Peter Barr, a Victorian era nurseryman, read Parkinson’s Paradisus in Sole, describing the varieties of daffodils and narcissus that grew in the British Isles in the 1600s. He was frustrated that they no longer existed locally and became obsessed with finding them and giving them a renaissance. 

Barr, a Scotsman, traveled through Europe in the mid 1800s, often on horseback, in search of these wildflowers.. At age seventy-two, Barr expanded his search worldwide, planning a five year trip which actually lasted for seven. He traveled to Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, islands in the  Pacific and the United States to locate and collect the daffodil bulbs. He only spoke Scottish English, so he used pictures to show the locals what he was hoping to find. He told of finding six thousand to seven thousand bulbs in certain areas, and one particularly successful quest resulted in nearly twelve thousand bulbs. All were collected, bagged and returned to  England. 

In 1890, he demonstrated the success of his travels with a four day daffodil festival, and in the years that followed, he put on annual displays of up to two million plants at his nurseries. As a result, the Gardener’s Chronicle, a British Horticulture periodical, gave him the distinguished and well deserved title of the Daffodil  King!

Barr, a modest man, credited Oscar Wilde’s love of yellow. Barr stated, “Wilde used to lecture on aesthetic colors, and to him we owe more than to anyone else the taste for yellow, to my mind the most beautiful color in nature. He took the sunflower, but that is too ‘lumpy,’ and the people soon got tired of sunflowers. Then my daffodils came, and they came to stay.” [Bendico Advertiser 1900]

I found this particularly amusing since Oscar Wilde was once arrested, and charged with gross indecency, for carrying a Yellow Book!  At the time, there were books with yellow covers that were considered scandalous and no decent person would openly carry a Yellow Book in public. But that’s a story for another time! 

It’s impossible to know if daffodils would have been completely obliterated if not for The Daffodil King’s efforts, but it is  likely they would not be as well known, revered and cherished as they are today. There is a wealth of information on Peter Barr, and if you are at all  intrigued, I highly recommend you check  out the links below. . His travel journals were my favorite, describing harrowing, and at times hilarious, adventures!  His writing style is delightful! Here’s an example! 

" If you need help releasing sadness from the past to enable you to find future happiness, 
the snowdrop will be useful."

I can’t remember a time in life when protection, hope and peace have been more needed.

In response to the murder of Renee Nicole Good, 37, by  trump’s ICE agents on 1/7/2026.

Element: Water
Gender: Feminine
Planet - Venus

In my previous post, celebrating the Japanese Maple, I referenced “momiji-gari” which means maple viewing or maple hunting, and “kito” - the Japanese name for the maple tree — meaning calm, peaceful, and at rest.

Have you ever wondered why spending time in nature reduces stress?
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The answer may be found in fractals -  the repeating patterns that shape everything from tree branches to riverbanks, from snowflakes to ferns.

Mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010) discovered fractal geometry — “the art of roughness” — in the late 1970s. In his bestselling book The Fractal Geometry of Nature (1982), he described how patterns echo throughout the natural world.

Building on his work, physicist Richard Taylor of the University of Oregon found that simply gazing at fractal images can reduce stress levels by up to sixty percent! Swedish researcher Caroline Haverhill later used EEG readings to show that viewing fractal patterns increases alpha brain waves, promoting calm and lowering stress hormones like cortisol.
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In other words — there’s scientific proof that spending time gazing at mountains, trees, and leaves truly improves our health and well-being.

Note to artists:
Just as fractals in nature calm the mind, creating art inspired by them offers a similar kind of peace. When we paint, collage, or journal about leaves and trees, our hands trace the same repeating rhythms that nature does. The act of noticing and recreating these patterns — the veins in a leaf, the branching of roots, the swirl of a fern — invites stillness. Each brushstroke or paper shape becomes a meditation, echoing the beauty of the natural world and helping the heart find its own quiet pattern of calm.
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Autumn is a glorious reminder that we are immersed in miracles — and they’re literally falling from the sky! Fan-shaped golden ginkgo leaves, chestnut and chinquapin oaks, rosy-red maples, and orange sumac leaves are just a fractal sampling of nature’s gifts.

Zoom in and notice the delicate veins within a single leaf. Zoom out and see the repeating patterns in the branches of a tree. Zoom further still, and you’ll find the same designs echoed in the rolling shapes of the mountains.
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Give yourself permission to spend time in nature — preferably with loved ones — and let the patterns work their quiet magic. Your body, which is also built upon fractal geometry, will thank you.

Aww, come on now!  You didn’t really think witches were scouring the forest to gather the eye of a newt or the toe of a frog, did you? I’ll admit, there was a time when I used to guard my dog in case the witches needed an extra dog tongue. Fortunately, I found out about the secret herbal codes!

Folk names were used for herbs long before Shakespeare came along It was a bit like the copyright protections we have today.  “Witches” were actually healers who were protecting their recipes and secret ingredients from those who had no  understanding of nature, plants, and their magical powers. Secret code names were created to protect the identity of the ingredients, as well as  give mystery to the herbal  cures. Many plants are still called by their folk names today!

Some names can be determined by the part of the plant associated with particular body part: for example, seeds were associated with eyes.  If Shakespeare had said mustard seed instead of “eye of newt”, a certain mystery would have been lacking. The toe of a frog was a leaf of cinquefoil, holly leaves were the wool of the bat, and hound's tongue was the tongue of the dog. Thankfully!

Even though his descriptions were visually stirring, they were not appreciated by the herbal healers of  the  time. His using their code names made them furious  and they  put a curse  on not only Shakespeare, but  anyone  who  dared  use the word ‘Macbeth’. Uttering the word in a theater is considered bad luck, to this day. Even witches who have dedicated their lives to healing can become enraged and vengeful if their secrets are exposed!  Hopefully,  I won’t  regret writing this article.   I  think I’ll  go gather some agrimony, for protection, just  in case!

COMMENTS
ALICE SCHLOTHAUER ( [email protected] )

For 15 years I lived at the corner of Blymire Hollow Road and Shangrila Road. In that part of York County the story of Mr. Blymire and Mr. Rehmeyer and the Hex Murders in 1928 was told and retold. This time of the year, we would sit on our front porch and watch the hayrides come up Blymire Hollow Road with loads of very frightened people aboard. A book called Hex was written about the incident and you can read all about it on the internet. It is full of hexery and witchcraft. Pretty fascinating!

Are you thinking of spring? Many of us are!

​Imbolc falls on February 1st and 2nd this year. It is a word derived from the old Irish Gaelic, means "in the belly”, and specifically refers to ewes, pregnant with lambs. In a larger context, it symbolizes Mother Earth being pregnant with the promise of spring. It is about half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. 
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Originally a pagan holiday, Imbolc later became known as St. Brigid’s Day, the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. It is also known as Candlemas Day, the day people take their candles to church to be blessed. 

Then, February 2, 2024, we will celebrate Groundhog Day, also associated with the arrival of spring, and historically associated with Imbolc, The event began as Badger Day in Germany and traveled across the ocean to eventually become affiliated with groundhogs.

THE FIRST MENTION OF THE GROUNDHOG DAY CELEBRATION

​A journal entry from February 2, 1840 by a  Welsh-American storekeeper in Pennsylvania is the earliest mention of the celebration, according to Don Yoder, author of Groundhog Day. ​

Groundhogs in the United States and Canada are also known as ground squirrels, whistle pigs, land beavers, marmots and woodchucks. European ground hogs are called hoary marmots. Hedgehogs, in addition to badgers,  were also credited with weather predictions in Europe. 

Punxsutawney Phil, acclaimed as the Weather Prophet, is the most famous of all of the groundhogs. This much maligned, innocent fellow is annually yanked out of his burrow by a rowdy crew wearing top hats who have been drinking heavily all night. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter, and if not, only two. If spring doesn’t arrive early, he alone is blamed. For many reasons, my heart goes out to Phil. 

Rosmarinus officinalis
​“Dew of the Sea"

Gender: Masculine
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire

Smelling  rosemary  prevents aging,” I explained to my class of 25 students, as I handed each of them an eight to 10 inch sprigs from my garden. All were over 50 years old in the Renaissance Institute lifelong learning program.  “It will also keep you alert and help you remember the information you learn in class.” It was my first session in a series, over a period of 6  weeks, of my Enhancing Your Life with Herbs, and rosemary was the ideal herb to introduce the course. 
Rosemary’s well documented and legendary gift of preventing aging is one of the virtues I wish I had found out years ago - maybe when I was eighteen! Since I’ve learned of this magical power, I breathe in deeply  when the plant is nearby.  
Many virtues have been associated with rosemary throughout the centuries. He is one of 500 herbs featured in Eber’s Papyrus, found in the Valley of Tombs near Luxor. The 20 meter long scroll, about the  size of a bowling alley, was written in 1500 B.C., though believed to have been copied from an earlier document. It documents its use as an herbal remedy. Sprigs have been found in Egyptian tombs dated from 3,000 B.C. 
Its medicinal uses have been documented in Greece and Rome since 500 B.C. The “herb of crowns”  is also reputed to improve memory and mental powers. 
Priests burned it as incense and it has been used as a disinfectant and strewing herb. The pungent fragrances covers up unpleasant odors and purifies the air. It has been credited with protecting people from the plague and having a clean fragrance that is purifying in a sick person’s room. Once valued for medicinal uses, it is now mostly used in cosmetics and cooking. 
Friendship and love have long been associated with rosemary. It has been used in love spells and is credited with encouraging faithfulness, so it is often used in friendship and wedding bouquets. Both Sir Thomas More and Shakespeare have commemorated rosemary’s association with friendship and remembrance in well known quotes.  
Rosemary  is often found at with funerals. My rosemary sympathy cards and comfort journals for people who have lost loved ones encourage people to find easement in sacred memories.

Podophyllum peltatum
Poison
Gender - Masculine
Planet - Mercury
Element​ - Fire

Even though they aren’t related, the mayapple and the true mandrake have similarities in addition to being poisonous. Their vibrations are fire, they are considered masculine, though I must admit they appear more feminine to me, and their planet association is Mercury, Both are attributed with powers of attracting wealth and abundance, 

You’ll find the mayapple flowers in the woods, often barely visible under the large leaves. Sometimes we need to kneel down to see them. When we are able to catch a glimpse of them peaking out from under their protective shields, we will be delighted!

This is true with us as well. If others allow us to feel safe and comfortable, they will be enchanted by the talents, gifts and wisdom we have to share. 

Do you find yourself hiding, and uncomfortable sharing your gifts?
Do you need to come out from under your leaves so others can see your talents?
Do you associate with people who encourage you to feel safe and comfortable, avoiding if possible those that don’t recognize your value?
Do you encourage others to feel safe and confident being their truest selves? 
Are there people you might view differently if you’d look at them from another angle and shift your perspective?