| Making an Herb Garden |
| Herbs are used a lot in Wicca. We use them in spells and charms as well as in crafts, incense, oils and aromatherapy. It can get pretty expensive buying these herbs to use, but there is a cheaper solution! Make your own herb garden! Four years ago I decided to make my own and now I can just go pick the herbs from my backyard. Its much easier than buying them from occult supply stores. There are only a few things you need for this project. First you need a space to put one. My garden is pretty big, about 20ft by 20ft but your doesnt have to be that big. When you find your space make sure its in the sun because herbs like sunny spots. Then if you have a rototiller make a spot as big as you like. If you dont have one you can try to dig a spot with a shovel but that takes a long time! If you dont have the ground space then you can grow herbs in pots. They should be pots with holes in the bottom and the soil you use should have some sand mixed in it. Now that you have your area, or pots ready, you need the herbs. Local greenhouses should carry the basic herbs, so look there first. You can also buy seeds and start them indoors around march or april but I have never had any luck with them this way. I buy all my herbs in greenhouses. Here is a list of herbs that you can usually find in greenhouses: *You should be able to find many different varieties of this. Lavendar* Mint* Basil Oregano Thyme* Rue Tarragon Summer Savory Chives Sage* Parsley Marjoram Hyssop Lemon Balm Cat Nip Lemon Verbina Comfry Yarrow Woodruff and many more! When you get the herbs you want, plant them about a foot and a half away from each other so they have room to grow. Water them right away and then water them about once every week or so, especially if it doesnt rain a lot in the summer where you live. If the herbs are in pots they may need to be watered more often. If you planted the herbs in the ground you can put brick or stones around the perimeter to make it look nice and contained. Decorations like faerie statues look nice tucked in here and there too. Depending on how big the herbs get you will want to trim them, or cut them back in the fall. Then you can take what you cut and hang them up somewhere in your house to dry. Then put them in jars and they are ready to use! In the fall, put died leaves over the garden so they have a protective covering for the winter. Then in the spring take the leaves away so the plants can reach the sun. Dont be afraid to experiment with the layout of the garden. A neat idea would to be to outline the garden with rocks in the shape of a pentacle and plant your herbs inside. Or you could make a themed garden with herbs and plants that correspond to a certain Goddess or element. Be creative and check out some books on herb gardens and magical gardening. Here are some tips for your herbs: - Do NOT plant mint in your garden area. Plant it somehwere else because it grows incredibly fast and will take over the whole garden if you let it. - Lemon Verbina will only last one season even though its labeled a perennial. (perennials keep coming back every year and annuals only last one year) Some sage will sometimes die during the winter too, depending on how cold it is. - Thyme spreads a lot. Give it at least a three foot diameter on all sides. Plant anything far away from it. - Dont cut the woody part of lavendar too much. The leaves grow right from the dead looking parts. Its better just to cut the flower sprigs when they bloom - Yarrow spreads more than any plant I've ever seen!!!! Its a very pretty flower but plant it away from the rest of the herbs. Its very rewarding to have an herb garden. The best part is getting to see your herbs grow and bloom. Most herbs also flower to, so it looks really pretty when they are all im=n bloom. Spend time in your garden and talk to the herbs and the elementals. Ask the God and Goddess to watch over it and protect if. Ask that it grows healthy and aids you in all your magical work. You can leave offering to the Lord and Lady, or the faeries in your garden too. Doing rituals bye or in your garden is very special too. |
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| Oregano, Mint, Garden Thyme, Silver Thyme, Lemon Thyme, Rue, and Winter Savory in my Garden |
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| My Herb Garden |
| My new Mint Garden (Chocolate Mint, Spearmint, Apple Mint, Cat Mint) |
| My Herb Garden |
| Clematis Vine |
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| Yarrow |
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