Thursday, April 22, 2010

If It Grows by My Door, I'm a Witch!

My good friend Nettle tells me that those who have mugwort growing by their doors are witches. If this is so, Yowsa! I'm a witch!

Mugwort is practically all that is growing in my garden these days. I have to beat it back with a stick. It threatens even my precious bloodroots, dear little Appalachian replants like myself.

This is the interesting part. When I moved to my house, the back yard was not Mugwort Heaven. Mugwort only started appearing in quantities about six years ago -- at the time when I began to question all the answers. So I think Nettle must be right. The bored gods moved in, recognized that I was going to bang a gong for them, and populated my garden with the correct plant.

I only pull it up around the bloodroot. Otherwise, mugwort rules. The leaves are pretty, and it is definitely a plant that doesn't need much sunshine to thrive.

When I get a minute, I want to ask you, my dear readers, about the new ghost in my house. But that will have to wait. There's cat hair on the upholstery, and nothing is more important than returning my chintz to its pristine state.

8 comments:

Hecate said...

You go, girl.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Cat hair on the upholstery? Noooooooooooooo!

Maebius said...

well, I don't have too much Mugwort, (I had to import a small stalk from Susun weed, which is keeping itself pretty self-contained, strangely).

I do have Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) all over the yard though. wonder what that makes me?!? :)

Teacats said...

I have St. John's wort growing madly by the front door -- does that count? BTW -- here at Rosemary Cottage -- the cat hair IS the upholstery! LOL!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Maeve said...

It's tenacious spreading habits are part of why I put it along the fence between my yard and the neighbor's. heh. It grew nice and tall last year! (The tallest of the bunch was at least 6') So I'm hoping that it self-seeded in-between the plants I'd purposefully tucked into the ground so that I have a proper HEDGE of the stuff this summer. I like foliage hedges much better than plastic and wood and such. They feel less rude, yet give both sides a bit more privacy in their backyards. "Something there is that doesn't love a wall" as Robert Frost wrote.

I'm rather hoping the mugwort will choke out the annoying mostly-leaves flower that has crowded out the grass all along that fenceline...

I've pulled that stuff up every year and it just comes back. Probably propagates via rhizomes. :(

I'll need to blockade the mugwort if it gets too near the fledgling raspberry patch though...

yellowdoggranny said...

haven't a clue what mugwort is..doesn't it have something to do with harry potter?...
on your upholstry?..I have it every where in my house including up my nose..dexter is shedding like the hounds of hell..

Jenny said...

I'm stupidly late with reading blogs, and also I think this is the first time I comment here. Anyway - I remember from about 15 years ago, a friend of mine who was a kitchen witch made a tea for me to drink when I had menstrual cramps. I know it had mugworth in it, but I don't remember what else. I might have the recipe still around somewhere...

Dj said...

What ever happened with the ghost?