“Frankie Flowers,” Frank Ferragine, informed and entertained members of the Innisfil Garden Club.
The Citytv on-air personality and weather host, plant expert, designer, and author began by talking about the healing nature of plants and moved into a question-and-answer session last Monday evening at the Churchill Community Centre.
His extensive knowledge and quick wit were on display. When talking about the effectiveness of the mic he was using, for example, he suggested he could do a little Frank Sinatra.
Ferragine talked about his local roots and how he spent his March breaks as a kid putting four-inch pots on trays so they could be filled at his family’s business, Bradford Greenhouses.
“I still live in Bradford. I love the Holland Marsh, love the whole community, love growing, and I love motivating people to get out there and garden,” he said.
Ferragine was introduced by Terry Chambers, who said, “He is passionate about plants and the weather, and in his world, nothing matters more than family and a good meal.”
He was scheduled to get up at 3 a.m. Tuesday to do Citytv’s Breakfast Television, and then to fly to Orlando with the show, shoot all day Wednesday and then broadcast live from Universal Studios on Thursday and Friday. Then, he said, “I fly back Saturday to take my son to Mount St. Louis so he can do his skiing.”
The presentation Monday was based on Frankie Flowers’s and alternative medicine expert Bryce Wylde’s best-selling book, Power Plants: Simple Home Remedies You Can Grow, as featured on The Dr. Oz Show. The book, published by HarperCollins Canada, sold out its first printing and is awaiting second printing. It may be difficult to find.
In chatting with Wylde about supplements, Ferragine said they thought it would be great to put a book together that would include the healing properties of certain plants that can be grown around the home, such as echinacea. They did a deep dive into various plants and looked at history.
He spoke of how Egyptians used garlic to keep slaves healthy in building the pyramids.
“Garlic is one of the most medicinal herbs in the entire world for our immune systems. It’s an amazing plant that’s easy to grow, that can be used from culinary purposes all the way to the folklore of repelling vampires. Right? We can grow that here,” Ferragine said.
They looked at growing turmeric because it’s an anti-inflammatory, but that doesn’t grow here, and neither does ginger.
“But what’s that flower that grows in our lawn every spring?” he asked, referring to dandelion root, which can be used as a diuretic, and the leaves are high in iron and even the flowers have benefits.
Besides weeds growing around that have medicinal properties, indoor potted plants can also heal. Aloe vera, for instance, is popularly known for its healing properties for burns. It can also be helpful for digestion issues but must be used carefully as it can also be a laxative.
“If you have too much of that, you can go for a colonoscopy,” Ferragine said.
He talked of other plants, herbs and infusions. He spoke of the proven positive effects of exposure to green outside spaces on mental health and productivity. He said, simply, “Plants make us feel better.”
More information about Ferragine/Frankie Flowers can be found at frankieflowers.com.
