Zone: Outer Walkway Bed

Season of Interest: Late Spring (Flowers) and Late Summer (Fruit)

The Doctor’s Notes (Medicinal Use)

Dr. Woodward would have viewed every part of the Elderberry as a potential treatment. It was perhaps the most versatile plant on a New England farm:

• Flu and Cold Relief: A syrup made from the dark purple berries was a standard 19th-century remedy to shorten the duration of the flu and soothe intense coughs.

• Fever Management: A hot tea made from the dried flowers (Elderflower) was used as a powerful diaphoretic to induce sweating and break a stubborn fever.

• Skin & Inflammation: The inner bark was often simmered with lard or wax to create a "healing salve" for burns, scalds, and swelling.

The Household Assistant (Homestead Use)

For the Woodward family, the Elderberry was as much a culinary treasure as a medicinal one:

• The Summer Harvest: The berries were harvested in late summer to make elderberry wine, jams, and pies. Because the berries are quite tart, they were almost always cooked with plenty of sugar or honey.

• Natural Insecticide: 19th-century gardeners often boiled the leaves to create a spray that acted as a repellent for aphids and other garden pests.

• Whistles and Tools: The stems of the Elderberry have a soft, pithy center that can be easily hollowed out. Farm children often used them to make handmade whistles, while adults used them for "spiles" to tap maple trees.

Botanist’s Corner

• Form: A large, fast-growing deciduous shrub that can reach 10 to 12 feet in height, often forming thickets.

• Flowers: Produces magnificent, large flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers (cymes) in June and July.

• Fruit: By late August, the flowers transform into hanging clusters of deep purple-black berries. Caution: The raw berries and all green parts of the plant contain compounds that are toxic if not properly prepared/cooked.