Here at Riverside the apothecary is in town, helping us to celebrate this time of year and the magic of plants. Perhaps you've seen our display near the entrance, replete with potions and mysterious touches?
Halloween is just around the corner, as is Samhain, the pagan festival that marks the end of the harvest season and passage into the 'darker half' of the year. On this note, we thought we would spend time this month exploring some botanical themes of harvest and darkness....
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1. Folklore of plants
Plants are essential to human life so it is no wonder that plants have also contributed richly to our folklore. Many plants have been said to have magic powers. The Mandrake is a wonderful example. The root resembles a human figure, with two legs, and over the centuries has been used for good luck, to cure infertility, as an aphrodisiac, and more. In the Middle Ages it was associated with witches, and uprooting the plant was said to make it scream, with deadly consequences, so special rituals were involved in its gathering.
Part of what makes Mandrake so special is its toxicity. People are fascinated by poisonous plants, some other famous examples being Belladonna (or Deadly Nightshade), Wolfsbane (aka Monkshood), Datura (Thorn Apple) and Foxglove (Digitalis). Often the toxic compounds in these plants can, when used in the correct doses, be used as healing medicines. For example a compound from Digitalis has been used to treat heart conditions.
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2. Healing herbs
You can perform your own 'magic' with plants at home by making use of herbs. At this time of year many herbs have started to die back for the year, but summer harvested herbs that have been dried can be a fantastic resource for autumn and winter, to be used as teas or added to food.
Mint is one of the most popular herbal teas, of course, and is very good for digestion. Thyme also helps digestion, as well as providing immune support. Rosemary is also brilliant at fighting infection (and, being evergreen, can be harvested year round). For a sore throat, Sage as a tea or gargle can be helpful. Lemon Balm tea helps to calm the nervous system.
If you're feeling inspired to increase your use of herbs, now is a great time to start planning a herb garden for next year. We still stock the hardier, evergreen varieties in the garden centre at this time of year, and we also have a full array of herb seeds in our shop.
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3. Berries
Berries are a perfect symbol of nature's bounty, and this year seems to have been a particularly good one for berries. From bumper soft fruit crops on the allotment to hedgerows bursting with rosehips and haws, there is a real sense of abundance. Berries are a very important source of food for our wildlife, so planting shrubs such as Pyracantha and Callicarpa is beneficial for them as well as providing you with autumn colour in the garden. If you have Ivy in your garden, allowing it to flower and set berries is another way to help.
Even if you only have room for small plants in pots you don't have to miss out on the fun of autumn berries. Gaultheria procumbens and Solanum (Winter Cherry) are two plants you will find in our bedding department to provide colour and interest. We don't recommend snacking on these berries though, particularly the Halloweeny orange of Solanum, which is likely to give you an upset tummy!
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4. Decay
As autumn progresses, inevitably annual plants die and many of the perennials retreat into the ground for winter, leaving behind brittle stems and seedheads. It can be valuable to resist the urge to tidy, as all this material can provide food and habitat for many species of wildlife. It can also provide visual beauty, catching the frost as the mornings become colder.
If/when you decide to cut these plants back, you might consider the 'chop and drop' technique. This involves, as you may have guessed, chopping the stems down, perhaps cutting them into smaller pieces as well, and then allowing them to drop where they are, into the bed, to break down over the course of the winter. This is an easy way to recycle nutrients back into the soil and can be done with both ornamental and edible plants.
As we witness decay in the garden, it can remind us that although the darker months can sometimes feel challenging, it is all part of a cycle, and that there is plenty of beauty at this time too. Happy Autumn, Halloween and/or Samhain to all our customers.
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Happy to help.
If you have any questions at all then please feel free to contact us, we'd love to hear from you!
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