Rhubarb

One of springs 'love it or hate it' vegetables which is in season now is Rhubarb.  Dreadfully sour or deliciously sharp depending on your taste buds there is no denying its return to favour over recent years.

(Photo: Rheum palamtum var. tanguticum)

Traditional culinary Rhubarb is a hybrid cross classified by the Royal Horticulutural Society as Rheum x hybridum, but one of its parents is Rheum rhabarbarum.  In England and similar cooler climates Rhubard is forced from early spring to produce sweet pale shoots before being left to grow naturally for the rest of the growing season but interestingly the same plant will produce good edible shoots all year round in warmer climates.

(Photo: Rheum officinale) In China Rhubarb has been grown for 1000’s of years as a traditional form of medicine and was written about as early as 2700BC in The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root compiled by the Emperor Yan.  Its roots are rich in anthraquinones a strong laxative being used for well over 5000 years and it also has an astringent effect on the mucous membranes.  For this reason Rhubarb has occasionally found itself fashionable as a slimming agent.

Rhubarb also naturally occurs along the banks of the river Volga but it is technically a separate species and known as Russian Rhubarb.  During the Mediaeval period Rhubarb was so expensive to transport from these far flung places to Europe that it cost several times that of cinnamon, saffron and opium and it was in the Tangut Province of China that Marco Polo, rather excitedly found it being farmed on the mountainous hillsides.

Rhubarb was first introduced to the United Sates in the 1820’s first arriving in Maine and Massachusetts before traveling with early settlers across the country.  In England Rhubarb was first grown in the 17th century with the advent of cheap sugar to improve its sharp taste and was most popular in the interwar years.

(Photo: Rheum palaestinum) The name Rhubarb is derived from the Greek for the Volga, rha and barbarum.  As a genus it belongs to the Polygonacea family which includes Rumex, Muehlenbeckia and Persicaria.  Within the Rhubarb clan there are some stunning showy plants which given a large herbaceous border make a fantasic addition, Rheum Palmatum has a number of garden worthy selections, but outside of some of the most unusual species plants Rheum palmatum var. tanguticum with its deeply cut rich red leaves which age green and its huge plumes of blood red flowering bracts would be my plant of choice.  Although thought of as an ornamental we grow this one to eat first and become decorative later in the year, finding its stems naturally a little sweeter then the better known culinary Rhubarb.

(Photo: Our Rhubarb Fool)  If I have made you slightly curious about Rhubarb and you want to try it another way than crumbled to death this really is a lovely Rhubarb Fool Recipe, which we made today.

Retrospectively February

February - I shall remember you as a month of bitter cold and snow.  Having said that the snow at the nursery last week came as a total surprise as I had been working in Hampshire, which was a fantastically enjoyable experience, but under glorious sunshine.   

I did spend a day as an invited speaker at Vincent Square and even there through the windows of the horticultural halls  I could see a mixture of driving rain and sleet descending on London.

Its hard to think about plants during such dreary weather especially if you cannot get outside to see them.  This is such a pity as February had some wonderful plants to offer us.

At the Rococo Garden, in between the showers, I have been cataloguing the different Galanthus in the garden on behalf of the Trust.  Amongst the varieties in the garden I found pleasingly large collections of :

Galanthus atkinsii - Named after John Atkins who lived on the Painswick estate. 

Galanthus atkinsii ‘James Backhouse’ - The charming irregular form which is my current favorite.

Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’ - Lovely large blunt outer petals slightly lifted.

Galanthus ‘Lynn’ - Most people agree this is superior to G. atkinsii, being larger and hanging beautifully.

Galanthus ‘John Sales’ - slim and understated.

Although some clumps are small, the garden has one of the United Kingdoms largest natural plantings of both G. nivalis and more dramatic on sight, G. atkinsii.

Of course February is also one of the best month’s for Witch-hazel, and outside of species collections in Botanic Gardens one of the most stunning collections can be found at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens just outside of Romsey.

(Picture: Hamamelis sp)

I first fell for the subtle charms of the witch hazel whilst studying horticultural taxonomy at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and I have found it an endlessly interesting genus ever since.

The horticultural name means, ‘together with fruit’ as the fruit, flowers and next years leaf buds all appear on the branch simultaneously, quite unusual in the plant world.  For a long time the Persian Ironwood was treated as a Hamemelis, but it is now known in its own right as Parrotia persica.

One of my favorite yellow flowering species is Hamamelis virginiana which is native to North America predominantly from Nova Scotia to Minnesota.  Like all Hamamelis it makes a stunning deciduous large shrub.  The branches whilst not horizontal do produce a distinct inverted vase shape with time.  The flowers are pale yellow to intense butter yellow with a wonderful fragrance.  The bark and leaves were used by native Americans in the treatment of external inflammations. I am also very found of Hamamelis virginiana var. mexicana, it just looks special. 

(Picture: Hamamelis virginiana)

Hamamelis virginiana  is most likely the origin of Pond’s Cream.  A healing cream invented by a scientist called Theron T. Pond in around 1846.  Pond extracted a tea from Witch Hazel with which he could heal small cuts and ailments.  

In 1925 Queen Marie of Romania visited the United States and enjoyed the product so much she wrote to the Ponds company requesting more supplies, the letter was used as a precursor to the modern day ‘Celebrity’ endorsement in an advertising campaign.  Pond’s today is owned by Unilever.

(Picture: Hamemalis vernalis)

Another American species I am fond of is Hamemalis vernalis, often occurring with H. virginiana it does not cross pollinate and hybridise and can be easily identified as it flowers in Late winter.  Also the leaves are dark green with a glaucose underside and most tellingly the flowers are bright red to orange.  This species has a number of popular cultivars selected from it including H. ‘Red Imp’ which has strong red petals with orange tips.

Many of us will know Hamamelis mollis, this genus is native to China, particularly in the East.  H. mollis with its golden autumn colourings was first introduced to the United Kingdom in 1879 by Charles Maries and the form H. mollis ‘Coombe Wood’  which has a more spreading habit and larger than average flowers is the form he originally brought back.  Later H. mollis  was also introduced by Ernest Wilson and the form H. mollis ‘Jermyns Gold’ is believed to be one of the forms he brought back in 1918. 

Crossed with Hamamelis japonica to form Hamamelis x intermedia, it has gone on to produce some of the most well loved garden Witch Hazels.

(Photo: Hamamelis japonica)

After spending so much time talking about Witch Hazel it may come as a surprise that I don’t have a single plant in my garden.  I claim as an excuse the fact that we are scaling down our garden and collection of plants in an attempt to move but rest assured when space allows they will make a welcome appearance.

Creating a Garden on 3 t's

At last the sun has shone down on the garden at Painswick and the snowdrops are looking stunning.  I have to admit I have a new favorite in the form of Galanthus atkinsii ‘James BackHouse‘ its abnormal growth habit makes it look rather quite jolly and indifferent to the perfection of other types such as G. ‘Magnet’.

(Photo: The 3 Counties Showground)

I Travelled to the 3 Counties Agricultural Society Show Ground last week and was struck by the rich brown colours of the hedgerows, I wondered if against the moody backdrop of the overcast Malvern Hills the foreground colour’s were enlivened, seeming to almost leap out at us along the way.  It would be naughty of me to spoil the surprises in store for Spring Gardening Show visitor’s this year, but I can say it is very exciting.  I also notice the large number of Wellingtonia, or correctly named, Sequoiadendron giganteum around Eastnor Castle. 

Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole species of the genus and one of 3 species which make up the group of plants known as redwoods.  All in Cupressaceae, the others are, Seqouia sempervirens & the rather beautiful Metasequoia glyptostroboides.  Growing to a towering average height of 280ft, 85m in the English landscape with the sun behind them Sequoiadendron giganteum dominate in an electrifyingly prehistoric way.  The oldest recorded specimen is 3500 years old and on average each tree bears 11,000 cones dispersing 400,000 seed annually.  In 1853 John Lindley gave the tree its invalid name of Wellingtonia gigantea.  Wellingtonia had already been given to Wellingtonia arnottiana, in a different floral family.  

(Photo: Sequoiadendron giganteum)

Wellingtonia is the most common name for this plant in England but sadly it was not the last, in 1854 Joseph Decaisne renamed the tree as Sequoia gigantea but again this name was invalid for the same taxonomic reasons and later in the same year it was renamed as Washingtonia californica, which you will guess was invalid as the name Washingtonia applies to a genus of palms.  This naming process carried on until 1939 when it was final given its current name.  Sequoiadendron first appeared in Britain in 1853 and spread through Europe from then.  The great plant collector William Lobb collected a large amount of seed in 1853 for the Veitch Nursery.  In England it is a fast growing tree, reaching at Benmore, Scotland 177ft, 54m in 150 years.

(Photo: Sequoiadendron giganteum immature cone)

That is my first T, my second was an amusing encounter I had in Thomas Cook, not very plant orientated you may say, but I was actually trying to book flights for a plant observation and seed collecting trip we are beginning to organise.  There is a lot of, and rightly so, paperwork and planning needed to ensure we are doing things correctly.  I digress.  So I approach a sun kissed lady and asked if she knew about direct flights to Tel Aviv from the United Kingdom, to which she replied ‘No I don’t know really, its not a beach destination is it?’  Suffice to say we are now flying British Airways.

My last T for this imaginary garden of T's is slightly tenuous but is linked by travel and my writing if not person are travelling abroad this month.

(Photo: January's Garden Design Magazine Issue Cover)

From now until June I will be publishing a series of posts mostly relating to elements I am including in a Show Garden I will be creating at Chelsea Flower Show this year.  I have been invited to do this by the editorial team at Garden Design Magazine.  This is a fantastic American gardening magazine which has a great content formula not to mention their annual awards for design projects.  The online portion of the magazine is also fantastically interesting with a huge mix of content.

You can read my first contribution here.

Galanthus (A New Kind of Mania)

With January reaching the midway point and the mornings begin to lighten, I thought I should make mention of a particular plant which like the tulips a couple of centuries prior, drives people almost insane.  I have to add that after merrily labeling 1400 pots of them I am feeling a touch insane, for all the wrong reasons.

Galanthus is a relatively small genus of about 20 species, predominantly flowering in Spring although Galanthus cilicicus, native to Turkey, flowers in the Autumn.

(Photo:Galanthus ciliicus)

Although many think of Galanthus nivalis, the common snowdrop, as our native snowdrop it is actually only native to mainland Europe having been introduced to the United Kingdom in the early 16th Century.  G. nivalis has given rise to a number of really good double varieties including G. nivalis ‘Flore Pleno’ with is large almost fluffy doubled flowers with green edges to the inner petals.

There are over 500 available snowdrop cultivars which must be the inspiration for many a collecting galanthophile, further inspiration must be the lists of snowdrop cultivars which are lost, waiting in a long neglected garden to be re-discovered in the same way as Rosa ‘Souvenir Du Docteur Jamain’.

Some of the most notable species I like, and grow are:

(Photo: Galanthus plicatus)

Galanthus plicatus, the Crimean snowdrop is a tall early flowering form with long green leaves and big flowers.  An exceptionally good form which is hard to come by is Galanthus plicatus ‘byzantinus’, its absolutely spectacular with huge ovoid petals which bear two markings and broad grey-green leaves. 

Snowdrops seem to have a history with the Cotswolds, take Galanthus elwesii, the famous Collesbourne snowdrop and Galanthus atkinsii  collected by John Atkin's in the late victorian period in Southern Italy and named G. imperator.  Atkins may well have planted many at the Rococo Garden, it must have one of the largest naturalistic plantings of them but it was not until the early 1930's that the name atkinsii was applied.  Many refer to this as one of the most striking snowdrops.   The Royal Horticultural Society have award G. elwesii, & G. nivalis with their Award of Garden Merit.

(Photo: Galanthus elwesii)

The Giant snowdrop, Galanthus woronowii, has been grown in the United Kingdom for roughly 100 years and is native to N. E. Turkey through to Southern Russia.  Naturally occurring in woodlands, ditches and grassy meadows it forms a basal rosette of chunky rich green leaves which are waxy to the touch and single stems of delicate white flowers which are fairly large and bear small green markings on the inner petals.

In the nursery we grow and sell in limited numbers Galanthus ‘Magnet‘  a dramatic hybrid  with long slender pedicels hanging on heavy flowers.  

(Photo: Galanthus Lynn Sales)

Being very large like a parachute they tend to catch in the slightest breeze, which when planted through a skeletal woodland looks enchanting.  In fewer numbers we also propagate the rare Galanthus ‘Lynn Sales’ named after it’s discoverer who lived locally to the Rococo Garden in Cirencester.  Lynn Sales is a tall growing variety with pure white large flowers which appear earlier and are much fatter than Galanthus atkinsii. 

(Photo: Galanthus woronowii)

Other varieties I particularly like and hanker after include Galanthus ‘Wendy’s Gold’ this might be the snowdrop which might at first put you off but most growers can’t keep up with demand.  A rare yellow form of Galanthus plicatus it is fairly vigorous and makes handsome clumps.  I think its best grown on its own where its colour can be enjoyed for its own merits and the white snowdrops are not smudged by the yellow colourings.  

Galanthus hippolyta is an almost perfectly formed double snowdrop with very large flowers held high on tall sturdy stems.  The inner petal segments are so neatly arranged they appear to have been sliced with a surgical blade.  This really is a very special snowdrop and its rarity seems odd compared with its merits.

Another lovely and slightly rare double form is Galanthus ‘Lady Elphinstone’, its a form of Galanthus nivalis, but with yellow markings.  The markings have a habit of turning green in the same season but seem to revert back.  (Photo: Galanthus 'Lady Elphinstone)

(Photo: Galanthus Magnet)

Everyone knows the best time to lift bulbs is when they are in the green, however snowdrops multiply by producing bulb-lets which can be removed when the clump is lifted.  Species Galanthus will also come true from seed and the more rare and unusual varieties are generally propagated by means of ‘twin-scaling’.  

Snowdrops have a substance called galantamine in them, as do narcissus, which is a useful substance in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.  Some scholar’s also say that the magical herb moly in Homer’s Odyssey is actually a snowdrop.

(Galanthus n. Flore Pleno)

I will leave the last word with the home of Galanthus n. ‘Atkinsii’ & ‘elwesii’, the Rococo Garden Painswick, they have a new blog and have asked me to make a guest blog there in the future.   

Snowdrop Family

For those of you who know that our nursery and design business is based at the Rococo Garden Painswick, which is 928ft above sea level, and yes covered in snow currently, you will also know that the Rococo Garden is famous for its snowdrops.  The woodlands dating back to the 18th Century are covered in the 1000’s.  There are some unusual varieties with the first plantings taking in place in the Victorian period.

(Photo: The View From Painswick Beacon)

Before I post about snowdrop’s and the current craze for them I wanted to talk about the family of plants they belong to, Amaryillidaceae, and at first glance they don’t share to much in common with Amarylllis, the genus the family takes its name from.  In fact there are sixty genera and across the world 800 species which belong to this group.  

Some of them are well known, from Narcissus, Crinum, Clivia, Leucojum, Nerine, Eucharis and Sternbergia.  The family is therefore mainly bulbous, although Clivia is tuberous (a rare occurrence in the family) and they are often deciduous in habit.  The most diverse range of genera belonging to the family is found in Peru, where you will find treasures such as Clianthus. 

(Photo: Clianthus variegatus)

These bulbous perennials, the size of a golf ball produce long rich green strap like leaves and on Clianthus variegatus, produce clusters of hanging ivory flowers with green petals.  They prefer pot culture in the United Kingdom, protection from frost, humus rich soils and partial shade.  A slightly more brash, and somewhat boring orange can be found in the flower of Clianthus coccineus.  Another Peruvian native you will find in many alpine houses is Zephyranthes, these little bulbs produce open starry flowers in a range of colours.  Zephyranthes primulina, native to Mexico,  can be found flowering from April until October when grown in cultivation.  In the wild it needs a drought to flower which is a shame as its soft lemon flowers are both delicate and cheering to look at.

(Photo:Zephyranthes primulina)

Amaryillidaceae was first described, or grouped scientifically by French naturalist Jean Henri Jaume Saint-Hilaire in 1805. The name Amaryllis comes from descriptions, by Theocritus, Virgil and Ovid of a beautiful sheperdess.  The family is closely related to Alliums, Alliaceae and Agapanthus, Agapanthaceae.

(Photo:Heamanthus albiflos)

A South African genus I quite like the history of is Haemanthus.  First described by Linnaeus in 1753, they are a genus of about 22 species.  The genus was illustrated in 1797 in a series of paintings made at the Schonbrunn, bring it to popular attention.

Heamanthus albiflos in one of the most famous, being an evergreen bulb extremely tolerant of neglect.  In its natural habit it prefers cool shady coastal spots.  Sitting high in the soil up to half of the bulb can be exposed and green.  The leaves are produced in pairs and may be covered in tiny soft hairs and occasionally has yellow spots on the underneath.  It produces two leaves annually.  Perhaps the most unusual aspect are the flowers looking more like artists brushes dipped in golden paint.  These are produced from April to July.  In the United Kingdom this is generally grown as a houseplant, which it quite enjoys or in a heated conservatory.  It will produce offsets which are best removed after the flowering period.

These warm climate bulbs almost make me forget that the countryside around me is covered in a thick layer of snow.  However being a gardener the snow becomes very quickly, a beautiful nuisance.  After a long cold winter I am eager for the signs of spring and the burst of buds.  Even the robin’s, blue-tit’s and woodpecker at the nursery are rather hoping for an improvement in the current conditions.

Starting the New Year with a Horticultural Bang!

The New Year dawns as our busiest time at the nursery.  In January & February the Rococo Garden becomes a magnet for Galanthophile’s, traveling from across the United Kingdom & Europe to see them.  The garden is literally covered in the thousand’s.  

(Photo: Snowdrops at the Rococo Garden) Being so consumed by snowdrops at this time of year it is easy for us to slightly forget other early flowers, after all, for us the snowdrop comes after some very delicate and beautiful early flowers.

(Photo: Eranthis hymalis) One of my favourites is the winter aconite, Eranthis, the tiny collared buttercup flowers which make such a bright carpet.  They are in the same family, Ranunculaceae, as the rather more brash, Ranunculus ‘Brazen Hussy’ and are native to Europe, Asia and Japan.  Eranthis is a fairly small genus with about 8 species.

If you thought Eranthis was a bulb you would be quite mistaken, it is actually a herbaceous perennial and division is exceptionally easy by simply digging up the tubers once the plant begins to die down and cutting sections off.  Pot these on and keep in a cool place before planting back out next spring when in leaf.  

Eranthis hyemalis, the species native to Europe, generally grows in deciduous woodland in the wild and is used by lots of gardeners as early ground cover.  I have often paired it with Acer griseum when using the acer as a specimen tree.  If you plant the acer to catch the winter sunlight the papery bark glows golden with a buttercup yellow carpet of the aconite's underneath.  Because Eranthis is summer dormant, aestivation, they are gone long before you need to start either cutting the grass around the base or a successive plant begins to take its place.

(Photo: Eranthis stellata) Now I really enjoy the yellow cheerfulness of the traditional winter aconite but recently I was introduced to a rarer russian cousin, Eranthis stellata.  Imagine the depths of winter the forest floor is extremely cold and in Russia crisp.  A slender green stem appears with a refined green collar and large pure paper white flower with purple to white anther’s.  This little treasure will sit reliably and happily through the worst weather for weeks before disappearing before April and all it asks is a well drained humus rich soil in exchange.  

(Photo: Eranthis pinnatifida) Another white flowering species is Eranthis pinnatifida, this is native to Japan and produces a tuft of heavily divided purple tinged leaves.   The pure white open flower has deep purple anthers and waxy yellow pronounced styles.  It prefers light shade, and again a humus rich soil.  E. pinnatifida is as the name suggests a tiny species so if you grow it put a marker in, like I would, or have a good memory.


All parts of the plant are poisonous and according to Greek Mythology, Medea tried to kill Theseus by putting aconite in his wine.  Greek's believed the plant came from  the salvia of the 3 headed dog Cerberus, guardian of the underworld.  As Hercules pulled the dog from the underworld Cerberus turned his head away from the light and as he did salvia fell from is mouth hardening into the aconite.  If you are not a follower of mythology more likely is the the reasoning that aconite comes from the Greek for akone, meaning whetstone, a stoney soil where Eranthis occurs naturally.

Mistletoe - Not Just For Christmas

Mistletoe seems to be everywhere this year. At the Rococo Garden and all through the Painswick Beacon up to Minchinhampton, the trees seem laden.

Mistletoe belongs to a rather large and complicated family. In the plant world parasitism had only evolved nine times and of these the plants which make up mistletoe have evolved independently 5 times creating families Misodenraceae, Loranthaceae, Santalaceae, and to complicate things here, the modern family Santalacea contains the old Viscaceae & Ermolepidaceae.

Our Mistletoe, common European Mitstletoe, Viscum album (Pictured Left) belongs to the family Santalacea, and is the only species native to the United Kingdom.  There are a number of sub. species belonging to the species Viscum, including Viscum album subsp. austriacum, with yellow fruits preferring larix and pines as its host.  It is uncertain where the name Mistletoe came from but many think it comes from the German Mist, for dung & Tang for branch.  This could be due to it being spread in bird dropping as they move from tree to tree.  If you have ever read old english herbal’s which I have written about before or really old cook books, you will have heard of mistel. This is the old English for Basil and not Mistletoe, which is not edible and will give you a rather unpleasant bout of diarrhea and a low pulse if digested.

Our mistletoe is unmistakable with long broadly ovate green leaves always occurring opposite each other, fairly brittle woody stems and clusters of up to 6 waxy white berries.  

(Photo:Tristerix aphyllus)

European mistletoe grows on a fairly broad range of host trees but it is particularly fond of old orchards in the English Countryside.  Lost to parts of the South Coast it is particularly prevelant in the rolling subtle Herefordshire landscape.  Mistletoe has developed a form of hemi-parasites, which means, that in most species it develops evergreen leaves which are able to photosynthesis and therefore using the host predominantly from water and mineral nutrients only.  In most cases it will only reduce the vigour of its host shrub or tree, but with heavy infestation this removal of resources  from the host can kill it.  In such a large family there are some odd exceptions such as the Cactus Mistletoe, Tristerix aphyllus, native to the Andes, Chile and Columbia which lives deep inside the vascular tissues of its hosts appearing only to flower with rich red flowers once a year. Before rushing out to the Garden Centre with a renewed interest in Rhipsalis baccifera, it is not this plant, although this was brought from the New World as a Mistletoe substitute.

In Europe Mitsletoe is generally spread by the Mistle Trush and is a source of food to many grazing animals which help transfer pollen between species.  

(Photo: Arceuthobium abietinum) In The United States and Northern America the genus Arceuthobium, manufactures considerable less sugars than it needs and lives off its host much more.  It is a dwarf species and makes tight witches brooms which in turn become roosting and nesting locations for Northern Spotted Owls and Marbles Murrelets.  Arceuthobium is made up of 42 species with 21 being native to the United States.  Unlike European Mistletoe its host of choice are pines and cypress.  Arceuthobium abietinum is dioecious, meaning they are individually male or female.  Uniquely following fertilisation hydrostatic pressure builds internally when ripe, shooting single sticky seeds up to 50 miles per hour into the forest.  The seed is covered in a glue like substance, viscin, which enables the seed to stick and develop of its host.  

The smallest known mitsletoe species. A minutissimum lives only  on Pinus wallichiana,a stunning, afghan hound,like pine, both native to the Himalaya’s.

 (Photo: A. minutissimum)

The Mistletone most Americans will be familiar with and grown as a harvestable crop for Christmas decorations is Phoradendron flavescens.  Known as the Eastern Mistletoe this has shorter broader leaves and longer clusters of up to 10 berries.  Phoradenderon is in the family Santalaceae, like our own, but has over 35 species.  

(Photo: Phoradendron flavescens)

One I particularly like and it’s not for purists, is Phoradendron californicum, the mesquite mistletoe.  Native as the name suggests to Southern California it grows in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts under 4000 feet.  Its a leafless species which sends out tiny, heavenly fragranced flowers in winter which are followed on the female plant by beautiful berries in shades of copper, garnet and dusky pink.

Oddly the numbers of mistletoe species are much large in the Subtropical and Tropical climates with 85 species in Australia and 900 genera in the family Loranthaceae.

Now not much more need be said of mistletoe and Christmas, our traditions of keeping some in the house from December through the year for good luck is largely unheard of in Europe, we are all agreed however that it is the last of the Christmas Greens to be removed from the house after Candlemas, so it remains for 40 days as stated in the Torah.

The other tradition we all take up, some not knowing its full history is the kissing.  This comes from Scandinavian Mythology. Baldr was a god who was associated with light, beauty, love and happiness. His mother Frigg prompted by a prophetic dream, made every plant, animal and inanimate object promise not to harm him. 

(Photo:Phoradendron californicum)

But Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant — and the mischievous god Loki took advantage of this oversight, tricking the blind god Hoor into killing Baldr with a spear fashioned from mistletoe. Baldr's death brought winter into the world, until the gods restored him to life. Frigga declared the mistletoe sacred, ordering that from now on it should bring love rather than death into the world. Happily complying with Frigga's wishes, any two people passing under the plant from now on would celebrate Baldr's resurrection by kissing under the mistletoe.

Frigg herself has some lovely associations, such as Galium verum, known as Friggs Grass.  Frigg was associated with married woman and Scandinavians used this grass due to its sedative qualities during child birth.

I know this has been a rather long post, but I will not be posting again until the New Year when, and not to keep you on tender hooks, I will have some exciting news.