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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I Dream of Honeywort

Yes, I did really have a dream about Seedy Saturday. I dreamt I arrived and almost all the seeds were sold out. I was gutted! But there were two honeywort plants left and they were these big nobby pineapple-sized roots attached to succulent plants. I said, "Oh, it's honeywort, just what I was looking for..."and a man said "Use the Latin name, woman!" So I said "Cerinthe major or minor-- or whatever it is," and laughed. Then I tasted the plant and found it had a licorice flavor. C'est tres bizarre. I also dreamt the ponds at the gardens were polluted and brackish and saw a sole swimming in one of them. It was David Cronenburg directing, I tell you. Vivid.

Anyway, it's a plant in the borage family and I must have it for the bee garden. It was nicknamed the wax plant because people thought bees gathered wax from it. It's also waxy in appearance. I think it would be good to plant in the corners because of its protective attributes. I feel a deep connection to this plant which is odd, because I don't think I've ever seen one in my life.

"Because it is so favored by bees, a martial insect, it would be a good herb to use in works where you want to win over a hostile force or attract defensive hosts."
www.alchemy-works.com/cerinthe_major.html

Essentially, what we are creating is a "bee refuge" here. We're focusing our energy and attention on providing a safe space for bees, both physically and metaphorically. As we save the seeds from this garden in the fall we can distribute them to people in Vancouver to create their own bee gardens, refuges, and sanctuaries in their neighborhoods.

Don't forget Seedy Saturday is this weekend at Van Dusen Gardens from 10 am to 4 pm and Brian Campbell is giving a talk on bee gardens.

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