Werewolf Garden? Why not?

This post celebrates the release of a new book “Claire de Lune” by Christine Johnson!  It’s a lively tale of a sixteen-year-old girl who discovers that she’s a werewolf right in the middle of discovering love.  Read the book. Then build a werewolf garden with Claire in mind.

Gardening is a process of nurturing plants and garden guests that you want, while excluding the weeds and the pests that you don’t want.

Gardeners welcome a wide variety of beneficial garden guests.  We love wasps, earthworms, praying mantis….   While we are happy to keep company with all sorts of creatures, there are garden jobs – with violent undertones – that rub us the wrong way.

To recruit help with tasks that challenge a gentle gardener, create a werewolf garden.  Stylish and useful, a werewolf garden welcomes a potent garden helper through the use of unusual color combos and interesting plants.  Werewolves offer generous assistance with indelicate garden chores.

Drowning Japanese beetles in soapy water is a bit brutal.  Ripping out established shrubs is extraordinarily violent work.  This sort of assertive gardening is the perfect pastime for a werewolf.  Sharp claws make quick work of pruning and the strength and vigor of a werewolf is perfect for tasks like ridding your yard of invasive plants.  Young female werewolves are talented at restraining and tying-up spent daffodil foliage.

All this and they are out of your way during the day.

As with any critter you want to attract to your garden, invite werewolves in by providing them shelter, food and fun.

A virtual welcome sign for any werewolf is Wolfsbane.  In the Aconite family, and similar to Monkshood, a potion made from Wolfsbane helps the werewolf maintain rationality in the wolf state.  It is an attractive plant with deep green foliage and blue flowers.

A garden designed with deep green and black plants, creates a place for werewolves relax and rest during the day. At night, the garden can be a haven if the werewolf feels the need to hide.  In the morning, they happily get their bearings surrounded by deep, dark tones and protected from bright sun.  This kind of sanctuary is important after a long night of gardening.

Think of creating a secret, gothic garden for your werewolf.   If you have a secure privacy fence or structure, plant a bold border in front of it.  Make sure to leave space for your werewolf to safely lounge between the tall back of the border plants and the structure.

Sambucus ‘Black Lace’ would be a perfect back of border shrub.  Delicate Sambucus leaves flutter in the morning breeze as your werewolf guest reclines. Use a limbed-up Crimson King Maple tree as a ceiling for your werewolf garden room.  Plant random groupings of ‘Platt’s Black ‘ New Zealand flax through the mid-border. For a shy werewolf, Elephant Ear, ‘Black Magic’ offers more privacy.  For contrast, plant green flowering Euphorbia ‘Robbiae’ or a green or black flowering hellebore.   Werewolves prefer green to other colors.

Exuberant grower and poisonous plant, Castor bean, added into the mix, gives your werewolf and added layer of protection from a plant with attitude.

There are several dark daylilies with werewolf appropriate names like ‘Night Wings’ but consider that the liveliest time for your werewolf is at night.  And while orchids with names like ‘ Vampires dracula’ or ‘Devil’s dracula’ may sound perfect for your werewolf garden, consider how much more your werewolf would enjoy a night blooming flower such as a Moon Flower, Ipomoea alba.   Night blooming plants attract night flying moths for pollination.

Many night blooming plants begin to flower in the late afternoon and evenings.  Other good night bloomers are Angel’s Trumpet or Four O’clocks.

As far as food for your werewolf, they are carnivorous and will rebuff benefactor attempts to get them to eat their vegetables.  Personally, if my garden guest has cleared out all of the Multiflora rose and English ivy from my yard, I would gladly provide a rare roast beef sandwich daily.   I would even grow Black Prince or Black Krim tomatoes to try to sneak onto their sandwiches.  One has to watch out for the health of garden helpers.

Added muscle and added interest come hand and hand in a werewolf garden.  Have fun attracting your own energetic and wicked garden helper!

To win a free, autographed copy of Claire de Lune, visit www.thegardenofwords.com !

Moon Flower blooms at night and are much appreciated by werewolves.