As I’m back in the UK (not for long, as we return to France this Thursday) I tend to look for all things French that I have around me to give me some inspiration for a blog. Then I remembered some cuttings that have been languishing down the side of the house so they wont be in direct sunlight. Not much chance of that here, I hear you cry! 
Anyway back to the cuttings. There are several but the largest two and the smaller one at the front on the left were taken last year from wild Elder bushes on a little road that leads to my friends house. These wild Elderberry shrubs seem to grow all over in the hedge rows in our part of France. My friend has copious amounts growing around her front door and as I have lost so many plants to drought, because we cannot water the garden, I thought that cultivating native/local plants, that do survive hot dry months, would be the best thing to do. (Although we are thinking of putting in some sort of basic irrigation system once we have an outside tap)
Rose always wants to know what I’m up to when I’m in the garden. After all it is her domain. Looks cute doesn’t she. But, if you are a vole, mouse, baby rabbit or small bird, this is the face that greets you just before you die. She’s a killer.
So the Elder cuttings are doing well. They will travel to France with us when we next take the car through the tunnel in either October or at Christmas. The best time to plant them will be then as it will give them a chance to get some roots developed before the hot weather next summer.
The generic name of the Elder is Sambucus. In France the Elderberry shrub(s) is called “Sureau” or “Les Sureaux”.
And as I’m writing this, the weirdest thing is happening. A small bug is meandering across the screen of my Mac. And, it’s behind the glass. What’s going on. Anyway back to the blog.
In our garden here in Blighty, I have three black Elderberry shrubs. They have beautiful deep burgundy leaves and provide much needed colour to our otherwise very green garden at this time of year.
Elder shrubs have been an important resource for a very long time. From the Greeks to the Romans and the Britons to the Celts, it has a huge range of practical uses. Elderberry wine is said to have curative powers. Taken hot it will help in the early stages of a cold or ‘flu, and is also good for a sore throat. This is due to the viburnic acid contained in the berries which induces perspiration and helps to “bring the cold out”.
“Make it simply by stripping off the ripe berries with a fork until you have three gallons of berries. Pour over 2 gallons of boiling water, cover and leave in a warm place for 24 hours. Strain through muslin and press all the juice well out. Measure it and allow 3lbs (1.3kg) of sugar, half an ounce (14g) of ginger and quarter of an ounce (7g) of cloves to each gallon (approx 5 litres). Boil slowly for 20 minutes, strain into a bucket, adding the yeast when it is lukewarm. Pour into demijohns, standing them in a warm place while the yeast works through the sugar. Bottle when it stops. It’s really best to leave it for at least a year, and 2 or 3 years is even better.” http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/elder.htm
The Elder flower and berry seems to have been a cure all, from preventing mosquito bites to chilblains and bronchitis. The berries also make a dye which was used by the Romans to dye their hair black.
The Elder was a mystical plant associated with the spirit world across Europe. In particular a tree spirit, called the Elder Mother. To be able to use the magical properties of the tree, prayers and offerings would have to be made otherwise the Elder Mother would not be happy. Because the Elder is very easy to propagate from a cutting and grows so quickly it is therefore associated with regeneration and rebirth.
Because of these spiritual links the Christian church ‘demonized’ the Elder tree, as it did many of the magical plants of the Druids and other pagans, and said that Elder wood was used for the crucifixion cross and that Judas hung himself from an Elder tree. Elder was given a bad name and now had powers of both good and evil. Bringing Elder into the house might cause misfortune or even death to family members and burning the wood meant summoning the Devil.
The word “elder” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “æld” meaning fire. According to one source this may have been due to the hollowed out stems being used to blow on the fire. The stem has a soft inside that can be easily hollowed out to form a tube. These were then used to make whistles and pipes.
In 1629 a Dr Martin Blochwich who died aged 27 published a reference book titled The Anatomy of the Elder. In this book, which has become a standard reference work, Blochwich described the cultivated plant in three units that occupied a total of 298 pages.
- Unit 1: The botanic of the elder with an explanation of the origin of the name, as well as where it could be found, its growth and characteristics.
- Unit 2: In six chapters Blochwich described the preparation of vinegar, chalk, compote, oil, tablets, ointment, juice, syrup, spirit, water, wine and sugar made of elder in detail and gave recipes.
- Unit 3: Thirty-three chapters about the treatment of diseases that occurred frequently. Recipes have exact descriptions for the production of medicines made of elderflower, elderberry, elder marrow and elder bark, as well as numerous references to the opinions of famous doctors of antiquity and the Middle Ages, which gave the practical doctors during Blockwitz’s day instructions how to use various elder preparations internally and externally. The conditions dealt with include breast and uterine diseases, frostbite, tumours, infectious diseases, diseases of the lungs, stomach, intestines, spleen and gall bladder, mental illnesses, stroke and paralysis, consumption, unclear fever and pain, poisonings, injuries, worm attack and toothache.
Elder continues to be commonly used in herbal remedies and drinks. It is the flowers and berries that are most used as these are the safest parts of the plant as the bark and leaves are toxic in the wrong dosage.
River Cottage Elderflower cordial
Method
Inspect the Elder-flower heads carefully and remove any insects. Place the flower heads in a large bowl together with the zest of the orange and lemon.
Bring 1.5 litres water to the boil and pour over the Elder-flowers and citrus zest. Cover and leave overnight to infuse.
Strain the liquid through a piece of muslin and pour into a saucepan. Add the sugar, the lemon and orange juice and the citric acid (if using).
Heat gently to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes.
Use a funnel to pour the hot syrup into sterilised bottles. Seal the bottles with swing-top lids, sterilised screw-tops or corks.
Serving suggestions
Add a splash or two, undiluted, to fruit salads or anything with gooseberries or dilute one part cordial to two parts water for fragrant ice lollies.
To find out more about the Elder tree, simple google it. There’s loads of info out there or grab a copy of Dr Martin Blochwich’s book, available from Amazon.
Oh, and before I completed this blog, Rose had caught yet another vole and my son’s run out to see if he can save it.
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By The next day the tiling was complete and only the grout to do on the following day which was Wednesday. And on Wednesday we had a lovely visit from the Mais family and spent an entertaining evening at the Eymet night market. 
At the end of this first week on the Saturday we ordered a Candy fridge freezer from Pro & Cie. Not keen on the idea of two fridges in the kitchen but there’s just not enough room in the small one for cheese, drinks and vegetables.
Upstairs we now have a toilet and the shower tray has been installed. We’ve also purchased the shower, awaiting installation, and the sink/unit which has been installed temporarily, this we bought from IKEA last year.
ourlittlehouseinfrance 