The Magic of Seeds - The nature-lover's guide to growing garden flowers and herbs from seed

Includes 100 common garden plants, including wildflowers, cut flowers and herbs - that all have additional value to the grower, from medicinal uses to positive superstitions (such as bringing good luck, or warding off evil etc).
Whether the reader is a practising green witch, or simply an amateur gardener with a spiritual affinity with nature, this book will give them everything they need to successfully make a garden from seed and unlock the wonders of nature.

The ultimate reference to growing plants from seed.Seeds are magical. Every little one has the potential to become a new plant and give you more seeds - connecting us to the circle of life and nature's endless ability to surprise and delight. The act of planting seeds and watching them grow into seedlings and then on into productive plants is enormously therapeutic. Even when things don't go to plan, the gardener is constantly learning, growing and deepening their connection to nature. It's an incredibly grounding and humbling experience that feeds the soul of the gardener.This beautifully illustrated guide will show readers how and when to harvest the seeds of 100 different garden plants and flowers, with advice on when and how to sow them, and where and when to plant them out. Alongside this hands-on guidance, the reader will be engaged with snippets of folklore and traditions that further enhance their appreciation of nature and help them discover the inherent magic of seeds.Wh ether the reader is a practising green witch, or simply an amateur gardener with a spiritual affinity with nature, this book will give them everything they need to successfully make a garden from seed and unlock the wonders of nature.

Leseprobe:

There is something poetic about seeds: they arrive via scented blossom, fat pods, flamboyant blooms and sweet fruit, then drop into the soft earth. Throughout winter, they wait silently before the warmth of the new season awakens them. After the Spring Equinox, or Ostara, shoots and leaves gradually emerge, unfurling and stretching towards the sun. Seeds promise new life when everything is tired and old. They defy despair.Sowing seeds during spring is an important moment in the turning year; both a practical and a symbolic activity. It is a wonderful anticipatory task: as you sow, you imagine the plant that will _ourish later in the year, bursting into bloom, bushy with aromatic leaves or heavy with edible crops. You are helping to generate life and, in the process, fill your herb cabinet. Spring is also a time to take stock of your own life and plant metaphorical seeds, by planning a way to realize a long-held dream, perhaps, or set an intention.The transformation of a dry, seemi ngly unremarkable seed into a lush, beautiful _ower or, even more spectacularly, a new tree, is a wonderful thing. The process is so incredible that it can feel like only magic can explain it. Of course, botanical science does have an explanation, but that does not belittle the wonder of the mighty seed. The power of a tiny seed is unimaginable.