An incomplete as hell herbalist, the science and folklore of the plants, how to grow, how to serve to cure or to kill. Company can be so bothersome, but sure, come in and have a nice cup of tea?
As spring sends new shoots bursting upwards, I’m struck with a sudden urge to rework the witch’s garden. A look at what survived the winter to act as a the base of a new beginning.
Deadly Nightshade: From Witch’s flying potions, to the beauty of the women of Venice, to death from the sweet berries of Atropa Belladonna
Deadly Nightshade … will you die for love? Will you die for beauty? Will you die for powers beyond your wildest imagination. That’s the allure of Belladonna, one of the most famous of all the plants in the witch’s garden. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the […]
Tanacetum vulgare: Once a necessity for British gardens, Tansy has been used for abortions as well as immortality, and goes good with eggs
And where the marjoram once, and sage, and rue,And balm, and mint, with curl’d-leaf parsley grew,And double marigolds, and silver thyme,And pumpkins ‘neath the window climb;And where I often, when a child, for hoursTried through the pales to get the tempting flowers,As lady’s laces, everlasting peas,True-love-lies-bleeding, with the hearts-at-ease,And golden rods, and tansy running high,That […]
Foxglove digitalis: From witches’ thimbles to witch’s hats, a flower to lure fairies and whose magic in folklore brings both life and death
It was this song which included Foxglove that gave me the idea to start a witch’s garden. It was in the spring of last year when I saw my foxglove was in bloom that I recalled poor Charlotte of the Rake’s song, and got to wondering what other deadly plants might be scattered throughout the […]
Penstemon digitalis: A Foxglove native to North America
For those in the United States who like to keep their garden stocked with native plants, Beard’s Tongue, orPenstemon digitalis is a member of the Foxglove family which fits the bill. Native to eastern and southeastern United States as well as Canada, it’s right at home in a faerie garden, as well as a twinkling […]
Witchy plants coming back in the spring from a hard winter
This was a surprise … Last spring I managed to get hold of three Belladonna plants. Two went directly into the ground, the third into a container. The two in the ground certainly outperformed the container one, but I didn’t have a lot of hope that those two would make it through the cold season. […]
