A Magical Plant You Might Not Know

Dan and I have had a great time with the garden this spring.  It's taken us several years to discover through much trial and error what works in our yard.  One of our biggest problems is that we have a lot of clay in our soil, or should I say we have a little soil in our clay.  We've often joked about getting a kiln and opening up a pottery shop with the proceeds going towards several trucks of top soil, but since we rent this land that never made much sense. 

We added a garden to the front yard last year and Dan had the excellent idea of making it a raised bed filled with decent soil that we could put several containers in and then surround them with ground-cover.  We used Speedwell (magically associated with the moon and healing) for the ground-cover, which has beautiful little purple flowers and has almost filled in the area completely which was exactly what we wanted.  We were so happy with the Speedwell that when we added another garden this year, we decided that the raised bed containers and ground-cover concept was a great idea to repeat.  We wanted a different ground cover this time just to shake things up a bit and so I began my quest. 

I researched low ground-cover that could handle a little clay and could survive the summer heat and found several possibilities.

My Grace Ward seems to be very happy in it's new spot!

Then one day I was up at Green's Country Store near my home looking through their plants and I discovered these beautiful little cobalt blue flowers and I was hooked.  I had never heard of this lovely perennial called Grace Ward but it seemed obvious what at least two of the magical properties might be.  Since the garden bed in near the front of my home, a plant to ward the area seemed like the perfect fit and it felt to me like a blessing plant as well, so I figured that must be where the name comes from.  The plant has a very cheerful vibe, just seeing it makes you want to smile, it's an absolute delight. 

I did some research on this lovely little plant and made some interesting discoveries that I wanted to share with you.  Here is a plant to add to your ever growing list of magical plants.

Grace Ward (Grace Ward Lithadora) is classified in the Borage family, Boraginaceae.  It was named by German botanist, August Grisebach, 1814-1879, who is most noted as author of Flora of the British West Indian Islands.  It comes from Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. It has a spreading dark green mat and produces true blue flowers from March to July. Excellent as an edger or in the rock garden. Needs full sun and not to much water preferring Mostly Sand to Clay Loam. Cut it back after flowering to freshen the foliage.
Planetary energy: Jupiter
Element: Air
Magical Use: Warding and protection from negativity, blessings, courage in battle, anti-stress, lifts spirits, psychic shield, boost psychic powers

My Grace Ward growing next to Buddah

If you happen to find this sweet spirited little perennial at your local garden center, I highly recommend that you pick some up if you have a sunny spot that need some ground-cover and magic!