Though we are not officially offering Medicinal Herb Garden tours until the Life Sciences Building and Biology Greenhouse are completed, I couldn’t resist the request to lead a Harry Potter tour for a class from the UW Department of English. It was as if a spell had been cast upon me. Alas, not having read any of the Harry Potter series, I had to do a little research. I quickly learned that some of the plants represented in the books are products of J.K. Rowling’s imagination. I have a greenish thumb, but growing imaginary plants is beyond my level of skill. Luckily, a small portion of the Potter flora is already growing in the garden.
The mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) bed which was plundered last spring, still had one plant left. It was scraggly and in need of a long period of recuperation so I dug it up and moved it to an undisclosed location after showing it to the class. But first I took its picture.
Mandrake root. Of course, I had to wear ear protection while unearthing this root.
Next on the list was asphodel (Asphodelus albus).
Most flower lovers would probably agree that asphodel is an attractive plant when it is flowering. But its powdered root combined with…
…wormwood or absinthe (Artemisia absinthium) becomes The Draught of Living Death…in Harry Potter books anyway.
There are probably other Harry Potter plants in the Medicinal Herb Garden, but we stopped at aconite or wolf’s bane or monk’s hood, a potent plant that should not be trifled with by amateurs.
Aconite (Aconitum napellus in this photo, though there are about 100 species throughout the world’s northern temperate zones).
I took a group photo of the Harry Potter class but when I went to transfer it to this blog’s media file it had mysteriously disappeared, as if by magic…
The rabbits are doing fine, grazing the greenery of the entire campus, so I don’t feel too bad about making them unwelcome guests at the Medicinal Herb Garden. This year I’ve been experimenting with dusting cayenne pepper on plants and it seems to be working, but physical barriers like hardware cloth are still needed in places, though I might tempt fate and stick with cayenne as the only deterrent. If someone has a source for really cheap cayenne in bulk, the hotter the better, please let me know.
Free range rabbit in Cascara Circle. I passed seven rabbits while crossing campus the other morning. They have a pretty good life here as far as I can tell.
Moving the yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea) to a new bed appears to have been a good idea. It’s flowering for the first time in years.
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) in section A is slowly starting to produce some flowers and fruit. It makes a good ground cover and so far, the rabbits have shown no interest. In general, they seem to have a fondness for Vaccinium.
Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) shrubs in sections A and B are covered in flowers. That should add an extra flavor to the honey of nearby hives.
False unicorn root or fairywand (Chamaelirium luteum) has found the right place to thrive in section F. Sometimes you have to move a plant to several locations to find the place where it will do well, or plant several specimens in different locations. Whatever works.
Giant honey flower (Melianthus major) from South Africa. It looks like it came directly out of the Harry Potter flora. They’re a bit iffy in really cold winters but they are striking plants, especially when they get bigger. We’ll have to see how this one does.
You snooze, you lose. That’s the story with redbud flower viewing. This happened back in April, next to Okanagan Lane where there is a western redbud (Cercis occidentalis). An eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is right next to the big paper birch (Betula papyrifera), forty feet to the southwest…
…right here.
Narrow leaved mule’s ears (Wyethia angustifolia) emerging through the Mexican cliffrose (Cowania mexicana) in section C. The cliffrose has been doing better the last couple years since I stopped irrigating that bed.
The nearby hawthorns (Crataegus douglasii) have sent up root suckers into the same bed, about a foot away. In fact they’ve suckered into many beds in sections C and D. I had to move the Chinese snake gourd or gua lou because of competition from the hawthorns.
New growth on the cactus apple (Opuntia engelmannii) in the xeriscape bed.
They aren’t ravens (Corvus corax) but crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) have a magic all their own. Unfortunately they didn’t pay us a visit on our Harry Potter tour. Here they are hunting for things to eat. A crittercam attached to a crow: I’d pay to see that movie.
Columbia lewisia (Lewisia columbiana) flowers aren’t the most showy of the genus, but they are dependable and they last a long time. See them in the xeriscape bed.
Hmmm. The good news is the rabbit (s) found a safe place to hide out and eat in peace. The bad news is s/he, they ate a quarter of the hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica). It is a tough and prolific plant and I believe it will bounce back. Anything for the rabbits.
Last year the bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) built their nest in this tripod, surrounded by vines and still visible at the bottom of the photo. It was successful so…
…they built a new nest above it this year. May the last of the fledglings fly away before the first crow knows they’re there.
Goumi (Elaeagnus multiflora) west of Cascara. It produces edible fruit, has fragrant flowers and few pests or diseases, becomes fairly drought tolerant once established, fixes nitrogen and can handle full sun or part shade.
Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca) flowers northwest of Cascara Circle.
The crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) has finally flowered. It’s in section E.
Life Sciences Building with the new Biology Greenhouse in front.
If all goes as planned we will be moving plants in this summer.
We haven’t had much rain lately but the the air has cooled, taking the pressure off delicate seedlings. There are still new plants to go out in the garden but the beds are mostly filled. Section E, with its deep shade and tree roots in the beds is the challenge this year. Look for some rearrangement, additions and subtractions next spring or sooner.
flash of a crow’s wing
moonlight on wolf’s bane flowers
summer garden spell
See you in the garden.
Keith,
Thank you for posting. It is so fun to keep up with the garden through your blog. I have so many fond memories of walking through the herb garden on study breaks during my time at UW.
Hope all is well and happy gardening!
-Ben
Ben,
It’s nice to hear that another student liked to walk in the garden too. I hope you have one to walk in now.
Maria
Beautiful! I’m inspired for a similar Harry Potter walk here at Bastyr. Love your posts. Also, didn’t know manuka could grow up here. Noted…
Also, thanks again for those rehmannia seeds! They are quite happy little plants in our greenhouse.
Happy summer,
Katie @ Bastyr Gardens
Thanks, Katie. Good luck with the rehmannia. Mine is currently flowering.
Keith