May 19-25: In England, this is Be Nice to Nettles Week.

May 19: On this day, Canadians celebrate the birthdays of both Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Day is also the unofficial beginning of the warm season north of the border. Canadian gardeners, raise your trowels!

May 20, 1810: On this day Dolley Madison is said to have served the first ice cream at the White House. Since it has been reported that the ice cream was pink, perhaps it was strawberry.

May 21: National Strawberries and Cream Day. Is this a coincidence?

May 23, 1707: Carolus Linnaeus was born. A Swedish botanist, he developed the binomial system for naming plants and defining plant relationships.

• The Garden Nettle. As liquid compost, nettles make a great fertilizer. Gather in spring and pack the plants into a bucket with a lid, adding one-half gallon of water to each pound of nettles. Let sit for 2-3 weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain out the nettles and put them on the compost heap. Use the liquid as a fertilizer (1 cup nettle liquid to 10 cups water), on container and garden plants. In a stronger mixture (1 cup to 5 cups water), you can use it to spray aphids and black fly. The nettle itself is a food plant for butterflies.

• The Medicinal Nettle.

  Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius)

  Nettles have been used for centuries to treat osteoarthritis, eczema, prostate problems, and dandruff. The leaves contain formic acid, as well as a natural histamine that may be useful in treating allergies. And yes, it's true that the leaves of the dock, which often grows companionably with nettle, contain chemicals that neutralize nettle sting and cool the skin.
  
  
• The Edible Nettle. The nettle is an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, iron and vitamins. The young plants have been used in soups, stews, and as a spinach-like vegetable. In Scotland, oats and nettles were cooked together as a porridge, and nettles were used to flavor and color cheese. Try some nettle lasagna from the Cedar Mountain Herb School, using nettles instead of spinach!

• The Fiber Nettle. The nettle contains long, pliable fibers that can be spun and woven to make smooth, supple nettle cloth, or cooked and processed as paper. The leaves are used to make a green dye; a yellow dye is made from the roots.

Celebrate Be Nice to Nettles Week by listening to Susan's podcast on this interesting "weed." or reading about 101 surprising ways you can use nettles.

Learn to appreciate the many other wild weeds (many of them are native herbs!) that give your neighborhood its unique biodiversity. Roger Welsch's book Weed 'Em and Reap will show you some new ways to look at plants that may seem like nuisances.

To celebrate Salsa month, make some Spicy Nightshade Salsa. And while you're enjoying some salsa and chips, read the first chapter of Susan's new book, Nightshade. (Bet you won't want to stop with just one!)

Brush up your Latin by studying the Latin binomial system created by Carl Linnaeus. A good place to begin: Gardener's Latin, by Bill Neal.

Register your book club with Susan's Book Club Friends, and become eligible to participate in our Lucky Monday book drawings, contests, giveaways, and phone chats with China's creator.

To find out what's going on in Susan Albert's life in the Texas Hill Country, read Susan's blog.