The Flower Garden

"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:

There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,

Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight."

--from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

As you walk into the flower garden, you see that many of the lovely flowers are in bloom--like Lavendar, a flower widely used in aromotherapy and herbalism. A lavendar bath can relive stress and soothe tired muscles. Because of its elegant fragrance and delicate taste, lavender has a long history of being used in love sachets and teas. Lavender has a delicate taste, and makes a nice morning tea. The herb is used in sachts for love, peace of mind, sleep and happiness. Those who have trouble sleeping should either place a sachet of lavender under the pillow or a few drops of the essential oil on their sheets. Lavender can also be placed in the bath water in induce relaxation and relieve tension. A word to the wise: don't drink this tea if you plan a night of romance. This herb causes people to lose sexual drive, and therefore helps preserve chastity.

You also see a patch of Clover. If you find a four-leaved clover, you can make a wish, as well as gain the power to see faeries dancing in their rings. Caution: if you unknowingly carry a four-leaved clover, it gives the fey power to enchant you! Clover is for protection, money, love, fidelity, exorcism, and success.

A group of rosebushes, all colors of the rainbow, blossom beautifully in this garden; remember, rosehips are an excellent source of vitamin C, so you might want to add rose hip tea to your daily diet. Rose is also associated with divination.

Did you know that cowslip is a hiding-place for frightened faeries?

"I must go seek some dewdrops here

And hang a pearl in every cow-slip's ear

In their gold coats, spots you see;

Those be rubies, fairy favours,

In those freckles live their savours."

--Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Cowslip is for healing, youth, and treasure finding.

Primroses! With their four heart-shaped petals, they're really quite nice-looking flowers, and primroses in the garden will attract faeries. They were called Password in some of the older texts that referred to "spells".

Chamomile is an invaluable flower to have on hand; chamomile tea is soothing and relaxing. Chamomile has traditionally been used in potions and teas to induce sleep and restfulness. It is also used for purification, and sprinkled around the house will keep bad energy from invading the residents. However, chamomile is excellent for attracting money. The reason: chamomile is peaceful, and prosperity reigns where there is peace.

Carrying poppy flowers in a sachet aids in bringing money to the carrier, and burning poppy (mixed with chamomile and lavender) aids in inducing peaceful sleep.

Mullein is very protective--keep the leaf in your pocket to protect you. Other protectiver flowers include hyssop, peony, rose geranium, and snapdragon. In medieval times, it was sometimes called Candlewick Plant.

Carnations are used in love spells and in healing.

Bluebells are for luck and truth.

Jasmine has been used in love sachets and poppets. If you burn jasmine in the bedroom, it causes prophetic dreams. In conjunciton with a clairvoyance tea it works quite well. Smell the flowers just efore bedtime to sleep well.

The Flowers

All the names I know from verse:
Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,
Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,
And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,
Fairy woods where the wild bee stings,
Tiny trees for tiny dames--
These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs
Shady fairies weave a house;
Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,
Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown-up people's trees,
But the fairest woods are these;
Where if I were not so tall,
I should live for good and all.

--Robert Louis Stevenson

Sadly, you realize that you are at the end of the Flower Garden; there is no direction to go but back.

my ideas:

links to flower correspondences

there is no direction to go but back.