New Herbs and Plants!

Today we went to visit our friend Dana, who had offered to dig up some of her garden excess for me. I came home with a tub full of new plants and herbs. I'm so excited to get them in the garden, but have been reading up on them to determine where they need to go.

This is what she gave me: Figwort, Datura, Elecampane, Feverfew, ground Ivy, Woodruff, Valerian, and White Horehound.

Figwort is in the snapdragon family. It needs dry to medium soil, full sun to part shade. Its magical attributes include health and protection. I think I will add it to my existing herb garden.

Datura, aka Jimson Weed, and is poisonous. It requires a dry, sunny area. Elton has already planted it in our back garden area, near a sagebrush. Its magical associations are in communing with birds, hexbreaking, and protection. It is associated with Saturn, and is feminine.

Elecampane is also known as "horse heal." It prefers good, loamy soil, damp but well-drained. This plant has antiseptic properties and has been shown to kill bacteria such as MRSA. Magically, it is used for love and is said to attract fairies. I plan to put in in the front yard somewhere.

Feverfew likes full sun, and needs to be cut back in the fall lest it go wild. It is said to help with migraines and fever, hence its name. It is magically believed to provide protection and to banish unwanted influences. Its planet is Venus, its element is water. It will go in my herb garden.

Ground Ivy concerns me a bit. I'm not sure if I will use it or not, since it is considered a weed and I'm not sure I want it to take over any areas. I suspect I may already have some, and I have spent a lot of digging time trying to get rid of it. It does have medicinal uses, but it does have divination and luck associations. An old folk spell is to place the herb around a yellow candle on a Tuesday, and burn it, and you will learn who is working magic against you. If I plant it, it will probably be in the front yard, but we shall see.

Woodruff likes partial to full shade, and moist, rich soil. I may put it in the front yard, since it gets much less sun than the back. Its medicinal properties include use as a calmative, diuretic, and antispasmodic. Magically, it aids in seduction, romance, and love. It is used to effect change and to attain clarity. This must definitely go in the front yard.

Valerian is also known as garden heliotrope. It prefers fertile, weed-free soil and is a heavy nitrogen feeder. It is used widely for its sedative effects. In magic, it has associations with love, sleep, protection, hexing, and protects against lightning strikes. When powdered, it can be used as a substitute for graveyard dust. It is feminine and Venus is its planetary association. I haven't decided for sure where to plant this.

White Horehound likes sun and well-drained soil. It is good to plant near tomatoes and is a good bee plant. Its leaves and flowering tops are used for wound healing, and it repels flies. The magical uses include being carried to guard against sorcery and fascination, and to be scattered as an exorcism. It is a plant of Mercury, and Horus is its deity. The herb garden will be its destination.

Spring work has begun!

Today was my first real time in the yard that felt good. It was nearly 60 degrees and, armed with my new used wheelbarrow I took down a lot of yarrow and did some raking. The crocuses are abloom, orange/yellow. Tulips are pushing up, and the paper whites are still blooming.

The man I got the wheelbarrow from brought me a weedeater today, and says he has some rakes that he will sell me as well. My big rake has all the tines broken on one side, so I need a new one. Lots more leaves to get out of the flower beds.

Kolchak was out with me and, aside from taking off after a dog who was being walked down the sidewalk, she behaved herself pretty well. I trimmed some of the lavender, but I'm hesitant about it because I'm not sure exactly how much to cut off. I believe that I cut it too severely last year, although I did get flowers. I'm trying to be more conservative this year in hopes that it will grow tall and gorgeous instead of short and gorgeous.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Saturday will be nice so that I can get some more accomplished. Still have loads to do in the front yard, but am anxious to get in the back, clean out the patio pots, and plant some lettuce and spinach. Back there I have roses to prune, and must try to tame the wicked oregano. Not to mention itching to get into my herb garden and clean it all out so I can install the sweet little ceramic garden signs my sister made for me. So much to do, and can't wait to get to it. Hope the weather will cooperate!

Hints of Spring

I sort of dropped the ball last fall in keeping up with this blog. We became so busy picking and preserving that I didn't take time to blog. The bottom line is, we had a wonderful harvest, Elton canned all kinds of things, and we had tomatoes after frost because I picked all the green ones and we enjoyed them for quite awhile.

I did clean out the tomato patch, but I have tons of work ahead of me. It's been chilly, but I've been out a few times, beginning to cut yarrow and rake leaves out of the flower beds. I discovered the paper whites in bloom, and tulips are poking through. I'm not pleased to see weeds already greening up -- before anything I want to see growing, of course.

So I've done a lot of thinking about this year's yard and garden, and came to the conclusion that two things I really wanted was a wheelbarrow and a weedeater. I priced them, and wheelbarrows were a lot more expensive than I expected... around a hundred dollars. Weedeaters aren't too bad; about $30 for an electric one. I got a wild hair and put an ad in the "wanted" section of craigslist asking if anyone had a used wheelbarrow that they would sell for a reasonable price. A guy e-mailed me and said he had one he would sell me for $15.

Elton and I went over to pick it up yesterday, and the guy was really nice. He and Elton had lived in Germany at the same time so they talked about that. As we were leaving, he said he had some other stuff he was going to put on craigslist, a couple of weedeaters. I perked up at once. Weedeater? He had an electric one, and said he would sell it to me for ten bucks. He has to dig it out, though, since he just moved. He is supposed to call or e-mail me.

So, the way I look at it, I saved about a hundred dollars getting this stuff on craigslist. I'm going to remember this for any future things I need! Like a patio umbrella.... ours is looking a little rough.