O. T.....but maybe not.

[Midnite]

however, my Belladonna Punch is to die for

ROFL!

[Philippe Cordier]

Gerard, you're hysterical.  I thought you lived in NYC, but I'm glad someone else has been suffering through the cold, wind, and rain ... not to mention the occasional dumping of half a foot of snow ... over the past two months.  Looks like it's suddenly summer here as of Sunday.

Rainey, your comments reminded me that my mom usually has parsley and maybe one or two other herbs growing in terra cotta pots.  I don't think plastic would be good.

*  *  *  *

In regards to Angelique and herbs, I found this topic interesting.  In a story about Angelique on Little Windward Island that I started a couple of years ago (but haven't finished), I describe Angelique's herb garden, naming half a dozen herbs she grows in a rock garden down a path toward the sea.  My inspiration for this is a lovely herb and flower garden in a park nearby that I sometimes sit in when I want inspiration ...

The next step would be to do further research and see if these herbs would grow in the cold windy climate of the island, but I could always put them into terra cotta pots come to think of it!

[Gothick]

Hi R. P.,

Herbs only pop up every so often on DS.  I remember Aunt Hannah and Angelique using mandrake to enchant Quentin during the Parallel Time storyline.  In 1795 it seems as if they started out trying to depict Angelique's powers a little more authentically in terms of island cunning woman type lore and practice.

Another great herbal reference is Julianka and her gathering the "blood" of the orris root--which actually IS a powerful binding agent used to give many spells an extra "kick."  I'm pretty sure Violet Welles was responsible for that--she seems to have been more enthusiastic about research than the others.

I helped a friend plant his herbal seedlings the weekend before last.  He had a couple of good books, one of them by an old-school hard-line gardener who made very strict recommendations about the distance between plants for the herbs.  Many of them do better planted in pairs, and she also mentioned about that.  I can't recall this particular author's name--the book was of the "Herb Gardening Made Easy" type, and the original publication date was ca. 1976.

What I do remember is that taller plants like fennel and rosemary should ideally have 2 feet of room between them.  You may not need to worry about this, though, since the plants will not survive the winter.  Unless you save the pots and transplant them out of the garden and bring them indoors in Sept.  I guess there's a chance you could keep them going if you did that.

Good luck!  Isn't gardening the best?

Gothick

[Raineypark]

Yes, gardening is the best thing....and that's where I should be right now.

Have to add something though, which might interest Midnite in particular but any of you who are into herbs...

Earlier in this thread I made a joking reference to my inability to find nightshade at the local nursery.

Imagine my astonishment to discover that a local herb farm (a REAL farm, not a chain of nurseries) actually carries Aconite (variously referred to as Monkshood, Nightshade, and Wolfsbane) in pots, ready for the garden!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband jokingly refers to this place as "The Coven" because the owners, all the employees and just about all the customers are women.  Now I'm wondering......?

The stuff is so dangerous I'm not sure how you get it in the ground, much less why anyone would risk such a thing??!!!!

I would love to see the blooms, which are supposed to be exquisite,  but I can't imagine risking injury or death to someone's kid or pet just for a look at the flowers!  

Raineypark

[Carol]

Don't know much about herbs but you should read NIGHTSHADE by John Saul.  Very eerie indeed.

CAROL

[Midnite]

Imagine my astonishment to discover that a local herb farm (a REAL farm, not a chain of nurseries) actually carries Aconite (variously referred to as Monkshood, Nightshade, and Wolfsbane) in pots, ready for the garden!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG.  Hopefully you'll tell us they're clearly marked POISON and kept in a special section where no one can inadvertently get near them.  I wouldn't even want to touch any part of them!

("The Coven"... hee hee!!)

[Raineypark]

That's the really bizarre part....there was no warning label on them at all!!  

At first I thought it might have been a special order for someone and not for general sale, but I just looked at their web-site (oh, to drool over!) and there they are: 7 species of Aconite in colors from steel blue to dark violet, listed under the shade perrenials!!!!!

I'm thinking of driving out there tomorrow morning and having another look (while I'm looking for other things!)

Raineypark