I can’t pull Gooseberry without giggling, so it’s probably a good thing I don’t see it very often.  Gooseberries are shrub-type plants, rather than full trees. They're lively and beautiful in the landscape, great for wildlife, and very yummy in pies. They do fine with some benign neglect, but if you want to harvest any of its fruit in volumes useful for human consumption, you’ll need to take care of it: mulching to prevent weeds, pruning old canes to encourage new growth, and

Like Beth mentioned, Spindle is an ogham with nuance. In the same context as Broom, Spindle relates to home life and chores, but more specifically in the sense that our efforts are part of a larger process.  The European spindle tree is unfortunately invasive in my area, so I can’t plant it, but before we understood how aggressively it spread, I definitely liked the shape of it as a small tree and its vibrant color in autumn (it’s commonly called “burning bush” around here). 

White Poplar grows well enough in many circumstances to be a problem, gaining up to 130 feet in height quickly. It grows eagerly on woodland edges, where it spreads by sucker and forms colonies of tall trees that sway in the breeze.  As with Aspens, its silver-green foliage tremble in the slightest breeze. White Poplar flowers and catkins are small and unremarkable but its height and bark have a lot of ornamental interest. First introduced to the US in the 1800s, it quickly “

Sometimes called Quaking Aspen, the leaves of this tree tremble at the slightest breeze.  Quaking aspen spreads through its root system, naturally growing into large stands over time, with one tree being a clone of the next. Pando is the name of a quaking aspen clone made of up ~47,000 stems that at first glance seem to be individual trees, but NO. They are connected to a common root system that spans 106 acres in Utah's Fishlake National Forest. This makes Pando the world's

Heather is one of my favorite omens, and a plant I wish I could grow. It's a low-growing, evergreen shrub with purply-pink flowers. I used it in my wedding bouquet. (It's also the name of a longtime friend. Hello, Heather.) Heather is a plant whose seeds germinate best after a wildfire. A lot of seeds need tempering in some form — whether it's cold, scarification, or (in this case), heat — so it's not all that unusual, but the environments where Heather grows are cooler and w

Hello, all – When I’m most hoping for divination to give me a dramatic choice or change in perspective, that’s when it gives me the most ordinary guidance. (( sigh )) This month, the magic is in the ordinary. Just one foot in front of the other, right?   Overall Theme: Pine , for perspective. This one is fresh in my mind from a recent #oghamtuesday, as a reminder to get some emotional distance and check whether I’m on the right path. Pine keeps me anchored in the map. I’m che

For the purposes of intersecting ogham with botany, Pine is significant primarily due to its height. There are a bunch of Pine varieties — not all of them very tall — but we aren't talking about them today.  Mature pines can reach 120 feet or taller. These are the trees that stretch above the canopy, offering a view of the surrounding landscape. I've even seen cell phone/aerial towers disguised as pine trees because they need to be that elevated to pass a signal along, which

The ogham for this week is blessedly literal: Broom, which is both a shrub and the tool made from it. An omen of simplicity and care in...

Ivy is a plant with RANGE. And I’m not just talking about the way it climbs all over everything. Clematis? Love it. Wish I were better at...

The world has a lot of vining plants, not all of them delightful. Lucky for us, Vine/Muin is an ogham of delight – ecstasy, even. Think...

Ogham Tuesday: Mountain Why these modifiers? Last week, I talked a little about modifiers in general and why I use them in my own...

For today’s Ogham Tuesday, I’m taking you on a bit of a side quest. Remember how I talked about Nine Fires’ philosophy being encompassed...

“It’s only mystery and I like it.” With apologies to The Rolling Stones and thanks to that bumper sticker I saw eons ago, Willow has...

Rowan (or mountain ash) trees are a big family, though unrelated to standard ash trees at all. Varieties thrive in habitats around the...

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” It makes sense that Apple signifies health and healing across cultures, though they are...