There are few flowers quite as recognisable as the lily. Yet despite its beauty, the lily is a toxic plant. In some ways, this goes to show the contradictory nature of the flower, used in both bridal bouquets and funeral wreaths. Yet in other ways, its contradictory uses make sense since they often come from…

From cleaning wounds to repelling plague, lavender has had a myriad of uses throughout the centuries. It’s come to represent devotion, purity, luck, cleanliness, compassion, constancy, faith, humility, and love. Yet in the Victorian language of flowers, it also meant distrust.  Let’s explore the appearance of lavender in ancient folklore, medicinal uses, and even its…

The Alnwick Poison Garden is the modern descendant of the medieval apothecary garden. Find out how these healing gardens found their dark side—and explore some poisonous plant folklore—in this week’s episode of Fabulous Folklore. Find the images, videos and references on the blog post: https://www.icysedgwick.com/apothecary-garden-history/ Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way…

If a bouquet of flowers arrives at our door, we’re more interested in who sent them. The Victorians were more concerned with what it meant. The Victorian language of flowers, also known as floriography, was a way to send messages using specific plants and flowers. Combining different flowers allowed them to send more complex or…