The Witch's Garden

These violets sowed themselves in the rock garden. I love plants that volunteer, and I have several favorites of that type: marigolds, violets, and borage.

Here is the wild bluebell. It grows about 3 feet tall, and is found in woodland areas. It always brings my childhood to mind, I have vivid memories of these growing with wild tiger lilies in the trees at the shore of our cottage.

This plant grows in a clump of iris. It smells sweet like Nicotiana, but it seems hardy enough to be a weed. I thought it might be cowcockle, but I'll have to compare it with my plant book. I don't think it has the same seed heads as cowcockle, though the flowers are a similar shape.

This plant reminds me of medieval herb gardens. It's a type of globe thistle. I transplanted it from my sister's garden last year, and now it's over 4 feet tall and about 4 feet wide.

Here are the tops of the borage. The lovely blue star-shaped flowers are favorites of bees. They are edible, and taste a bit like cucumber. For fancy drinks, you can put a borage flower in each compartment of an icecube tray, and freeze them inside the cubes. The plant is used for medicinally, most recently as a source of omega 3-6-9. The plant is self-seeding, and reappears every year, though it is an annual.