Witch’s Garden
There’s a lot of good sites about gardening.
They tend to talk too much.
I am an orthodox shamanistic solitary kitchen Witch,
And I prefer the Findhorn method.
Listen to God, the devas and yourself
And the garden
And everything will be just fine.
Gardening is a way of healing yourself, your environment, this planet and the society you are living in.
But you shouldn’t do it if you don’t love it.
There’s plenty of people around who just can’t keep out of the garden.
Like myself.
Here's some links to interesting pages:
Garden Fairies and How to Attract Them
Bat Gardening
Moon Gardening
Mythical gardening
Mythical Plants of the Middle Ages
Theme, dream and virtual gardens
Witches' gardens
The Electric Witch's Book of Shadows:Chapter VIIA Witch's Garden
Black is Beautiful
(Gothic Gardening)
mAlice's Gothic Garden
I love that place! It inspired me for this :-)
There seem to be a copy in text form of it at Widdershins, called Gothic Gardening.
It is difficult to find black flowers - actually there are no black flowers, even the blackes only LOOK black, but, heck, that's what we want, huh? Flowers that LOOK black.
I love the dark crimson-brown-purple color of black flowers...
My spirit has that color.
Planted on their own without a thought to their placement, black
flowers will be lost from view,
as black and other dark colours tend to recede into the
background.
You need contrast to get their full impact.
Remember when using black that less is better.
Be aware of the underlying colour tone of the flower when you
choose its companions.
Watch for either purple or red tones and make sure there are no
clashes.
Planted in white patio pot, combined with silver plants
or viewed against a chartreuse background,
black flowers will become a focal point.
Dark purple-black is outstanding against chartreuse.
There is enough contrast to emphasize the black, but not enough
yellow to clash.
A dramatic statement will be create by a single large clump of
black hollyhock (Alcea rosea Nigra or The Watchman)
when it is set against a lighter-coloured background
- preferably a wall or painted fence, which
will also provide wind protection and support if needed.
I heard that Thomas Jefferson loved black hollyhocks.
("Was he gothic?" "Sure, have you seen his writing - and what about the frilly shirts?")
Plants
The Queen of the Night tulip,
Tulip:
Black Diamond, Black Hero, Black Parrot, Black Velvet, Ebony
Queen, Queen of the Night
Blue Parrot tulip
The goldvein iris (Iris chrysographes) has a dark form aptly
called Dark Form.
There is also the cultivar, Black Knight.
Very dark purple bearded iris can be used as black flowers:
or try Hello Darkness, Black Swan, or Superstition.
Iris:
Before the Storm, Black Dragon, Black Ink, Black Swan,
Black Tie Affair, Hello Darkness, Paint It Black, Study In Black,
Wild Ginger
Jordanian Black Iris
Iris louisiana: Black Gamecock
Some of the blackest flowers are the annual violas, and
pansies
Viola:
Blackjack, Black Prince, Bowles Black, Clear Crystal Jet Black,
Mollie Sanderson, Swiss Giant Black
Black Magic
Pansy: Black Carnation, Springtime Black, Black Beauty.
Black Calla Zantedeschia
Poppy (Papaver somniferum): Black Peony
Peony poppy (Papaver Paeonyflorum) Black Cloud
Sweet Pea: “Midnight”, “Windsor” and “Black Diamond”
Chinese tree peony Hei Hua Kui
Clematis Clematis ‘Romantika’, “Etoile Violettes”
Columbine: Black Barlow
(Aquileia Atrata)
Cornflower: Black Ball, Black Boy
Black or chocolate cosmos Cosmos atrosanguineus
Dahlia Dahlia ‘Arabian Night’
Daylily (Hemerocallis) Chicago Blackout, Midnight
Magic,‘Starling’, Black Emanuele
The dianthus Dianthus nigricans - Black Carnation, and King of
the Blacks
Sweet William Dianthus barbatus nigrescens ‘Sooty’
Fritillaria Fritillaria persica
Gladiolus “Black Jack”
Hellebore: Helleborus orientalis Little Black
Hollyhocks:
Arabian Nights, Black Beauty, Night Watchman, Nigra, The Night
Watchman
Lisianthius nigrescens of Mexico, La Flor de Muerto
Purple gooseneck loosestrife Lysimachia atropurpurea
Whipple's beardtongue Penstemon whippleanus
primula
Rudbeckia: Black Beauty
Pincushion flower (also called Egyptian rose) Scabiosa atropurpurea "Ace of Spades" "Black
Widow", "Chile Black"
Black Swallow-wort, Vincetoxicum nigrum, (Cynanchum nigrum)
Rose “Guinee”, “Black Magic” Barkarole", Black Beauty" and
"Baccara".
White and black flowers
There are a few black and white flowers such as
Magpie or William Guiness columbine, Black and White oriental
poppy,
Black and White Minstrels dianthus, and Penny Black nemophila.
These can be planted with Black flowers or used as a base for a
black and white garden.
Columbine: Magpie or William Guiness, it’s the same flower.
Dianthus: Black and White Minstrels, Dalmation Mix
Nemophila Nemophila menziesii ‘Pennie Black’
Pansy: Premier
Poppy: Black and White, Perry’s White
Datura
One of the most outstanding plants with near-black foliage is
the black lily turf, (Ophiopogon
planiscapus Nigrescens).
Black Mondo Grass Ophiopogon
New Zealand Flax Phormium
“Platt’s Black”
Black Salvia ”Andrean Silver Leaf”
Black Elder Sambucus Nigra “Black
Lace”
Watch out for disappointments:
There’s a lot of different flowers named “Black Knight”, and
there’s very little black in them.
The rose “Black Madonna” is flaming red…
So is the geranium “Black Velvet”
A site to buy seeds on Net
Alchemy Works
Seeds & Herbs