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…

Churches in England are often portrayed as quaint, picturesque centres of their community. But given they’re also often one of the oldest buildings in a town or village, it’s hardly surprising that we’d have so many tales of haunted churches too. Some of these tales immortalise previous parishioners, but more usually, the tales commemorate dark…

Churches used to be a centre for the community. They were open to all classes of society, and through their association with births, marriages, and deaths, often had links to each stage in an individual’s life. Add to that their open commemoration of the dead, and churches became a clear focal point. So it’s hardly…