SOAP SUBSTIUTE

SOAPWORT

I have grown this plant from seed over the years and it proves to be a good ground cover and an interesting talking point. Usually the original form of this plant is seen in hedgerows, but there are cultivated species around they would have escaped from private gardens. Soapwort of Saponaria officianalis, was grown because of its use in the kitchen. If soapwort is boiled, both the leaves and the roots make lather and the resulting mixture was used to wash wool. I tried this myself and it really worked, although I wouldn’t use it on white clothes, as there is a green pigment from the chlorophyll in the leaves. The plant was cultivated near woollen mills and probably escaped into the countryside, much like the teasel did. Scotland seems to have more that anywhere else and this is because they had a thriving woollen industry in the past. The plant reaches 60- 90 cm in length and will have either pink or white flowers.