In recent years Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden has given over more space to the horticultural students to plant in a domestic style and scale, so there are now some very neat, Mr. McGregor-like vegetable plots there, sweet pea arches and beds of herbs.
There are lots of cornflowers in this area at the moment, some in a small apothecary's garden which marks the RBGE's origins as a physic garden created by two Edinburgh doctors, Andrew Balfour and Robert Sibbald, in the 17th. century. Among the plants first grown there (& appearing on a list made by the garden's curator in 1683) is the cornflower, and here in the modern version it's grown alongside plants such as borage, chamomile, nasturtium and heartsease in raised rectangular beds in the style of monastic healing gardens of the Middle Ages.
Another bed in this area is a herbal chakra garden, designed for meditation, and cornflowers, along with hyssop and chicory, are planted there to stimulate the throat chakra. If anyone would like a list of the other plants in that garden, just let me know.
Just beautiful!!
Posted by: Martina | 19 August 2013 at 04:20 AM
Oh yes please - I would love a list of the plants . Fascinating !
Posted by: Karen | 26 August 2013 at 11:21 AM
My apologies for the delay in responding, Karen, but here's the list at last:
Root (red) - Red Clover, Field Poppy
Sacral (orange) - Nasturtium, Marigold
Solar Plexus (yellow) - Chamomile, Rue, St. John's Wort
Heart (green) - Chervil, Lemon Balm, Southernwood
Throat (blue) - Cornflower, Hyssop, Chicory
Third Eye (indigo) - Lavender, Blazing star (Liatris spicata)
Crown (violet) - Balm of Gilead, Marshmallow
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 September 2013 at 05:01 PM