Not only good for decoration, the scents and colours of some of your favourite blooms have long been used as talismans to repel evil or make magic. Many are symbolic of death and commonly feature in cultural mourning rituals, while others have been used since ancient times to try and commune with the afterlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, from roses to chrysanthemums, lilies to lavender, let\u2019s take a stroll through a witch\u2019s garden to find some spooky stories to tell at the next full moon\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chrysanthemum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Often found in\u00a0autumn bouquets<\/a>, including ours, chrysanthemums are also main characters in many global traditions. In their native Asia, they\u2019re symbols of resilience and longevity, and in Europe, the beautiful white variety are go-to funeral flowers. Chinese legend has it that if you drink chrysanthemum wine on a moonless Halloween night, your eyes will be opened to the spirit world, and you\u2019ll be able to see ghosts. Of course, this might just be the booze talking, but any excuse, right? Meanwhile, over in Greece, \u2018mums adorn graves to ward off evil spirits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Never, ever, remove one from a cemetery \u2013 if you do, you\u2019ll be doomed to eternal bad luck, headaches and nightmares! To protect your home from any ill-meaning ghosts this Halloween, or as a gesture of remembrance, try weaving chrysanthemums into a seasonal wreath to hang on your front door. Our favourite colour is the zingy lime which symbolises healing and hope.\u00a0 Beloved by gothic brides, the natural \u2018black\u2019 rose is actually a deep, purplish red. It symbolises death in the British language of flowers, popular in Victorian times, meaning it is often associated with grief and mourning. However, in Eastern cultures, this striking flower is linked to spiritual protection and believed to absorb negative energy. Can\u2019t stand your constantly complaining colleague? Try decorating your desk with some of these to keep their bad vibes at bay! Better still, the ancient Greeks and Romans reckoned that just one black rose<\/a> could turn misfortune into good luck. If used in black magic, though, this power could just as easily be reversed, so be wary of anyone who might hold a grudge against you! Oh and if you receive a single black rose, run \u2013 in the early 20th century, this was the Sicilian mafia\u2019s omen for impending murder. This woolly medicinal herb with its tall spike of yellow flowers has been associated with witchery for centuries, giving it the alternative name \u2018hag\u2019s taper\u2019. Traditionally, mullein stalks are dipped in fat and burnt as torches to disperse negative energy, in a practice known as \u2018smudging\u2019. If you\u2019re familiar with Homer\u2019s Greek epic The Odyssey<\/em>, you might recall how the gods send hero Odysseus off on his famous journey with a stick of mullein to protect him against Circe, the sorceress. Conveniently, mullein naturally dries out ready for making into candles round about now, so you can get yours ready for Halloween! It also has anti-inflammatory properties when infused in tea, making it handy for flu season. Symbolising purity, lilies have the power to break love spells and help people escape bad relationships. So, if you\u2019ve been umming and ahhing over whether to initiate a split, filling your home with lilies this Halloween might just put you on the path to your soulmate. This sculptural flower is also held up in folklore as a protector of emotional boundaries, so we recommend always having some in your home, especially when your nosy neighbour comes a-calling! Just keep your fingers crossed that you don\u2019t stumble upon a spider lily with its long, creepy stamens \u2013 folklore says these appear as deadly omens before a disaster. Eek! Thankfully, we\u2019ve stuck to stunning orange calla lilies and red LA lilies in our autumn bouquets. Not just for sprinkling over your dinner, humble parsley harbours a dark secret \u2013 in ancient times, \u2018the Devil\u2019s herb\u2019 was symbolic of death! Folklore tells that the reason its seeds take so long to grow is because they have to go to the Devil and back nine times first. So that\u2019s what they\u2019re doing while you\u2019re sleeping! Legend also has it that if you sow parsley, someone in your family will die before the end of the year. One way to get around this is for women to plant the seeds, but only when the parish church bells are ringing. Maybe stick to basil? One of the most popular Halloween flowers with their fiery, pumpkin-orange petals, marigolds feature heavily in Mexico\u2019s Day of the Dead celebrations, where they are known as the \u2018flower of the dead\u2019. Revered as bridges to the afterlife, it\u2019s believed that their strong scent and bold colour can guide spirits back to earth during festivals. In Medieval Europe, meanwhile, it was tradition to lay a marigold under your pillow in a bid to induce prophetic dreams. This ritual is still practised by some on Halloween, so if you\u2019re in the midst of uncertainty and looking for a sign, give it a go on 31 October! Like rosemary, lavender is hung as a sprig above doorways to keep homes safe from any nefarious roaming entities. Celebrated for thousands of years across cultures for its cleansing, soothing properties (its name comes from the Latin \u2018lavare\u2019 meaning \u2018to wash\u2019), the early pagans believed this heavenly scented flower to possess divine power. Lavender was used by witches to make potions and cast spells, while normal folk would sew sachets of it into their clothing and pillows, or burn it as incense for protection. It\u2019s a staple in our range for good reason! Superstition dictates that while growing beautiful foxgloves in your garden will keep any evil away, and dreaming of them promises future happiness, displaying them in your home will bring bad luck. This is because fairies frolic in their trumpet flowers \u2013 speckles on the petals indicate their footprints \u2013 and they don\u2019t take kindly to having their playgrounds removed! Spot a foxglove suddenly bend over and it\u2019s a sign that something supernatural is near by, while folklore blog Legendary Dartmoor<\/a> claims that witches rub a balm made from foxgloves onto themselves and their broomsticks in order to fly \u2013 don\u2019t be tempted to try this, Halloween or not, as this plant is poisonous! Like the \u2018black\u2019 rose above, unless dyed, the \u2018black\u2019 dahlia<\/a> is in fact a dark burgundy that can look black in certain lights. Rich in symbolism, it is often linked to mystery, transformation, strength and betrayal. Today, it has strong connotations with the tragic 1947 murder of a young woman, Elizabeth Short, in Los Angeles, which remains unsolved. She was nicknamed \u2018The Black Dahlia\u2019 by the media on account of her raven hair and rumoured love for gothic clothing, and is now forever associated with the striking flower. Found in the swamps of Florida, these ethereal flowers are seen as the spirits of lost explorers in Native American folklore. Legend has it that they spring up in abundance on Halloween, with ghost hunters claiming that the more ghost orchids populating an area, the more likely you are to find evidence of paranormal activity. So, if you\u2019re serious about scouting out some supernatural beings this October, you\u2019d better book yourself a flight across the pond. Or, you could pick up one of our fabulous orchids for an alternative, more understated nod to the festivities. One option is decidedly kinder to your bank balance! No list of spooky flowers, or witch\u2019s garden for that matter, would be complete without deadly nightshade and its poisonous black berries. Long synonymous with evil, Renaissance-era folklore tells of this infamous plant, also known as belladonna, being used by witches to bring on hallucinations that would help them fly to secret midnight meetings known as sabbaths. Its power is believed to reach its peak on Halloween, offering anyone who dares to consume it a glimpse behind the curtain at the supernatural world \u2013 or, more likely, death. Seriously, though, it\u2019s extremely toxic, so don\u2019t do anything silly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s nearly Halloween, the magical night of 31 October when the invisible veil between our world and the supernatural is believed to be at its thinnest, allowing spirits to walk … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":5994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/autumn-chrysanthemums.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBlack Rose
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/black-rose-bouquet.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMullein<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nLily<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/autumn-garden.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nParsley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nMarigold<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/marigolds-birth-flower.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLavender<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/lavender-romantic.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFoxglove<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/foxgloves.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBlack Dahlia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nGhost Orchid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ghost-orchids.jpg\")
Deadly Nightshade
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Hosting a Halloween party or scary movie night? Don\u2019t forget to stock up on\u00a0<\/strong>autumn flowers<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to create the perfect ambience, starting at a far-from-spooky \u00a326.99.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.blossominggifts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/autumn-discount.jpg\")
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