If you would create a garden with magic at its heart, where the fairies come to make sport at eventide, and which grows for your health and your happiness, then cherish a number of ancient herbs and flowers sacred to the months, the stars, the planets, and the angels.

Beans
Grow a crop of beans, for these celebrate the powers of the Goddess; the soul of this plant knows the secrets of the rites of life, death and rebirth. There is wisdom in the scent of the blooms of the bean which only the spirit can hear; the myth of the plant is that it sings to wandering ghosts and guides them on their way to supernal realms; colliers will tell you that when the bean is in flower there will be deaths underground.Take a stroll in the garden and inhale the perfume of beans in bloom as evening falls, for then you may be sure to dream prophetic dreams; but be wary, for you will touch the essence of your very soul with your night time vision, and the truth in these visions is sometimes a burden of sorrow, what some call nightmares; to ride the truth of the soul can be a fearsome journey.

Briony
If you afford a little license to the briony, you will have on hand the mandrake or the woman drake plant, according to whether the climber is male of female.  The briony root is as magical as the true mandrake, for nature has fashioned it just as curiously, as though it were a poppet doll for spell making.  The woman drake will cure all manner of women's ills, and the mandrake chase away rheumatic complaints.

Foxglove
This is a fairy plant, and you will please the fairy folk if you grow the tall foxglove to nod in your garden. Fairies care for every flower and herb, but they find the foxglove especially hospitable.  Some have seen the fairy dwellers within, and in their fear have given the flower strange folk names, for it is called Fairy Weed, Dead Men's Bellows, Bloody Man's Fingers and Witch's Thimble.  There is a poison in the plant which causes drunkenness and frenzy so decline foxglove tea, for it is sinister. A few of the leaves and flowers of the foxglove, sparsely scattered, will bring a sweet moodiness to your bath time which can do no harm.

Violet
A necklace of violets protects from deception and inebriation.  Use them in your love philters and in spells to restore health after long illness.  If you dream of violets, fortune is sure to smile on your before long.  If violets bloom in autumn, they speak a warning.  A lovely myth tells us that violets first sprang where Orpheus laid his enchanted lute.

Honeysuckle
A posy of honeysuckle will bring a maid tender dreams of love and passion. If you bring it into your home it is said that a wedding will follow on its heels.

Primrose
The primrose is a symbol of birth and progeny.  Count the number you first see, and if there are thirteen or more, you will be lucky all year.  Laying hens are said to be influenced by this charm.  If you see a single primrose, dance around it three times to avert the ill omen, for it foretells a bad-laying year.  Make a tea from the pretty flower heads to soothe away sleeplessness and to dream sweetly; and a tisane prepared from the leaves (two chopped teaspoonfuls) will bring back the sparkle to a failing memory and mind.  Lay a little posy upon your doorstep, and fairies will cross your threshold as you sleep to bless your house.

Lily of the Valley
Country fold sometimes call this flower Our Lady's Tears, for it is said to have sprung up where her tears fell.  Others call it Liriconfancy, for it is a maid's flower.  Because Death seeks virgins on account of their purity, some say it is unlucky to plant out a bed with Lirconfancy alone.  The distilled water of the flowers revivifies the system, and their perfume evokes images of the Goddess.

Ivy
Ivy will tell the fortune of the house.  If it grows upon the walls of your dwelling, it gives protection from malice and misadventure; if it suddenly withers, the home will pass out of the present family's occupation.  Wear a garland of ivy leaves about the head to prevent he hair from falling out after illness.  Ivy leaves soaked in vinegar and wrapped around a corn will send it away; press out the juice from the leaves and let it be taken up the nostrils to easy a cold and a streaming nose.
An old love spell runs thus:  Pluck an ivy leaf and hold it against your heart, changing three times as you walk:
 

Rosemary
If rosemary roots naturally in your garden, it signifies that the woman of the house is a matriarch, powerful in mind and spirit, and her counsel and wisdom should be respected and followed; if such a woman moves away from the dwelling, the rosemary bush will often die.  It is a holy and magical plant, and its oil and fragrance are healing.  Its name means "dew of the sea" and its meaning is fidelity and remembrance.  It is for the great occasions of life-weddings, funerals, and births. An old charm bids the bride and her groom to dip rosemary sprigs into their wine before they take their first sip, for then love will always flourish between them.

Rosemary tisane is a panacea, and a potion for beauty of the mind, body and spirit.  To put a sprig of it and a silver sixpence under your pillow on All Hallow's Eve will ensure that you dream of your future spouse.  If a maid sets a plate of flour under a rosemary bush at sunset on Midsummer Eve and goes again to retrieve it at first light upon Midsummer Morning, she will find her true love's initials traced mysteriously in the flour.

Yarrow
Yarrow is a witch's herb and a woman's herb, and should be offered in a little posy to the newly married bride, for it brings the blessing of conjugal happiness.  Yarrow is a talisman and a breaker of spells.  Its tea is a panacea for maidens and mothers.

Vervain
This is an herb of mystery and enchantments.  The Druids of old gathered it under the Dog Star, observing their secret rites and chanting sacred runes. It is said that vervain was used to staunch Christ's wounds, and sprang for the first time beneath the cross of Calvary so that use might be made of it. Today, old wives use it still to cure wounds and to banish many assorted ills.  It is an enchanter's herb, and has mystic power over locks and bolts. It is for love spells and for love amulets.  It is a lucky herb for brides.

Heartsease
This pretty flower with its painted maiden face is for broken hearts and for all those disappointed in love.  Numerous ailments can arise to afflict some poor soul where previously he or she strode through life bonny and healthy, and the secret behind their malaise is a broken heart.  Fable has it that Cupid brought colour to heartsease with one of his arrows, and indeed it is a flower for the heart.  The soul of the plant is concerned with love and the healing of the heart.  Country people sometimes call it love in idleness or the pansy.

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