bouncing bet July 22, 2006
Posted by Sandy in a small garden in maine.1 comment so far
Bouncing Bet
also can be called:
sweet betty, wild sweet william, bruisewort, dog cloves, old maids’ pink, soap root, latherwort, fuller’s herb, fuller’s grass, foam dock, gill-run-by-the-street saponary, lady-by-the-gate, crow soap, hedge pink, and farewell summer
I used to read about this in pioneer stories, and bought the seed just to see what it looked like. The leaves were commonly used as a shampoo, but looking it up I found that it has many other uses. Look here and here, too, for more information. Shampoo recipe here.
I careful to keep it contained in the garden. I don’t want it to get mixed with the hay in the back field. The plant is not good for cows, although, they usually have the sense to avoid it.
