouse and gave his students hands-on experience.
He told me he had extra Joe Pye weeds and asked if I wanted some. I told him I’d get back to him. Well, after I looked them up, I quickly knew they’d be perfect. I could even out the lopsided bed that runs the length of our house.
Joe Pye weeds are tall, purple perennials that are “easy-to-grow.” We’ll have to see about that, but pollinators love them, so I’m willing to try.
Last time we visited my daughter, son-in-law, and the grandkids, I brought home six little baby plants, still in their nursery dirt. My instructions were to nurture them till they grew to about 12 inches. Then they’d be ready to transplant. This past Wednesday, I planted them in the ground near Wilson, our cat who died of kidney failure at the beginning of summer 2022.
And I couldn’t help wondering why they were called Joe Pye weeds. Who was he, and why did he get a plant named after him?
For a long time, a couple of hundred years, the real Joe Pye was a man of legend. His backstory was vague. It took until The Great Lakes Botanist, 2017 edition, when Richard B. Pearce, noted botanist, and James S. Pringle of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, Ontario, reported just who Joe Pye really was.
After combing through confusing accounts in a vast number of historical records, they presented the man behind the myth.
Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican leader, sometimes used the English name, Joe Pye. He lived from 1722 to around 1809 and spent much of his time in the Stockbridge, Massachusetts area.
Even though the literature of the day promoted Joe Pye weed as a remedy for typhus, Shauquethqueat was a public servant, not a medical man. There’s no known reliable evidence that he used the plant for anything medical.
In Daniel Moerman’s Native American Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary (Timber Press, 2009), Moerman lists lots and lots of uses for lots and lots of native plants, but does not mention Shauquethqueat, Joe Pye, or even the Mohicans. And no mention of typhus.
So there’s plenty of room for more research. We’re left knowing the man, but not his connection with the plant.
Before the discovery of chemistry to manufacture them, drugs and medicines all came from natural sources. Shamans and healers were well-versed in using plants, animals, and fungi for cures and remedies. Today, it is the physicians and pharmacists who work with drug manufacturers to isolate ingredients from natural sources.
From a paper written for the Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University, “synthetic chemical ingredients are made in laboratories or industrial settings. The goal is to create a specific molecule in a controlled, scalable, and consistent way.” Natural ingredients come straight from plants, animals, or minerals. Physical extraction, simple processing, or natural fermentation are used to release ingredients needed for the drug.
And while synthetic production allows for greater purity, and natural sources may carry more variability, our bodies can’t tell the difference. We react to the structure, not the source.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still employs chemists, clinical analysts, microbiologists, pharmaceutical scientists, pharmacologists, and toxicologists to do the important work of determining the safety and effectiveness of medicines.
And it is the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), one of six main centers for the FDA, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that specifically does this work. The agency regulates over-the-counter and prescription drugs, including generics, and manages more than just medicine. Fluoride toothpaste, antiperspirants, dandruff shampoos, and sunscreens are all considered drugs and all fall under the jurisdiction of the CBER.
Under “doge,” CBER staff has decreased from 5,785 on September 30, 2024, to 1,373 now. (FDA.gov).
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), at the beginning of the 21st century, only 11% of the 252 drugs considered as basic and essential by the World Health Organization (WHO) were exclusively of flowering plant origin.
Discovery continues.
Crunching up petals, berries, stems, and leaves might sound natural, but you really have to know what you’re doing.
So far, I still trust Walgreens.
My Joe Pye weeds are still very small. But, I read in the care instructions that I found online, they might bloom in their first season. I hope so, but I marked each spot so I know where to look for them next spring, just in case.
I just started reading How to Tell a True Story by Tricia Springstubb (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, 2025). It’s a little bit mystery, a little bit thriller, and if I know Tricia, it’s wrapped up in a whole lot of heart. Tell you more next time!
Be curious! (and tend your garden)
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