Some time ago I did an inspiration board inspired by the Venus fly trap. I thought it would be fun to re-call that in honor of today. So click here to see it…..

It’s Freaky Friday and I thought I might see what witches would plant in their gardens. It is actually quite pretty.

Clary Sage, White-seeded Poppy, Elfwort, Mugwort, Sage, Vervain, Yarrow, Belladonna, Foxglove, Henbane, Hyssop, Rowan, Rue, White Sage, Witch’s Broom, Wormwood, Monkshood, Hellebore, and Mandrake (yes, it makes me think of Harry Potter too – it’s picture #3 – and the roots really do look like little men)

1. Vervain, 2. Hyocyamus niger ‘Black Henbane’, 3. Mandragora autumnalis, 4. Lenten Rose, 5. Monkshood, 6. Artemisia absinthium, 7. Witches’ Broom!, 8. white sage, 9. these hearts are for you …, 10. Wild Rowan, 11. Anise hyssop // Dropplant, 12. I say (he’s an English bee) Do you mind buzzing off with that camera … I’m awfully busy right now with that little critta down there!, 13. Beautiful poison, 14. summer has left the building, 15. Purple Sage, 16. Mugwort, 17. Allegro Blues…, 18. Elfwort 2 / Griekse alant 2, 19. White Poppies, 20. salvia nemorosa (Balkan Clary Sage)

It is quite pretty (at least on an individual level) and I am inspired to know more….
Here is a little excerpt from an article called Gothic Gardening: The Witches Garden…

Mandrake. A plant with many fables surrounding it. The twisted, elaborate root was thought to look like a man, and people thought it screamed when it was pulled out of the ground. Dogs were used to pull roots up, because supposedly the dog always died afterwards. This root has a narcotic effect.
Vervaine. Better known as verbena, this was used for love potions. It had to be dug up with a piece of gold or a stag’s horn on the Saints Days, June 27 and July 25. Often used with endive seed.
Opium Poppy. This isn’t illegal to grow, unless you have large fields of poppies. Shakers used to give an opium syrup to high strung children. This poppy is the symbol of sleep and dreams. My favorite quote is from Jean Cocteau: “Opium is the only vegetable substance that communicates the vegetable state to us.”
Yarrow. Used for a wound poultice with plantain leaves. This was still used during the Civil War. This was considered one of the devil’s favorite plants, and was known as Devil’s Nettle.
Deadly Nightshade. Not to be confused with the non-deadly variety, this one (Atropa belladonna) is related to the potato, the tomato, and many other poisonous plants, and is also known as Belladonna. It’s the source of the drug atropine, which has wide ranging nervous effects. It has purplish-red flowers and poisonous berries. Once ladies would use belladonna extract too dilate their pupils.
Henbane. A close relative of Thorn Apple and the nightshades, henbane was also used in the preparation of “flying ointments”

Happy Halloween!

It’s all over fashion…even my little people (ages 3 and 6) have clothing items with skulls, so it has to trickle over to the garden and I think it has.

Did it start with Damien Hirst, or is he just a trend follower too? Not sure, but I love this knock off pumpkin.

Nice Sculpture

An Indian artist named Subodh Gupta, has come up with a giant skull made completely out of kitchen utensils at the Frieze art fair in London.

This is currently at the Missouri Botanical Garden for a special exhibit of sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle. How about that for your front garden on Halloween. I found this at Messenger Boy.

Well, a couple hours turned into almost a whole day….I love my ISP or not….

Anyway, here it is, A garden fit for a Corpse Bride!!

Starting at the lop left… a photo set the Mood…by Sally Mann, author of the book Deep South. All very moody, broody and creepy…I chose it for the slash across the tree, makes me think something murderous might have happened there. But I don’t recommend doing this to your trees on purpose, it’s really not good for them.

To the Right, Haddonstone can supply the pieces and parts to design your own ruin, folly or grotto.

Beautiful dark flowers from Cymbidium flowers…center pieces?

Next Row: Papaver somniferum var paeoniflorum (Black Peony Poppy) – This image is part of a poster available at All Posters.com

I found this picture at Gothic Garden, clearly a photoshop job, but wouldn’t that be cool to do for real… I am mulling over ways to pull it off with out killing anything or causing permanent environmental damage…email me if you think you might want to try and pull this off…

Set the mood with candles from DL&Company. Actually, for free, just check out their website….it is well worth the trip.

Next Row: Salvia discolor (image found here). Silver plants will set off Black plants nicely.

Over on the right under the candle: Check out king metals…then work with a local welder to fabricate your own creaky heavy iron gates. The options are endless.

Next Row: Datura stramonium (Moon flower) image from here.

Gothic Tea light holder from blendboutique

Scabiosa atropurpurea (Black Scabiosa)

Bottom Left….Gargoyle fountians….just google that phase, you will have a plethora to choose from. I like this shot from here.

Love these footed candle sticks by Lee Hale and available at Erie Basin.

A gothic bench from www.finegardenproducts.com

Maybe add a fog machine to create just the right scene and have the event at dusk with the bride wearing one of those fierce dresses from my previous post….maybe I do have some goth in me….

I don’t have a Gothic bone in my body (at least I don’t think so), but I think that good designers should be able to inspire and conjure even the most opposite of themselves. So I my challenge is this….create a garden setting in which a (hip and stylish) Corpse Bride would want to hold her big day. The whole idea came from these pictures that Shwetha Anand posted from an FIT (great website!) exhibit in NYC that is currently running until February.

Working on it now… be back in a couple hours.

I find Barack Obama to be dominant, ambitious, and outgoing. The Koa Acacia was once the same in Hawaii. Historically used for canoe making, it’s prevalence in Hawaiian forests allowed people to go somewhere, and move forward.

The Koa, like Obama, is unique in so many ways. It is earnest, as it is the fastest growing tree from the islands. It’s beautiful skin is a combination of colors, light and dark with a little red. It also sounds good to many people –the Koa is used to make prized musical instruments.

Obama has been both praised and criticized for his ability to change and be adaptable. The Koa likewise, is remarkable in its ability to transition for the better; as it matures the early compound leaves smooth out to form a thick sickle-shape that allows sunlight to pass to lower levels of the tree.

Koa forests are exciting as they are becoming rarer and rarer even though they have an amazing ability to germinate and grow most anywhere. Youthful plants are able to recolonize wasted land and transition it back to something more desirable.

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