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.
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
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.
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 .
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.
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.
angelica, blue vervain, bilberry, holly, and lady's mantle.
aconite, belladonna, datura, henbane, mandrake, poppy.
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.
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
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.
