jaimethepooh

Gardening is a natural expression of the Craft. From the Green Witch who grows magickal plants for spellwork and healing to the dedicant who plants a single plant to honor a deity, people of all ages have found magick in the plant kingdom. Following are some ideas for magickally themed gardens.



Moon Garden

What could be nicer than sitting on the front step at night, eating almond crescent cookies, sipping jasmine tea, and gazing at night-blooming plants? Plants in this plot would be white like the moon, bloom at night or be fragrant at night, and some of the plants might correspond to Moon goddesses.

White night-flowering plants include:

Evening Primrose
Moonflowers
Nicotiana
Datura (Angel's Trumpet)
Soapwort
Phlox -- the Midnight Candy variety

Plants that release fragrance at night include:

Night gladiolus (gladiolus tristus)
Tuberose
Evening trumpet flower (Carolina Jessamine)
Sweet Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

Artemis is a moon goddess, and white-ish plants that are sacred to her are wormwood and white mugwort. She loves all artemisias -- Silver Mound and Canescens would be especially beautiful here



Faery Garden

Whatever you do to bring life to your garden will bring faeries as well. First of all, plant plants that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This will also attract the fae. So put up hummingbird feeders, bird feeders, bird baths, bird houses, even bat houses. Small fountains, ponds, faery statues, or waterfalls are all good. Here's a short list of plants that attract faeries to your garden:

Common yarrow, Achillea millefolium
New York aster, Aster novi-belgii
Shasta daisy, Chrysanthemum maximum
Western giant hyssop or horsemint, Agastache occidentalis
French lavender, Lavendula dentata
Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis
Thyme, Thymus
Fountain butterfly bush, Buddleia alternifolia
Orange-eye butterfly bush, summer lilac, Buddleia davidii
Shrubby cinquefoil, Potentilla fruitiosa
Common garden petunia, Petunia hybrida
Verbenas, vervains, Verbena
Pincushion flowers, Scabiosa caucasica
Cosmos, Cosmos bipinnatus
Common zinnia, Zinnia elegans

They also love the following plants and trees:

foxglove, primrose, ragwort, cowslips, pansies, bluebells, clover (3-leaf, not 4-leaf), St. John's wort, hazel, rowan, blackthorn, oak, willow, elder, birch, alder, apple, ash, and especially toadstools.

For a short ceremony to dedicate the faery garden, go here.http://www.geocities.com/lady_greenwood/faery.html



Tarot Garden

This idea has always intrigued me. What do you want to manifest in your life in the coming year? Prosperity? Fertility? Love? Find cards in the tarot that represent your desires. Examples would be the Empress and the Ace of Cups for a wanted pregnancy, or the Lovers, Ace of Cups, and Eight of Wands for a new relationship. If money is on your mind, how about the Ace, Ten, and King of Pentacles or Emperor?

Find plants corresponding to the chosen cards. Plant the seeds and nurture them to harvest. Your goals should be reached by harvest. If you use the Herbal Tarot, your work is already done -- just plant the plants found on each card. If not, refer to the following chart .http://www.geocities.com/lady_greenwood/tarot-corr.html



God/dess Garden

Who is your patron god/dess? Find plants sacred to hir and dedicate a section of the garden to that deity. For instance, some of the flowers sacred to Artemis are mugwort and all artemisias, trefoil, marigold, and amaranth. Hecate would appreciate aconite, Calla lily, belladonna, datura, and beautiful poison plants in general. If you want to steer clear of the poisonous plants, try verbena, borage, English ivy, chamomile, St. John's wort, bay, angelica, fennel, or rue.



Sabbat Garden

Include herbs that correspond to each of the eight sabbats:

Samhain: rosemary, mugwort, rue, calendula, pumpkins, turnips, sage, wormwood, tarragon, bay, passionflower, garlic, mandrake.

Yule: bayberry, holly, sandalwood, ivy, comfrey, chamomile, sunflower, myrrh, wintergreen.

Imbolg: heather, sage, chamomile, garlic, rose hips, sunflower, vervain, violets, wheat, corn, grains, myrrh.

Ostara: lily of the valley, tansy, lavender, marjoram, thyme, tarragon, lilac, violets, lemon balm, honeysuckle, crocus, daffodil, jonquil, tulip, broom (Scotch or Iris), meadowsweet, acorn, trefoil (purple clover), vervain.

Beltane: all-heal, blessed thistle, broom, daffodil, coriander, fern, fireweed, flax, marjoram, radish, rue, snapdragon, meadowsweet, rose, woodruff, strawberries, tansy.

Midsummer: vervain, St. John's Wort, heartsease, lavender, sage, mint, basil, fennel, chive, chervil, tarragon, parsley, rosemary, thyme, hyssop, honeysuckle, red heather, white heather, rue, sunflower, fern, mugwort, vervain, meadowsweet.

Lammas: peony, nasturtium, clover, yarrow, heliotrope, boneset, vervain, Queen Anne's lace, myrtle, rose, sunflower, poppy, milkweed, garlic, onion, basil, mint, aloe, acacia, meadowsweet, mugwort, hops, holly, comfrey, marigold.

Mabon: Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, chamomile, passionflower, rose hips, sunflower, wheat.

Notice many of these herbs can be used for more than one sabbat, so you could economize on space if you took advantage of that.



More Ideas

Druid Garden -- angelica, blue vervain, bilberry, holly, and lady's mantle.

Old World Medicinal/Magickal -- aconite, belladonna, datura, henbane, mandrake, poppy.

Zodiac Garden -- create a round garden designed like an astrological chart with 12 houses. Insert plants that correspond to the planets in each house as it relates to your natal chart.

Pentacle Garden -- plant in the form of a pentacle using "the daylillies named Merry Witch and Wicked Witch, Witch's Thimble and Moon Witch; and Magic Lilies, whose flowers bolt surprisingly directly from the ground, to bloom with extravagant fragrance.

Plant the arms of your starry pentacle with light green chamomile around a filling of darker green mint; then place round clumps of Dianthus Essex Witch at each point of the star. Surround this whole design with a circle of green parsley, and densely plant dainty sweet alyssum as the pentacle's background. Your pentacle is now ready to shine back at the night's stars-and at you." --from Magickal Gardens by Patricia Monaghan

Sacred Direction Garden -- plant flowers and herbs sacred to the four directions in the corresponding corners of your yard. A shrine or garden altar in the center of the yard would make a beautiful touch.


http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...956/theme.html

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mom2cvam

ty

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Judasknot

Quote-
Old World Medicinal/Magickal -- aconite, belladonna, datura, henbane, mandrake, poppy.
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How is Belladonna medicinal? I thought it was a poison?
Also, would sage, lemon balm and mint also be in this category?
I'm not familiar with the medicinal qualities of all the plants you listed above. Could you explain?
Also, my space is limited, in fact it is mostly container gardening. I do sage,lemon basil, lemon balm, mint,cayenne peppers ( don't laugh, they are very good for congestion) and regular basil.
Can the plants you mention be container grown?

jaimethepooh

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Sage reduces perspiration and can be used to ease sore gums.

To use: to relieve perspiration, medium tea, one time daily. To ease gums, strong infusion, gargled, 3 times daily.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

Mint is an anti-spasmodic and is excellent for relieving cramps and stomach pain. It also relieves gas and aids in digestion. It can help reduce the sick feeling associated with migraines.

To use: drink one cup as a tea. Commercial teas are available. (Make sure it is only mint, not mint flavored.) Drink as needed.


BALM (Melissa officinalis)

To grow:
Perennial herb. Grows to 2 ft. It's leaves are heavily veined, light green leaves with a lemony scent. It's white flowers are unimportant and need to be cut occasionally to keep compact. Spreads rapidly. Grow in rich, moist soil in sun or part shade. Balm is very hardy and you can propagate from seed or root divisions. Self sows.

Uses:
Balm is an excellent carminative herb that relieves spasms in the digestive tract and is used in flatulent dyspepsia. The gently sedative oils relieve tension and stress reactions, therefore, acting to lighten depression. It has a tonic effect on the circulatory system and heart, thus lowering blood pressure. It can be used in feverish conditions such as flu.

Parts used:
Dried aerial parts or fresh in season. Pick the leaves two or three times a year between early summer and early fall. Cut off the young shoots when they are approximately 12 in long. They should be dried in the shade at a temperature not more than 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Infusion:
Pour a cup of boiling water onto 2-3 teaspoons of the dried herb or 4-6 fresh leaves and leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes, well covered. Drink a cup in the morning and the evening or when needed.

Tincture:
Take 2-6 ml of the tincture three times a day.

Belladonna is very poisonous and was used back then for drinking an infusion in ancient traditions prior to worship. it was used for astral protection and to produce visions but generally its avoided all together now adays.
can read more about it here http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...elladonna.html

Mandrake http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/.../mandrake.html

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...container.html this link you might find helpfull for container gardening. i have several containers fill with all sorts of herbs outside and the only problems i have had so far is keeping the dogs out of it. you can grow these herbs in a container if you have a good sized one. i have sage and peppermint in a garden box and they grow well. I don't know about growing roots like belladonna and mandrake i've never tried to grow those yet.

if you have any more questions just let me know

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Willow

Thanks this is interesting.

jaimethepooh

yw
i've been thinking about doing a moon garden in the front of my house and put gandalf the gnome in it so he has a place to hide lol

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Judasknot

I grow tomatos and everything in containers in the summer! If you go to a local deli you can ask for the big white buckets that the picles come in. They are quite big. I clean them well and then spray with Fabreeze. Leave them to air for a few days before I use them.
They are perfect for tomatoes, bell peppers and such. For drainage I crush some 16 oz size plastic soda bottles and put them in the bottom. I wonder if it would work for the root plants?
I had very poor luck with Oregano and Thyme. Killed them both.
Thanks for the link!
(If you get good light in the winter you can do it year round.)

Syrinx

Interesting, thanks! I want to plant something along the side of our garage, there's an old flowerbed there that just needs to be cleaned out and weeded, but still has a nice brick border so the mowers won't take out whatever I put there. We're renting, but I know our landlord won't object to me making the place look nicer.

I'll have to think about what kind of theme to use.

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From the olden days and up through all the years
from Arcadia to the stone fields of Inisheer
Some say the Gods are just a myth
but guess who I've been dancing with
The Great God Pan is alive!
-the Waterboys

jaimethepooh

yw
that sounds like a good idea, i might have to try that with the roots in the links i put for the mandrake and belladonna it has tips on what soil to use and where to put them

i've got oregano and thyme growing right now lol
i live in flordia so the weather is perfect for growing year round

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jaimethepooh

sounds cool you'll have to take pics

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Judasknot

Lucky you to be in Florida! i live in NH so I have a shorter season here.
As for the garden in the front? I personally would do it out back where I can think in privacy. But that's just me.
I would prob do one in front and back as well.
I don't know why I murdered the oregano! Maybe I paid it too much attention?
I have a question- I read an article that said that if you buy ginger root in the supermarket, it can be planted and grown in a pot. Have you heard this? I am doubtful, but I like the idea of growing ginger.
BTW- have you ever grown sweet potato for the flowers?