wk 2 Apr Topic

Growing your own garden and how to incorporate magic into doing so.

There are a lot of ways to incorporate magic into your own gardens at home. This being spring, it's a great time to get started on one if you don't have one already. Here's a few tips on getting started and a few tips on incorporating magic into you gardening. Feel free to add your own ideas.

Getting started - when planting make sure you have warm moist soil, or if not available, you can always go with a pot and some potting soil.

If you have chosen to go with seeds, I advise using a small green house (you can see my spring vids on youtube for something like it) as it helps trap in moisture as well as keeps your plants warm.

If you have chosen to go with a pot, add some medium sized rocks to the bottom of the pot. It allows for better drainage of water without halting the plants ability to drink the excess watter up when it needs it.


For a little magical flair with planting pots, you can decorate your plant with fertility sigils or symbols or any other symbol you like and charge the pot with your energy to help the plant grow.

Talking to your plant is always a good idea, not only does it help the plant grow, but let's the nature spirits that come and tend to your plants while you are away know you do care for them.

I have also found that collecting rain water and using that versus tap water, helps keep you plant a little healthier as well.

You can use charged rain water, or fresh spring/river/stream water (not poluted) is always a great thing to help charge up your plant too.

I personally like to take a small clipping from my plant when they are healthy and sturdy enough, and then dedicate that plants energy to the Nature Spirits as well as Gaia, or earth mother (which ever works best for you). I find my plants usually have a nice healthy vibration to them.

I have heard of some people using aura healing on plants as well, to train as well as to give the plant a healthy feel to them as well.

Lastly, if you preform a ritual outside, it's always good to use your plants or incorporate them somehow into your rituals. You can not only borrow their natural magickal properties but it's always good to have a sweet smelling plant at hand to give a fresh but small offering to any deity. I recommend finding out which plants work with which deity so that you can honor them properly. I have noticed that if you are limited, that any plant will work to an earth deity though.


Questions are welcomed, as well as your own personal thoughts on the matter.

Awesome planting moon post!

Remember that plants like ourselves are mostly water and we all know the moon has a strong pull on water. If you pant seeds it is best to do it under the waxing moon, but you need to transfer a plant then you can do it at anytime the ground is ready for it. The moon also is good for charging your plant's water.

When you put rock in the bottom of a pot be sure to use at lest one special rock for your plant near the top. Adventurine is one of my favorites because it is a green rock and it is good for healing stone for the mind. I make sure even in the ground I have a piece of it near my lavender and chamomile.

Don't wear gloves, get your hand dirty in the soil. As you touch the soil put you posative energy into it for the plant you are about to give it. Give it offerings of compost, seashells, eggs shells, tea grounds, and herb scattering (with no seeds), and of course if you can get some mushroom mulch.

Bless your seeds or plants before planting them. You can leave them on an alter of ever in the full moon light. Tell the plant what you are about to do with it and express you feelings to it after all it is a living creature.

As you water your plants do it in a clockwise fashion.

And last but not least add some magical decorations. This can be anything you wish even a watering worm, a ribbon around the pot, or an angel garden statue. What ever magical item you feel the plant would like or will like because you like it. :)

Great post :)

I wanted to mention about the planting of a grove space or a medicine wheel.

We're lucky enough to have a grove area, with Myrddin (my husband) being a druid wanted a druidic temple space. We designated an area and marked out a square patch of land, which had to be dug over and planted with grass seed mixed with wildflower seed. This took about six weeks to come up to an area carpeted with green.

We then went to a country park where the foresters were coppicing the trees and were allowed to take some cross sections to make our own altar and elemental markers. We added four trees on the cross quarters, willow, hazel, holly and elder and then began planting flowers and herbs around the circle of the appropriate elemental colours.

On Lughnasadh of last year, we had a grove dedication at which Myrddin invited some of his druid group along to. The weather was awful but picked up when we went outside and during the ritual, a frog saw fit to hop right across the central space, which we took as a good sign.

Now the hawthorn is budding up nice and green, not sure if I'll get any blossom this year, and in the west I've planted the lungwort and forget-me-nots which were a present from a friend. We’re still adding and taking away from it, because it’s a changing living thing, and it gets weedy, or things blow over, or annual plants need to be replaced and so on. Working in an outdoor space can be wonderfully inspiring, even when it’s raining. If you haven’t the space to make a large garden temple space, you can build an altar in your garden, a personal place of power and connection between yourself and the land.

Lovely information everyone. I personally am thinking of starting a fairy friendly garden. I've collected quite a few items for it now I just have to start growing my herbs and flowers. One of my biggest problems is my cats. I love them to death, but they refuse to stay out of my plants. I had to recently start a new batch of seeds because my cats wouldn't leave my peat pellets alone. Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep them away from the plants? I can't set the plants outside, as it is still to cold for them outdoors.

Grow the cats their own plants to have. I have cat grass and catnip for mine to do what they want with so they leave my other plants alone. You can also try spraying them with a little cyan pepper spay. Just add some to a spry bottle and let dissolve. Then spray the plants with a little bit each day.

One of the things I find with my cats is that they love freshly dug earth. You could dig a small patch and see if they're attracted to that instead.

To protect seedlings from cats, I get some of those two litre soda bottles and cut them in half, making two plastic domes that can cover small, delicate plants. You have to watch out that they don't get too dry, as it acts like a mini greenhouse too.

My favorite flowers are Orchids. My husband has bought me several but they all die. I do water them, not too much, not too little, but none seem to stay alive.

Is there a special way I should take care of them?

Do you know who is their deity or can you tell me how I can find out?

Great idea on your fairy friendly garden!

I love fairies. I would love to start planting flowers & things fairies like!
Can you give me any suggestions on what type of flowers I should plant?

Honey Suckle

Orchids...

They are notoriously difficult to take care of. When an orchid has flowers, they should last eight to ten weeks before the flowers drop off, which is natural and they do re-flower. They like north-facing light and soft water, so if you're in a hard water area you'll need to filter it or boil it before watering your orchid. They also hate draughts so anywhere near an open window isn't good. Water them once a week with an egg-cup sized amount of water and mist them occasionally with a light spray bottle. There are things you can do to encourage new growth, like trimming the stems after they drop their flowers but I'm personally nervous of doing that!

I'm afraid I haven't found any official deity correspondences for the orchid but I did find these from Scott Cunningham's "Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs".

Orchid
Folk Names: Levant, Salap, Shalab, Satyrion
Gender: Female
Planet: Venus
Powers: Love
Magickal Uses: Orchids have long been used in love spells, especially the root which is carried in a sachet. Of course the flower is currently one of the commoner floral symbols of love in the West, and when given clearly conveys its message. Some types of orchids are used in creating visions, trance states and inducing psychic powers.

From that I'd say any deity of love would be appropriate for the orchid, such as Venus, Aphrodite, Freyja, Astarte and Eros.


Faery related plants are:

Apple
Apples are trees sacred to faeries. Small apples left on the trees are said to be "for the pixies". Folklore calls the apple tree the "Imp Tree" and anyone falling asleep under one is said to be carried off by the faeries. Eating an apple from the Otherworld is said to convey eternal youth or rebirth. Of course Avalon, the famous faery Otherworld means "Isle of Apples".

Ash
Ash trees are also sacred to faeries. The Greek god Zeus was nursed in childhood by an ash Dryad and in Norse Mythology, the World Tree was made from ash. Ash trees also might up the faery triad of "Oak, Ash and Thorn".

Bluebells
Bluebell woods are places of faery enchantment and it is said that the ringing of a bluebell flower will attract the attention of faerie folk.

Foxgloves
In folklore, the foxglove is said to make up the clothes of the faeries. Some folk names for foxgloves are Faery's Glove, Faery's Cap, Faery's Mitten, Faery Weed, Little Folk's Gloves and Goblin's Thimbles. It is considered unlucky to pick a foxglove.

Hawthorn
Belonging more to te faeries than to mankind, the hawthorn is the thorn element in the faery triad of "Oak, Ash and Thorn". In Irish folklore, solitary hawthorn were said to grow at the centre of a faery ring and should never be cut. If a human sleeps beneath a hawthorn on Beltane it is said they will be taken away by the faeries.

Hazel
Hazel is another tree with faery connections as a fifteenth century spell to call upon faeries involved burying hazel wands beneath a hill. Hazel is also the favourite wood for divining rods.

Heather
Heather is a plant upon which faeries are said to feed. Heather pixies live in Scotland and are said to spend their time spinning.

Oak
Another tree with faery connections, hollow oaks are said to be the homes of faeries. Oak Men are spirits of the Oak, appearing as human-like faces in the bark. They protect oak groves and woodland creatures within the forest. Oaks are also sacred to Nemetona, a Romano-Brythonic faery goddess of groves.

Primrose
Faery flowers, a posy of primroses touched against a rock are said to open an entrance to the Otherworld. If you place primrose blooms upon your third eye, it can help you to see faeries.

Silverweed
Said to be a favourite food of faeries.

Thyme
A herb sacred to faeries. In folklore it is said that the King of the Faeries dances on wild thyme beds with his faery followers at midnight on Litha. Thyme features as an ingredient in many herbal potions dating around 1600.

Woodruff
Another herb sacred to faeries, woodruff is used to make Beltane Wine by steeping white wine with a little woodruff, sugar and strawberries. This also makes a good offering for faeries.