Golden Rod reminds me of my childhood as my grandfather had planted it in his garden. It has the same effect on Sue Garrett as she recalls walking to her grandparents' house through a field where Golden Rod grew in wild profusion. It is a beautiful plant but, as I have discovered, it can be rather invasive. Janneke gets round the problem by using it as a cut flower with Crocosmia and Gaillardia - sounds lovely so I reckon I'll be following her advice.
Bees love the flowers and Golden Rod honey is delicious.
Parts of the plant are edible. Golden Rod tea is used by herbalists to reduce inflammation and to aid recovery from kidney stones. It is known to be a diuretic.
Historically it has been used on the skin to help heal wounds and American Indians chewed the leaves and roots to relieve sore throats and toothache.
Golden Rod leaves naturally contain rubber! Thomas Edison carried out experiments to try to increase the amount so it could be used commercially. A typical yield is 7% but Edison's plant gave a rubber yield of 12%. When his friend Henry Ford gave Edison a present of a Model T Ford the wheels had been specially made from Golden Rod rubber!
