In my garden I have the Lemon Thyme variety. This is not the most commonly used Thyme out there. Thymus vulgaris is the most common variety of Thyme and is the one most frequently used in cooking. Lemon Thyme has a very lemony flavor. I once used a sprig for cooking chick peas which were later used in a hummus recipe.
Thyme is a perennial which likes sandy soil. This plant does not like to be crowded in, so give it plenty of space to grow. It thrives in full sunlight. I attained my thyme as a cultivar from the market. Thyme can also be easily grown from seeds. You can plant them directly in the soil in either spring or fall. They can also be started indoors in flats. This plant self seeds quite easily generally depending on the species. Cultivars can easily be propagated by cuttings.
Thyme is a warming herb which soothes the upper respiratory system. An infusion can be made to soothe a sore throat. It is an herb which in witchcraft is used to give the practitioner bravery. Historically soldiers took it as a charm to bestow bravery upon them in battle. It can also be placed under your pillow to prevent nightmares. This is a custom which has been passed down to us from the middle ages.
Yesterday I was working in one of my gardens. I was pulling up a few weeds here and there. A man approached me wanting leaves from someone else's plot. I explained that they did not belong to me. He had a think accent and brown skin. I assumed he was Indian.
I gave him some peppermint which made him happy. He was very pleased to explain that various dishes can be cooked with this herb. Peppermint tea is a little bit more common. I have had peppermint with some vegetable soy protein in the past.
Aleister Crowley associated peppermint with the path of Aleph and it is an air herb. This makes it good for divination or visualization. There is a very strong scent given off by peppermint. This is why it has the air association.
Peppermint tea is very good to drink if you feel nauseous. It can ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. It is a digestive and a cup of tea is a great way to finish a heavy meal. Bronchitis and pneumonia can be eased as well by this tea and breathing in a steam with the herb in it. When you have a headache you might try making a peppermint poultice.
Insects don't like the smell of peppermint. You can get rid of ants by spraying the essential oil.
There was a visit to my garden yesterday. I pulled out some weeds. It is nettles which overrun my garden. These are quite easy to pluck out. My decorative cabbage had disappeared. There was only the root left.
In the greenhouse I have started some Vervain. This is an herb to rekindle lost love. I am going to be working with it in the future. A tradition witchcraft herb this is and for magick I shall use it. In my life the desire for love has become a little bit confusing. I wish to reawaken feelings within myself to change the way I currently feel about love. As a purification herb it will be used to restore feelings of lost innocence. This pertains to much of the work I am doing as a sorceress and witch.
In Kabbalistic pathworking I am currently working on the 11th path. This is to restore lost innocence and bring back the inner child. It is a path of new beginnings and finding a prophetic wisdom to inspire new work.This path is linked to The Fool card in the tarot.
Vervain can be used many ways in magick. The leaves can be made into a tea to give you prophetic abilities. A maceration in oil can be placed on your third eye chakra to give you psychic vision. Ritual baths can include a sachet of Vervain to cleanse you before embarking on ritual magick. It can dried and burned on a self-igniting piece of charcoal as an incense to purify your space.
I have been working on my garden even as the weather begins to cool. Some Vervain I shall grow from seed. I started the seeds just a couple of days ago in the greenhouse. Vervain takes 3 to 4 weeks to germinate. I am trying to decide whether to plant the plants in the soil before the winter begins or just leave them in the greenhouse for the cold season.
My garden is part of a community. It is located at Scadding Court Community Centre in Toronto, Canada. This year my plot is small. I had some strange experiences last summer with spontaneous bouts of channeling. My garden became much neglected and overridden with weeds. This year I got a smaller plot so it would be less work to maintain. Big plans where in store for this small bit of earth.
There were many seeds which I never got around to planting this year. Many seedlings died in the heat of the new greenhouse as June blazed along. I purchased many witching herbs from Alchemy-Works last winter. I still have most of the packages of seeds left to plant for next garden season.
The only 2 plants I sprouted which made it into developed plants from my Witch's Garden seed package was the Sage and Clary Sage. Clary Sage takes 2 years to bloom. Right now the hairy silver leaves are spread out in a large circular formulation. I believe am leaving this in the ground to watch what it becomes next year. More research will be needed to determine approach care for these plants over the winter.
On Sunday I planted a miniature Rose bush, purple
ornamental Cabbage, and burgundy Chrysanthemums on my plot. It is my
hope to create a winter garden this year. A winter garden is one which
maintains it's color and looks beautiful poking up through the icy drifts of
snow. Any plant which maintains color over the winter could be included
in such a garden. Rose bushes have beautiful rose hips to add a splash
of red to the dreary landscape of winter.
Dandelions are governed by Jupiter for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that they grow in abundance. They can choke out the growth of roots of other plants we are cultivating. It is best to eliminate them without having to use harsh chemicals.
The link below will take you to an article which discusses a gardening tool for digging up dandelions.
The Best Chemical Free Method Of Ridding Your Yard Of Weeds
Milk Thistle, Agrimony, Sage, Balm, Red Rose, Betony, Hyssop, Borage, Houseleek, Chervil, Dock, Chestnut, Dandelion, Cinquefoil, and Samphire.
I have started many seeds in the greenhouse. I have a community garden plot which I have been maintaining for the past 2 years. Last year I experienced some changes in my life. I was not organized when gardening season got started. I had to hold off on starting seeds in the greenhouse in the spring. This year I got an earlier start. My plot is much smaller. Last summer was disruptive. I had problems keeping up with the work. This year the plot is much smaller. Maintaining it will be easier, but there will not be as much space for growing.
Fridays are when we have a gardening drop in. This is the day I generally garden on. It fits into my schedule as I work early in the days. Many seedlings have already been started. Not everything was planted. These seeds will be saved for the future. Enough seedlings to completely fill my garden plot are sprouting up.
Last week I overturned the soil. There was a very large sage plant which I dug up and brought home. I have it in a large bowl sitting in some water. It takes up a lot of room, but I like the way it looks. It is gradually coming back to life. Many green shoots are appearing. There were only a couple of green shoots when I brought it home.
