Hens and chicks (Sempervivum). Gives protection from evil and lightning when grown in the garden. Has many folk names- Jupiter's Beard, old man and old woman, stonecrop, wall pepper, and my favorite- welcome-home-husband-though-never-so-drunk. Albertus Magnus, a 15th century German writer included it in an old charm to catch fish.
Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium). Carries the folk name of bridesbutton. Our fore mothers carred it in their bridal bouquets. It will cleanse the air, ward off disease, and purge a siege of melancholy. Feverfew in the garden will entice fairies to dance there.
Borage (Borago officinalis). "I Borage give Courage," this herb gives courage to those who carry it or drink it as a tea. It also encourages cheerfulness. It was traditionally used to decorate houses for weddings.
Radish (Raphanus sativus). No snake will approach if you carry a radish in your pocket. Served before a meal to clean your palate.
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). "Fennel is for flatterers." In an earlier age it was said to restore lost vision. The symbol of success and discourage evil if hung in the home. It was used by sorcerers to conjure up evil spirits.
Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium). Carries the folk name of bridesbutton. Our fore mothers carred it in their bridal bouquets. It will cleanse the air, ward off disease, and purge a siege of melancholy. Feverfew in the garden will entice fairies to dance there.
Borage (Borago officinalis). "I Borage give Courage," this herb gives courage to those who carry it or drink it as a tea. It also encourages cheerfulness. It was traditionally used to decorate houses for weddings.
Radish (Raphanus sativus). No snake will approach if you carry a radish in your pocket. Served before a meal to clean your palate.*Lore from the book Mugworts in May by Linda Ours Rago
17 comments:
Ooooooh. Thank you for awakening the herbalist in me! She's been sleeping for ever so long.
The radishes are blooming in our garden too. I never realized how pretty they are.
Don't know what happened to my borage though. It usually self seeds, but none to be found this year.
Thanks for the lore.
Me again...
Have you ever grown patchouli? When I read about the basil lore (i.e. it attracts money), it reminded me of patchouli. I grew it once and was surprised the leaves do not smell--is it only the pressed essential oils that smell so wonderful?
Um... it appears that there was a bit of glitch there...
i know nothin' about "offer...."
sorry 'bout that. >:o
I never heard anything about hens & chicks - are they edible?
Stephanie, weird glitch! I deleted it.
Jill, glas to awaken that herbalist! We need more in the world.
Nettle, love the radish blossoms, love the seed pods too. Weird about the borage, mine reseeded everywhere (along with the feverfew, chamomile, love in a mist and calendula!)
Jessica, I didn't know that about patchouli! I haven't tried growing it. Interesting!
Lisa ;)
Tam, I'm seeking the experts to answer if hens and chicks are edible. I'm not positive. I'll let you know when I'm confident in the answer.
Lisa :)
Great post!
Borage oil is an antidepressent. It is my very favorite herb of all time. The flowers work great in lemonade, punch, or other such summer drinks and it reseeds itself so wonderfully that you plant it once, and will NEVER have to plant it again. :) It will even grace your neighborhood if they have the heads to not mow it down. :) I often walked out and just ate a handful of the blossoms in my old garden. My kids would always collect the flowers and we would put them in salad right along with johnny jump ups and pea flowers. I can't wait to have it again! :)
Val
Ahh...delightful! And I have such a soft spot for borage : )
I love hens n' chicks.... they are hardy little guys for our Maine winters.
The other name for them is pretty funny too ;0)
Hey girlie!! Hens and Chicks are my favorite- my grandma has them in her garden every year, alas we only have a few but I've got a little stone garden area dedicated for my succulents and plan to get some more in there next year. I linked to you today with our Rainbow Camp post, the girls and I had a blast making your noodle rainbow suncatchers and the pipe cleaner glitter glue stars!! xoxo ML : )
very interesting! thanks for the tidbits : )
Oh, love that. We have all that goodness in our garden too. Love your pix.
I absolutely LOVE your blog! So much so that I've posted about it on my own blog (w/links.) Thanks so much for sharing your inspiring creativity & nature knowledge~ http://puppylovepreschool.blogspot.com
This is so cool. Thank you for sharing. I want to get that book! I am not very knowledgable on herbal lore but I read that rosemary symbolizes fidelity so I had it in my wedding bouquets..
oh, I just saw the comment on growing patchouli. I would love to grow it!!
That was fun to read! I need to add some of these to my garden.
I also left some radishes to go to seed this year. I had never seen the flowers before and was amazed at how pretty they are. We have a mix of pink, white and pink-white variegated. I also never realised they grew pods (we've always eaten all our radishes before they went to seed).
My brocolli has bolted fast this year too (I feel a little better that a good friend who is an excellent gardener has had the same problem). There is some more coming up, so it's not a complete loss (I'm going to cut some today), but it seems my veg patch is more full of flowers atm (and a huge amount of beetroot destined for pickling).
It's always worth leaving a 'wild patch' in your garden to see what grows. The borage in ours just appeared this summer (it wasn't there before) and we have fat hen, cleavers and chickweed amongst the more obvious dandelions.
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