Free Garden Witch's Herbal by Ellen Dugan

yucca plant is part of the agave family. The needle palm variety of yucca may reach heights of thirteen feet and has stiff, narrow, and swordlike evergreen leaves that fan out from the base. The greenish white, tuliplike flowers are borne on long, narrow spikes that may reach up to four feet in height. The flowers of the yucca slowly open in the evenings. On an interesting side note, the flower of the yucca is the state flower of New Mexico.
    Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental specimens in gardens. Many yuccas also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems, and roots. Yucca fiber was once used to make rope, and the leaves can be woven into baskets. All the yuccas contain saponin, a natural hair cleanser that is used today in cosmetics and soap.
    Magickal uses for this masculine plant include protection, purification, and setting boundaries. Twisting the fibers of the yucca plant into a solar cross and then displaying it on the wall of the home was thought to protect those who dwelled within. I would suggest adding fresh yucca flowers into red charm bags to help rid a person of negative energy. They will also work nicely to protect against emotionally toxic work or living environments.
    You may also plant four yucca plants at the corners of your house, as was suggested in the prickly pear section. (See the “Protecting Your Property with Cactus” spell on page 57 .) I would simply adjust the words of the spell accordingly. The planetary ruler for the yucca is Mars, and the elemental association is fire.
    Walking on the Wild Side
    Nature knows no difference between weeds and flowers.
    mason cooley

    I hope that you found the botanical information in this chapter to be interesting. Most of all, I hope that it sparked ideas for you and inspired you to work with the plants that are indigenous to your neck of the woods. I can only imagine how incredibly smug Witches who can garden year-round feel while some of us are sitting cooped up inside and scowling at the barren landscapes, leafless trees, and snow and ice of the winter months. So if you live in a more temperate zone, lucky you.
    Keep notes on your Witch’s gardens and your magickal plants no matter where you live, and see what the plants are willing to teach you. Pick up a spiral notebook or start a gardener’s journal. As you keep your notes and log in your gardening successes and experiences each season, you will gain a treasured keepsake of your garden and your life. Take photos of the plants and of your landscape. Try scrapbooking the journal—make it gorgeous and make it personal. Have some fun and be creative.
    In our next chapter, we are really going to get a little wild. Sound intriguing? Let’s be daring and walk on the wild side—of flowers, that is. Get ready for wildflowers and witchery!
    [contents]

Chapter 4
    Wildflowers and Witchery
    To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wildflower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.
    william blake

    For a Green Witch, the act of growing native plants and wildflowers in the garden connects them to the indigenous spirits of the land. Those plant energies and earth spirits have always been here, perhaps unnoticed and forgotten by us, until now. These elemental energies reside in all of the wildflowers naturally, because they are irrevocably linked together, plant to land and land to spirit.
    When you bring wildflowers and native plants into your garden, you are introducing and inviting those harmonious energies and local spirits back into your own enchanting garden space or local sacred grove. Once you’ve acknowledged their powers or reacquainted them back into your life, the earth spirits are contented, and all their magickal blessings are showered upon you.
    Working with wildflowers as a part of your green magick practices can be accomplished by one of two means: either with homegrown native plants (many varieties are readily