Like almost every child, I used to love the summer vacation. I would eat apples straight from the tree, strawberries with a dash of dirt. Rhubarb would always scrub my teeth with sand. The best cucumbers, in turn, were the biggest, shapeless ones with big seeds.
For hours on end I used to play in the garden throwing a party for sow thistles. You had to stick a finger inside the stem which split into small strips and then they curled into small spirals (the best effects were obtained when you curled them underwater, e.g. in a puddle).
My grandma always told me to be careful with dandelion milk as it could stain your clothes. Yet making wreaths out in the meadow was so taxing that we would totally forget about these things. Which is a pity, because my granny’s advice would have saved my favourite dress:-)
Another childhood memory that I have is permanently bruised knees.
Whenever I cut myself, I would look for broadleaf or English plantain.
You were supposed to crush it in your hands and apply to the wound, contusion or bite. Obviously, back then I didn’t have the foggiest idea that English plantain leaves contain such active substances as flavanoids, tannin, organic acids, mucous substances, pectin or minerals, thanks to which wounds heal faster and epidermis regenerates. I know all this today and my first aid kit contains substances based on these plants:-)