Monkshood A flower with a hood.
Your Poison by Alice Cooper pops to mind.
How do you care for Monkshood?
That is write it is a plant with a hood, If you are brave enough to grow this deadly fiend, then even as a seed, handle it with care but just like any church you have to sow your seeds and get a congregation going. It is best to try and do this in the cooler conditions of spring. They like their church built on solid humus-rich soil.
Growing them from seed, they are like any little Medieval monks, they take a few years to break through with any strength but have faith, no I mean you have faith. They do not like high levels of sunshine because they are a little shady by nature as they grow in mountains, I assume they find trees to sit under. They do not need a lot from gardeners, they need to be watered as they don’t like drier conditions. I heard that the plant can be a little weak for a couple of years, I am sure it will all work out great though, I believe in you.
Let me know how you get on. I Would love a photo of how they have been used in your garden and any further thoughts.
What kind of flower is Monkshood?
Considered dark and mystical, it had medieval medicinal uses but it was also found to contain Aconite Indeed the medical criteria goes to such lengths that the plant could cure fever, joint pain and headaches. It was more towards the executioner or assassin than Doctors, to date, there is no cure for the poison which is produced across the whole of the plant. It is listed as one of Europe’s most deadly poisonous plants or has been.
The wolf came a cropper.
Farmers would lace meat with Aconite to see off unsuspecting Little Red Riding Hood hunters or maybe they just wanted to eat sheep. Hence it also became known as Wolfbane. No Red Riding Hoods were hurt in this paragraph you will be glad to hear.
The fictional arena and the folks’ tales
Storytellers of all sorts have used this information for a long time, it has found the limelight in modern times with Vampire Diaries, where it was used to weaken the werewolf.
Cadfael had a brief encounter with this plant I am told. It starred Sir Derek Jacobi and although I’ve never watched the series I was informed by a friend that is well worth a watch. If I find the episode I’ll post the link to it here.
Imagination is a great thing.
Picture a simple time before Google, a time when people did not shout Dominoe hoho to signify you need to get ready for dinner. When monks sang with one another out of the love of God, where monks walked slowly through villages of sinners and didn’t catch a bus. The monks with their hoods up and their heads down, rather than lids down on a convertible, heads up, hands on a steering wheel. You can make out a hood, is my point. Thank you for reading it has been a pleasure to do this I hope you enjoyed your tea.
Serious link: Aconitum carmichaelii|Carmichael’s monk’s hood/RHS Gardening
To the right: is a picture of a Monkshood flower beautiful isn’t it?
If you survived the 600 words and would like to read some more here is a link:https://bizzybee-garden-market.co.uk/blog-post-index/
It is also known as Wolfbane.
Thank you for reading and visiting my website, I hope it has been enjoyable and look forward to hearing from you if you have something to say.
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