News

Welcome back to the Aelfen newsletter. This issue belongs to the dark of the year — the solstice, when the light is at its shortest and every tradition I know answers with the same things: resin, evergreen, and fire.Bearing gifts: frankincense and myrrhThe wise men carried gold, frankincense, and myrrh — and two of the three were tree resins, the most precious substances the ancient world knew. Frankincense for the gods, myrrh for the grave and the altar both: resins were wealth you could burn, a prayer you could watch rise. Two thousand years later they are still the scent...

Welcome to the first Aelfen newsletter. Every two months I'll share a little of the old plant lore — the stories our herbs carried long before they carried price tags — plus what's new in the shop. Returning to the dark: the underworld's mint The underworld had a herb of its own. Minthe was a nymph of the Cocytus, the river of the dead, and when she boasted of Hades' love she was crushed into the dust of the underworld floor — and from that dust sprang mint, sweetest when it's stepped on. Her queen was Persephone, who ate six...

Have you ever wondered how plants get their common name? Have you ever been curious as to why some old-time gardeners do the things they do? Oral traditions and folk lore are a big part of gardening culture. Many plants get their common name from an old wives' tale or a story that has been passed down. Old-time gardeners follow the rules of local stories and lyrics about planting more than the back of the package. How many stories do you have growing in your garden? If you look through the ages, you will find much folklore about plants and...