Summer is the season when many gardens reach their peak. Flowers bloom, fruits and veggies ripen, herbs are ready to harvest, and avid horticulturalists are in their glory. Even before the first recorded reference to the Garden of Eden, plants, flowers and fertile earth have been employed in both the literal sense for the cultivation of aphrodisiacs, and in the figurative sense, timeless symbols that signify the pursuit of love. Since romance and gardening have been so intimately intertwined for much of recorded history, it’s not surprising that many a green-thumbed enthusiast has learned to combine their passion for gardening with gardening for passion.
Many of the planting traditions believed to both catalyze and nurture human affection that hark back to ancient cultures including Greece, Egypt, and China are still in common use today. If you’re hoping to inspire Cupid to take up residence in your own Garden of Earthly delights, here’s some tried-and-true flora to get you started.
Herbs & Foliage
Basil – Apart from being a go-to ingredient for summer salads and pesto, this herb has a reputation for its efficacy in love potions.
Bay – Fresh bay leaves (bay laurel) were woven into crowns worn by winning athletes at the original Olympic Games. To attract true love, infuse them in bathwater or wear them in an amulet.
Coriander – Coriander (a.k.a. cilantro) is a staple in both Asian and Latin American cuisine. In addition to its unique piquant flavor, this herb also traditionally used in love potions, and coriander seeds, which can be dried and ground, are sometimes sprinkled on bed linens to strengthen existing relationships.
Damiana – This small flowering shrub that’s native to the American Southwest, Mexico, parts of Central and South America, and the Caribbean, has been employed for centuries as an aphrodisiac. (1)
Dill – Apart from its most recognizable use as an ingredient in dill pickles, this favorite summertime herb is used in love spells aimed at inciting sexual yearning.
Fennel – This licorice-flavored and scented plant has a variety of romantic applications. Fennel seeds, leaves and roots are often employed in the alchemy of awakening amour.
Lavender – Renowned for its delicate purple blossoms and charming scent, this aromatic herb is used in spells to restore marital harmony and keep lovers faithful.
Lovage – Lovage, historically cultivated for its greens, roots and seeds, is a common ingredient in potions meant to inspire erotic passions. (2)
Rosemary – “Rosemary,” quoth Shakespeare, “is for remembrance.” It’s also used in a variety of ways to bind lovers together in affectionate harmony.
Flowers
Columbine – Useful for love meditations and spells, it’s said to be especially effective for summoning back a love that’s been lost.
Daisy – These charming flowers are useful in many forms of love conjuring, but are most often employed in love readings and prophecies.
Dandelion – Great as greens in a summer salad, dandelions are reputed to aid in the fulfillment of secret desires.
Geranium – For those wishing to procreate, these red flowers are used to concoct magic aimed at upping fertility.
Heather – Get your “Brigadoon” on and up your attractiveness quotient with this flowering shrub. Native to Scotland and other British locales, heather’s reputation for magic properties goes back for centuries.
Jasmine – Jasmine petals are part of a love spell to invoke passion, while jasmine oil can be used in a potion meant for mending broken hearts.
Peony – Flowers form an integral facet in the Chinese practice of Feng Shui, especially as it applies to affairs of the heart. To restore amity to an ailing relationship, try placing a pair of pink peonies in your bedroom.
Rose – By any other name, a rose is still one of the most potent plants in the alchemy of love. From petal to thorn, almost every part of this plant can be used in a variety of spells and love potions, while the buds themselves can be read in a manner similar to teal leaves to prophesy matters of the heart.
Sweet Pea – Sweet peas are a magnet for Cupid. Bathing in water infused with sweet pea blossoms is said to increase popularity and enhance your chances of finding love.
Verbena – Verbena, one of the most revered of the traditional “love plants,” is employed in love spells, potions, and aphrodisiacs.
Violet – Used as an aphrodisiac and an ingredient in magic spells, violet blossoms are traditionally placed inside pillows or worn in amulets to attract and keep love.
Vegetables and Fruit
Apples – Apples may well be the ultimate erotic fruit. (Thanks, Adam and Eve). Consuming an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but it’s said to call lovers to your door. Not a bad trade-off. It may also help tip the scales that take you from the “just friends” zone to a more loving relationship.
Beets – As part of a magic spell, this root “grounds a relationship,” and binds couples together; they are also thought to increase virility.
Blueberry – This fruit is traditionally used in spells to remove rivals.
Celery – Can celery increase the libido? Some people swear by it.
Cherries – Cherries are good for your health. Healthy is sexy. Sexy is attractive. Magic? Maybe not, but science is good for attracting love, too.
Cucumber – One of the garden’s most recognizable phallic symbols, these veggies are believed to increase sexual stamina and enhance the charms of your epidermis.
Peas – Pay homage to your inner Goddess, who is purported to love peas, and you may be rewarded with love new or renewed.
Raspberry – Acolytes of love alchemy recommend these red fruits to keep you ready, willing, and able to perform on a physical level, and also to increase existing emotional attachments.
Strawberry – Strawberry leaves are considered good luck charms, while the fruit can be used as an aphrodisiac, for performance enhancement, and as an ingredient in love potions.
Sweet Potato – Looking for someone grounded? Sweet potatoes are said to attract lovers who are gentle, kind, and mature.
Tomato – Tomatoes, also known as “love apples” are thought to both attract new lovers and enhance romance that’s already in blossom.
As you can see, there are a myriad of herbs, flowers, fruits, and veggies that you can plant in your summer garden to nurture a budding romance, or keep a perennial favorite in full bloom. A word of caution, however! Do not ingest any plant without first knowing whether or not it’s safe to eat, and never introduce any substance into someone else’s food without their knowledge. Love spells and potions are well and good, but potentially putting someone’s health at stake is not a risk worth taking. Attract their love with any other of our helpful suggestions and your manifold charms.
Do you want to harvest the fruits of a summer romance? Let a KEEN advisor show you the most fertile spot to plant your garden.
1. http://www.healthline.com/health/damiana-ancient-aphrodisiac#2
2. http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/lovage42.html
