Clare Gogerty - The Magic of Seeds: The nature-lover’s guide to growing garden flowers and herbs from seed

THE MAGIC OF

Seeds

THE NATURE-LOVER'S GUIDE TO GROWING GARDEN FLOWERS AND HERBS FROM SEED

Clare Gogerty

www.davidandcharles.com

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 flourish 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, seemingly unremarkable seed into a lush, beautiful flower 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.

HOW SEEDS WORK

Every seed, whether its tiny or huge and woody, like a coconut, contains the embryo plant and a store of food. It also has an outer skin with a minute pore that allows water in and a small scar where it was originally attached to the mother plant.

Most plants produce huge numbers of seeds and have different methods of dispersal to guarantee reproductive success. Some rely solely on the wind to scatter them, while others have wings or cunning hooks to catch in an animals fur to carry them further. The shape of each seed is designed so that when it falls to the ground it lies in the best position for germination.

Seed sowing has always been accompanied by various rituals in farming communities. In parts of the UK, people would dance with their arms in the air, to alert the gods to provide the rain and strong, healthy crops. In Devon, it was thought to be bad luck to sow seeds during the first three days of March, which were therefore known as blind days. Many communities blessed the seeds before sowing. A Scottish charm, The Consecration of the Seed, is one such blessing:

I will go out to sow the seed

In the name of Him who gave it growth;

I will place my front in the wind,

And throw a gracious handful on high.

Should a grain fall on a bare rock,

It shall have no soil in which to grow;

As much as falls to earth,

The dew will make it to be full.

In India, black mustard seeds are scattered across thresholds to protect homes from evil spirits. During the Hindu festival of Pitru Paksha, offerings of black sesame seeds and water are made while chanting mantras to attract dead relatives to earth, relieving them from the cycle of birth and death.

Some seeds can be used for magical purposes in their own right. Their latent power and potency can be harnessed and used in charms and spells, especially around love and fertility. Larger seeds, such as mustard, can be incorporated into a mixture for a love sachet, for example, or ground and used for incense. Then, the smoke can be used for divinatory purposes and to communicate with the dead.

Cultivate your dreams

The growth cycle of a seed can serve as a powerful way to cultivate an idea or to manifest a desire.

First, choose seeds of a plant that you feel a connection with the examples in this book will help you to find the right one. Hold them in your hands and, as you take a deep breath in, visualize new life springing from the soil. As you breathe out, picture the sun entering the seed and triggering it into growth. Do that twice more. Place your cupped hands gently on the compost and send the seeds your love and energy. Thank them for the new life they will bring.

Now sow your seeds. As you do so, think about your idea or desire and imagine it coming into your life. Write it on a piece of paper and tuck it under the seed tray.

You might also like to bless the seed. This is a lovely blessing:

By the power of the water and the power of the earth, by the power of the seasons sacred dance, let abundance be given birth. And all good things my life enhance.

(Thanks, lleweylln.com)

When the seeds have germinated, prick them out and pot them on (see for instructions) so that you have one or two good, strong seedlings. Bury your piece of paper beside them, taking care not to disturb their roots. Water and, later, feed your plants and, as they grow and flourish, so will what you desire until, eventually, it too becomes a beautiful, life-enriching reality.

SOWING SEEDS IS ONE OF THE MOST SATISFYING THINGS YOU CAN DO. FROM UNPROMISING BEGINNINGS, A HANDFUL OF TINY BROWN SPECKS IN A POT OF COMPOST WILL GROW INTO A BEAUTIFUL FLOWERING PLANT, A TASTY VEGETABLE CROP OR AN AROMATIC HERB. IT IS A JOYFUL PROCESS THAT MARKS THE END OF WINTER AND THE START OF SPRING. BY SOWING SEEDS, YOU WORK WITH THE TURNING OF THE YEAR BY PLANNING FOR THE SEASONS TO COME. YOU TUNE IN TO NATURE'S CYCLES AND RHYTHMS.