Author Archives: Angelique

The Watchers in the Woods

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The Watchers in the Woods
 -By Debbi Decker

It was not always like this. She has traveled through many woods in many countries. They always held a sense of magic for her, a sacred place to wander and to worship. Not these woods. The forests behind her new home hides something she cannot identify.
It isn’t that the forest is a fear-filled place. Rather it is the feelings it gives her as she wanders amongst the trees.

Tall trees they are too, with a high canopy that lets in just enough light to allow her to see her surroundings. The light never brings detail to anything to give her a real sense of safety. Covered in leaves and moss, the forest floor offers no bracken or shrubbery to hide within. So, why is there this sense of being watched, being weighed, and always being found wanting?

The paths through the woods are barely there, trodden only by beasts of habit. She is never sure what beasts these are. There are watchers in the woods. The eyes she feels on her sometimes feel like the eyes of something “other”, something elemental and only found deep within the forest. Babbling brooks and moss filled nooks take on a different meaning here. It is a dare to drink from the streams, knowing the stories told of enchantments placed upon the flowing waters and the fates that befell those who took those dares and drank.

Blame it on all those fairy tales she thinks. Red Riding Hood’s wolf and that gingerbread cottage in the depths of the woods. Funny how both of those tales speak of cannibalism. Death by a supposedly trusted or respected person. Both stories feature women who are not as they seem. Makes one wonder if the Gods of the woods require such sacrifices. Surely not, she thinks, but one never really knows when it comes to the Gods and their needs.

How is it that she did not sense this when she first viewed the house and the land? Had she known, she would have continued her search for a new home. She must have been dazzled by whatever lives in the shadows there. It must want something from her.

She feels compelled at times to pass through the forest as though some force or lost soul calls to her, luring her into the deepest, shadiest, darkest parts. The forest uncovers her darker side and throws it mirror-like back in her face, forcing her to embrace those secret bits of her soul. The bits that recognize the demons hidden within those fairy tales that tell of old women wearing wolf’s clothing and homes with deep ovens. Whose big eyes see everything you do and whose appetites can devour you right down to the tiniest crumb of your very essence. These woods feed on those bits.

No, this particular forest is not her friend, no matter how Pagan her soul and no matter that the Gods she worships revere this place. This forest is not for her and she passes through it only when called and only as a last resort. She wants to keep her soul. This is not her place. The Gods will understand after all. She hopes. Because no none ever really knows when it comes to the Gods and their needs.

Photographs “Watching”, “Green Man”, “Forest Moon and “Portal” provided by Crazed Poppet Creations and are copyrighted images. To contact Debbi Decker for purchase of these prints visit her website.

Debbi Decker is proprietor of Crazed Poppet Creations Art & Assemblage Emporium. Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next month for the telling of hauntings and ghostly tales by Debbi Decker.

Featured Artist Interview July 2015: A. Ryer Studio

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To find where Angela Ryer sells her wares visit her artist page on HAB. 

Interview with Angela Ryer of A.Ryer Studio:

At what age did you discover your love of Halloween?
Around 7 or 8. My parents made a big to do about it when they bought New Halloween decorations for the house we moved into, I was fascinated by them. They (my parents) hung a sheet in the foyer, put up a black light, decorations and when I came home from my own trick or treating, *this* was MY world….and I loved it; my introduction into Home Haunting.

What is your fondest Halloween memory?

Around 13 or 14 years old, at a new house, my dad hung up sheets outside on the long front porch. I had a ton of masks hanging on them. My neighborhood friend, Bo, a REALLY big kid for his age stood up against the house in a mask and gloves. I was in my mom’s old witch costume, TRYING to be creepy, saying my shtick. One of our schoolmates went “Aww, this is LAME!!” while some of the other kids were standing there eyeing my friend against the wall suspiciously. Just as the one kid made the lame comment, Bo SPRANG into life screaming and got a hold of that kid by the throat!! Just on the other side of the sheet, my brother and his wife stood there as butts fell from under the sheets and kids scattered screaming their heads off like the devil was after them with Bo in hot pursuit!! LOL Yeah!!! How do you like me NOW????

How do you celebrate Halloween?

I do a small display (built a free standing ghost woman with no head) carve lots of pumpkins play Midnight Syndicate and give out candy.

I also tend to bake a lot of pumpkin stuff…

When did you start creating in your medium and what training have you had?

The ornaments started in 2004. I had ABSOLUTELY NO TRAINING in sculpting or mold making. I was in a professional Halloween/haunt group and asked for help in getting started. Some good people pointed me in the right direction and I literally started from scratch. I taught myself.

My cemetery artwork came a little later. The only training I had in painting was high school level. I stopped for a number of years. Back in 2002, after discovering Midnight Syndicate, I became inspired and took myself much more seriously. I started painting from my own cemetery photographs and discovered, I REALLY liked painting nature and capturing my images on canvas. The rest is history.

What was the inspiration to create what you create and when did you know you wanted to create Halloween?

You could say, my ornaments are my *marching orders*.
They came to me in a flash of divine inspiration of what I knew I was supposed to do, for whatever reason, as an artist. I wasn’t looking for anything. It just hit me and I found myself creating something beyond what I ever dreamed. When did I know I wanted to create something Halloween??? After creating my first yard haunt. Sitting there in 40°weather staring at what I created; it literally looked like a mini movie set. I knew in my heart I wanted to create something unique to me in the realm of Halloween.

Black Cat Art Event

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Halloween Artist Bazaar Black Cat Art Event and Benefit 2015!

Participating members of Halloween Artist Bazaar have created special edition artworks and are donating proceeds to sponsor black cats through Austin Pets Alive! Take the thumbnail links to purchase any of the items below and a donation will be made to help sponsor an elder black cat within the Austin Pets Alive! foster system.

These funds will go towards spay/neutering, medical and feeding cost for black felines. Black cats are the hardest to place in homes and usually the first to be euthenized in animal shelters. Austin Pets Alive does all they can to keep these magnificent kitties alive and healthy so that they can be someones forever companion. Please help in our efforts to raise awareness of how wonderful black cats are and help keep them safe! You not only will be buying a unique piece of one of a kind art to cherish, you will be doing real and permeant good for a special black cat!
Read about the cultural history and myths surrounding “The Black Cat” here.

Visit Austin Pets Alive! and Visit America Pets Alive! to find out how you can help black cats and make help make your city or town a no kill community!
Austin Pets Alive!

Below you will find items for sell from members of Halloween Artist Bazaar with proceeds going to help black cats!

Featured Artist Interview June 2015 with Twilight Faerie

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To find where Twilight Faerie sells her wares visit her artist page on HAB. 

Interview with Michelle Angelique Duncan of Twilight Faerie:

What inspired you to start the Halloween Artist Bazaar group?

There are those who are Halloween people. At some point they fell in love with that day that falls on October 31st. For them Halloween isn’t just a holiday that comes once a year and then it is done. For Halloween people it is part of who they are. They surround themselves with, and some have a passion to create, Halloween. Halloween Artist Bazaar was started to preserve the spirit of Halloween for those people who create and those who collect. What we do is a very special niche in the art world.

You are guiding this group into being much more than just an Etsy team, where do you see HAB headed?

Halloween Artist Bazaar was never intended to be Etsy-centric. When the group was formed it just happened that a lot of contemporary Halloween artist were selling on Etsy. Forming an Etsy team for the group made sense as a valuable tool. Halloween Artist Bazaar was always intended to be a cross-platform group with members who sell from all kinds of online venues and our own selling catalog. I hope that HAB will be able to establish itself as an online shopping catalog where Halloween collectors will find one of a kind handmade Halloween works that embody quality craftsmanship, unique character and sincerity.

What is your fondest Halloween memory?

I can not say there is only one fond Halloween memory, more of an amalgamation of Halloweens from childhood. Growing up in the 1970’s Halloween was a big deal in my neighborhood. Nearly the whole neighborhood participated. All the houses would be decorated with a least a lit Jack o Lantern or a sheet ghost. Kids and grown ups all dressed in elaborate costumes, most of them home made. At dusk the streets would fill up with the excitement of trick or treaters, screams and music could be heard from makeshift yard and garage haunted houses. It was as though the entire neighborhood magically transformed into something different and we were all celebrating on Halloween.

How do you celebrate Halloween?

I used to throw elaborate Victorian style costume parties complete with silly party games, costume contests and an Autumnal feast. My situation is different now, so gone are those days.

I still dress in costume, usually as a cat. The yard gets decorated and house get decorated. We carve pumpkins and I bake Autumn treats. A few friends will come by for the evening. We burn a fire in the fire pit, grill sausage wraps on the smoker and give out bottles of water to neighbors who stop by. There is a huge bucket I fill with candy and hand out to kids. My rule is to get the candy the kids have to yell TRICK OR TREAT as loud as they can, and they must have on a costume of some sort. We host a food drive on Halloween night where folks can drop off donations in big decorated boxes that I set out in the yard. The neighborhood I am in has a lot of kids and some years we have a huge turn out. Most of the houses are decorated and folks hand out candy.

When did you start creating in your medium and what training have you had?

My family was filled with artistic people, so I was always around art and art supplies. There isn’t a time I remember in which I wasn’t drawing, cutting paper or gluing glitter on to things. I received a lot of instruction from my family when I was very young. I took art classes through out junior high into college. My floral work comes from 15 years in the floral industry; the decoupage comes from a love of cutting and gluing. The joke I make is that the floral work supports my glittery Halloween habit. Even when I was very young I painted; however, it wasn’t until 2014 that I finally got brave enough to try and sell the paintings. I created Twilight Faerie and started selling the Halloween and floral pieces in 2003.

What was the inspiration to create what you create and when did you know you wanted to create Halloween?

The inclination to create Halloween came back when I was nine years old. Deciding the household did not have nearly enough decorations (and my parents didn’t see the necessity of buying more), I decided to create my own to hang about.

There were tissue paper ghost and construction paper bats that dangled from yarn and paper Jack o lanterns with cut out tissue eyes that hung in the windows. I had started constructing a scarecrow from scratch. He was drawn in pencil and colored with watercolor markers. He stood about 4 feet tall and his head arms and legs where cut out and attached to brads so that his joints would move. Making these decorations for the house became a huge project that lasted for three weeks building up to Halloween night.

The scarecrow was an undertaking. It took me a very long time to get him just right and time was running out. I worked feverishly as soon as I got home from school that Halloween to get him finished to hang on the door before the trick or treating started. Somehow I felt he had to fulfill his Halloween destiny and be displayed before dusk. It was that Halloween, when it got dark and I was hanging the scarecrow on the door that I knew some day I wanted to do something to contribute to the world of Halloween.

All my life I have loved Halloween and the imagery of folklore and fairy tales. I was inspired to create ornaments and decoupage pieces as a way to preserve the imagery that is so dear to me. I didn’t want those magical images to be lost to the world. It was as if the images from the past had to be put out in the world for another foray. Back when I started there were only a handful of Halloween artist and only a scarce few who where creating pieces from vintage images. The paintings I paint echo that love of Halloween and fairy tales; there is always a need to get the images that frolic around in my head to paper and out to the world. I suppose I am hoping that Halloween and whimsical imagery might mean as much to others as it does me, and might give those images and creations life that is passed down through generations to come.

Halloween In June 2015

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Longing for crisp Autumn evenings, warm cider and candy corns? Do Jack o lanterns and witches dance through your dreams? Can’t wait to put on your costume and celebrate Halloween? We have the remedy you need!

Spooky Cute Team and Halloween Artist Bazaar bring you Halloween In June 2015!

Search HAB Halloween on Etsy and visit the HAB catalog,
search Spooky Cute Team on Etsy to find Halloween in June!

Below you will find items for sell from members of Halloween Artist Bazaar and HAB members who also belong to Spooky Cute Team.

DANSE CALINDA!

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DANSE CALINDA! -By Debbi Decker

It was June 23, 1860, St. John’s Eve, and midsummer was upon them. They could hear the drums in the distance. A secret conversation, a statement and response, the meaning of which was known only to the anointed ones. People came to the Bayou St. John, whether by foot or by train to the end of the line. It was risky to attend, though people from all walks of life would at least attempt to come. Many who came to the dance would attend in anonymity, hoping to be ridden by the spirits. Some would be baptized in the water, all would share in the sanctity of the event. The smoke of the bonfires would obscure and maintain the secrecy. If the fog rolled in off the bayou, all the better. The dark of the night, the songs, the offerings, and the dancing were all for the benefit of the Loas. If the participants were lucky, their Queen, Marie Laveau, would attend and dance amongst them, perform the rituals, and preside over the feasts.

St. John’s Eve is a Christian celebration that roughly correlates with the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Celebrated on evening of June 23, it precedes the Saint’s day, which celebrates the birth of John the Baptist on June 24, a Catholic Holy Day. The roots of this celebration date back to the early pagan summer solstice traditions. Bonfires were lit to drive away the witches that pass by during the night, and sometimes effigies were burned. Young men and women would jump the fires holding hands. Music and feasting and divination were part of the festivities. Ashes from the fires would be placed in the corners of the fields where the crops were growing to ensure further growth and plenty. Magical herbs such as St. John’s Wort were gathered, though I have yet to discover what the name of that particular herb would have been in those times (since John the Baptist is a Catholic saint). The celebration of St. John’s Eve continues today. One has only to Google the holiday to see the various ways many countries did, and still do, observe the holiday.

The brief description in the first paragraph concerns the St. John’s Eve celebration the way it would have been observed by the slaves and free people of color who held Voodoo beliefs and lived in New Orleans and surrounding areas during the 1800s. The practice of the Voodoo religion was outlawed. Voodoo, an Afro-centric religion, has always been a somewhat malleable religion. The practices were as varied as the tribes whose members were uprooted and brought to New Orleans from the different regions of Africa, and later on, from Haiti. Because the religion itself was outlawed, believers used the Catholic saints, rituals, and observances as a “cover” for their religion. Many Saints had characteristics of the Loas (the deities and ancestors) they revered, so those Saints were borrowed to stand in for the Loas. Using Catholic practices, the believers could continue to honor their ancestors, beseech the Loas for their help, and continue to use their varied knowledge of the plants, animals, and elements in their day to day life.

Voodoo in New Orleans is still practiced, and St. John’s Eve continues to be observed. Over time, Voodoo has lost much of its secrecy and has survived the horrors attributed to it by Hollywood’s depictions in the movies so many of us have watched. Baptism and head washing are two of the important elements of the observance. This ritual cleansing is to bring about renewal, good fortune, and prosperity to the person participating.

If you are interested in observing St. John’s Eve in your home, you can take a simple ritual bath using Florida water, white candles and white flowers. Play music that soothes you. Light the candles and pour of few drops of the Florida water (I can actually buy this in my local drugstore!) in your bathwater. You can either float the flowers in the water or you can set them around the bath. You may either pour the bathwater over you 7 times or you may rest in the water for a short period of time. Ask the deities to aid you in whatever path you wish to follow. Once you are done, dress all in white and go to bed for rest and rejuvenation, and hopefully, to receive the messages the ancestors have for you.

Another interesting use of water on this day is to create a protection bottle to drive away bill collectors, enemies, and the law. Assuming my readers need this. Go to a river or other body of water on St. John’s Eve and fill a small clean glass bottle with the water. I have read some versions of this spell that instructs the reader to recite the “Lord’s Prayer” while gathering the water. Personally, I don’t think that particular prayer is necessary; you could recite a prayer concerning protections that has a personal meaning to you. Seal the bottle and place it near your front door with the top of the bottle pointing towards the door. Ask the deities to aid you in keeping the undesirables away from you and your home. This bottle should never be emptied, though if contents evaporate over time you can refill it.

The bottle spell is an old spell, handed down through many generations of Voodoo practitioners. Notice the references to bill collectors, enemies, and the law. Think about how the slaves and free people of color would have lived in New Orleans during the 1800s. They were surrounded by those who would cause them harm, and the officers of law could at any time could arrest them for anything at all. Those who were free lived hand to mouth in many cases and were always on the lookout for the bill collectors that could take their money and livelihoods from them. Lastly, the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, which is a Catholic prayer, is evidence of the use of the Catholic religion to pray to their Loas for protection and help.

So, what the heck does “danse Calinda” (the title of this article) mean? The original Calinda was a martial arts practice of stick fighting which came to the Caribbean islands in the 1700s out of the country of Kongo in Africa. Because stick fighting was not allowed by the planters of the islands, the movements were appropriated and adapted by the slaves into a type of dance. As many of the planters and their slaves came to New Orleans, the Calinda came with them, and the dance was a feature of many of the Voodoo gatherings.

St. John’s Eve is coming soon. Celebrate this day, dance like “nobody is watching”, and take that ritual bath. By the way, that “nobody is watching” part? That ain’t true. The deities and ancestors are always watching. Dance for them. Dance for you.

Photographs “Voodoo Window”, “Voodoo Shrine” and “Saint” provided by twistedpixelstudio and are copyrighted images. To contact Debbi Decker for purchase of these prints visit her website.

Debbi Decker is proprietor of Crazed Poppet Creations Art & Assemblage Emporium. Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next month for the telling of hauntings and ghostly tales by Debbi Decker.

The Boogieman and the Monster Under the Bed

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The Boogieman and the Monster Under the Bed-By Angelique Duncan

The sound in the dark, that scratching at your window, the shadow that moved in your peripheral vision; that feeling of knowing you are being watched while you lie in your bed. You call out asking who is there. There is no answer. Silence. You turn the light on and check once again. Under the bed, in the closet, peer into the corners and under the clothes in the laundry basket, nothing is there. You turn the light off and as soon as you lie back down, you feel it again. He is watching you. He is never seen and his voice is never heard, but you know he is there. He has a name; it is fear. He is the Boogieman.

Some form of Boogieman legend exists in nearly every culture and on every continent. Although his name may be different and his description varied he is intrinsically the same. He is feared. He is known as the Boogieman, boogey, Boogie Monster, Bogyman, Sack man, Booger Man, Boggart, Der Schwarze Mann, Bubak, the Bagman and a host of other names depending on where you are on the globe.

His description changes form region to region. Some believe he is a shape shifter and can take the form of any living thing, particularly animals and creatures. In most mythologies he is identified as male, although in some countries he is a she and takes a female form.

The Boogie Man has been described many different ways. He has been said to be small and hairy with deformed limbs, big red eyes with claws and sharp fang teeth. Others say he is tall, gaunt and abnormally thin. Some say he has hooved feet and devils horns. Others say he wears a dark hat and a cloak or a black hooded robe. Many legends tell of a scarecrow like figure, telling that he has a Jack o Lantern head, or no head at all. Descriptions vary from a lizard like creature to being animal like or even being seen as a demon. In each culture he takes on a different description, each more hideous and scary than the other, always somewhat humanoid yet a monster of some type and most often thought of as a shape shifter.

It is not clear where the Boogieman comes from. Some believe he originates from the warning tales of Goblins in the British Ise and stories of him migrated with the Scottish and Celts to Germany. However, some sort of established Boogieman mythology existed in every culture well before European migrations. Some believe he comes in with fog. Legends are told of a green fog associated with the Boogieman’s appearance. It is thought by many that he lives in shadows and dark dusty musky places. The Boogieman can move through houses unseen, living in basements, attics and cellars or between walls and floorboards. He can maneuver under beds, into closets and under laundry hampers undetected.

He thrives on darkness, only stalking at night and will retreat from light. He watches in the dark and waits until one is alone to terrorize. It has been told that that he will only attack those who are not asleep while other telling’s state that sleep is when he attacks. In most folklore he will only stalk one specific victim at a time and will wait until they are defenseless in bed.

Some believe he is a punisher much like Krampus, the devil like creature who disciplines naughty children during the Christmas season. In many cultures he is used as a threat by parents to children who misbehave. The concern of a visit from the Boogieman is used to curtail every offense from sucking ones thumb, not finishing ones dinner to not going to bed on time. The punishment being that the offending child will be taken away by the Boogieman at night.

Legends abound of the Boogieman hiding in shadows and snatching children and travelers who are out too late after dark. The most common folklore that appears in European, Asian and South American folklore is that he carries them away in a sack to be tortured and eaten. A legend in Czech and Polish regions claims that the Boogieman, under the name Bubak, drives a cart drawn by cats and looks for victims at night, piles them on the cart and takes them away to be skinned and fed to the cats.

Although many stories tell that the Boogieman appears as a consequence of ones actions as a disciplinarian or for being out too late, other myths tell that he picks his victims at random out of a sinister cruelty. That one never knows when or why the Boogieman will take a victim, he just does out of spite.

Theories have been told that the Boogieman is an evil spirit or an undead entity wandering the earth. Other theories say he is a demon unleashed from Hell. Stories exist that the Boogieman was a tortured and abused child who was unwanted and unloved. His parents killed him and he came back from the grave to torture and punish other children as a result. Another legend is that he preys on adults who are bad or abusive to their children as retaliation for his own parents’ misgivings. A modern explanation for the Boogieman is that he is an amalgamation of irrational fear. A trick of the subconscious mind settling at night while dealing with stress or worry that has manifested as a “stalking monster” that will not let one rest. One constant is that the Boogieman is always associated with fright. It is widely held he will take on the shape of his victims’ worst fears. It is rumored he feeds upon terror and needs his victims scared in order to feast.

It is not known if the Boogieman exists. He may be made up by adults to scare little kids into being good. The stories have passed down so many generations and been retold so many times that he has become “real”. Maybe, collectively we keep him alive. He may exist because we allow him to by perpetuating the myth. Given that so many of us at some point in our lives have been afraid of the monster under the bed or felt there was something hiding in the closet; perhaps he is real and is feeding upon our shared consternation.

For good measure, before you go to sleep at night, check under the bed and make sure the closet door is closed. Check under your laundry, keep the bedroom door cracked open and a keep a night-light on. If you hear that scratch at the window, bumping in the night and the shadows begin to move, it is probably your imagination or perhaps it is just your fears…

Sleep tight and don’t let the Boogieman get you.

Illustrations “The Boogieman” and “The Monster From the Closet” Copyright Michelle Angelique Duncan.

Angelique Duncan is proprietor of Twilight Faerie Nostalgic and Capricious Objects. Check out her artist page to find links to her shops and vintage inspired traditional holiday art. Visit again next month for more traditions and folklore.

Hazmat Suit Not Required

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Hazmat Suit Not Required -By Debbi Decker

It all started out innocently. While writing last month’s article about creating a moon garden, I ran across references to this or that plant being poisonous. I read fascinating articles referencing some very famous supposed poisoners. Lucretia Borgia, Agrippina (Nero’s mother), and the goddess, Circe, to name but three. The lovely scented Oleander, which grows almost like a weed in parts of the south, is a deadly plant and one featured in a legend told about the Magnolia Plantation in Louisiana. Ricin, which comes from the castor plant, is one of the most lethal poisons out there and is used to this day. We all love Mistletoe and Poinsettias at Christmas. Intrigued, I decided to do a little research about poisonous plants in our garden. And then I took a look around my own yard and plant choices.

Rhododendron. Check.
Hydrangea. Check.
Hellebores. Check.
Stargazer Lily. Check.

OMG! I’m going to die. I feel itchy, nauseous, dizzy…. Call the doctor! Order the coffin!

Well, that was my first reaction. But, seriously, we can take a step back and look at this realistically. There are numerous popular toxic plants throughout the world that adorn gardens everywhere and yet we see no news reports of masses of people dying after spending time in their gardens. Some people even cultivate these plants on purpose. Alnwick Garden in Northumberland, England comes to mind. There was the famous Medici garden in Padua Italy, and another garden lies behind Blarney Castle in Ireland. In some cases, these were planted specifically as a collection of poisonous plants. In other cases, the gardens gained reputations as being poison gardens simply by association with the legend and lore of the particular gardener or owner. And as a rule, those of us who plant gardens for medicinal uses are always going to have a plant or two that doubles for both healing and harm. Stories abound regarding the Witch or Sorceress who used a common plant found in her garden for healing or for nefarious means.

It was a huge surprise to me, however, just how many plants I own that are truly poisonous, not only to humans but to the various wildlife around me. For instance, I adore Hydrangeas and have one that was given to me many years ago and which has survived several re-plantings as I dug it up to take with me as I moved. The plants contains cyanide. In Japan, one species of the plant is used for tea! Rhododendron, a very popular landscaping bush, is highly toxic to horses and there have been historical reports of people becoming ill after eating honey from bees feeding on the pollen of the flowers. My neighborhood contains hundreds of these bushes. Yikes!!

Another favorite is Hellebore or Lenten Rose. I have masses of these around my home and love them because they bloom in late winter and bring a smile because when they do bloom I know spring is just around the corner. But prolonged skin contact with the seeds can cause rashes and the roots can cause vomiting and diarrhea. In the past, parents would use this plant to help treat worms in their children. Which, according to some of my research, may well have caused death in some of those children. One as to wonder if all of those deaths were innocent.

And what about that gorgeous Star Gazer Lily that I have nursed and coddled for years for its exquisite scent and bloom? Yep. Also referred to as “death lily”. Many species of lilies are toxic, such as Lily of the Valley, Rain Lily, and more.

So, what’s a gardener to do? There are even more plants such as Monkshood, Foxglove, and even the lovely Daisy, that can be harmful. Do we don hazmat suits, gloves, and full-face masks whenever we want to do a bit of weeding?

Common sense prevails. While the feel of dirt on bare hands can be therapeutic to some, gardening gloves were probably invented for a reason other than to protect milady’s delicate hands. If you have children or pets, reading up on and identifying the plants in your area is of the utmost importance. I recall our local park gardeners planting the most beautiful lilies I had ever seen and I was anxiously waiting for seeds to form. I had no idea what type of lily it was (though I later found out) but it smelled heavenly and I wanted one. It did not take long for all of those plants to disappear. It seems someone more knowledgeable reported to the authorities that this particular lily was highly poisonous to both humans and animals and therefore not suitable for a public park. What was that lily? Trumpet Lily. I still covet them although I am not in a suitable planting zone to grow them. Research is key. We should all know what is around us to protect ourselves, family and pets. Even those who own no pets and live alone should be aware, because little children are known to wander and the local wildlife can suffer from introduction of a plant not commonly found in their feeding locations.

Common sense also tells us that if we do have these kinds of plants in our gardens, they need to be located far away from any plants or herbs that we harvest for consumption. Imagine the embarrassment (never mind the frownie face the Judge will have) over the passing of Auntie Ludmilla after consumption of that meal you garnished with herbs from your very own garden. We know you did not intend this result. But still….

Debbi Decker is proprietor of Crazed Poppet Creations Art & Assemblage Emporium. Check out her artist page to find links to her shop and blog to read more of her writings. Visit again next month for the telling of hauntings and ghostly tales by Debbi Decker.