On this morning& #39;s hedge-bothering walk I stopped to admire a
patch of valerian growing locally.
It& #39;s easy to miss this at the moment, if you aren& #39;t paying attention it can blend in with the meadowsweet that is everywhere now, but a closer look and it& #39;s quite different...

This is Valeriana officinalis, a native of Europe and northern Asia, (not the pink and red cetranthus which is Mediterranean in origin and familiar as a garden plant).Valerian has been used since classical times as a soporific, it& #39;s mentioned by Galen and Dioscorides for example

and even today it& #39;s often found in herb tea blends aimed at promoting sleep. It& #39;s root, which has a pungent smell that is quite different from the fragrant flowers, is also irresistible to cats and rats. It& #39;s possible that valerian is how the Pied Piper lured the rats of Hamelin!

I use it a lot with catnip in cat toys, the combination is really effective as my permanently addled quality control cats will tell you https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😉" title="Zwinkerndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Zwinkerndes Gesicht">

I won& #39;t be harvesting this patch, not enough of it, but it& #39;s lovely to see a plant I use a great deal growing happily away.