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Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Honeysuckle

65, clear and crisp after yesterday's storms. We got 2 inches of rain in about 30 minutes.

Honeysuckle, so pretty in the wild, such a pest when it springs up where it's not wanted. Such is the case in one of my gardens. I have tried unsuccessfully to get rid of it, so, to try to make myself feel better about the vine's invasion into my space, I decided to look into the folklore of this most common of wildlings in my part of the world.


Here's some of what I have learned:

Other names for honeysuckle: Irish vine, woodbine, fairy trumpets, honeybind, trumpet flowers, goats leaf and sweet suckle.

The old name Woodbine describes the twisting, binding nature of the honeysuckle through the hedgerows of the Old World.

It was believed that if honeysuckle grew around the entrance to the home it prevented a witch from entering. In other places it's believed that grown around the doors it will bring good luck. If it grows well in your garden, then you will be protected from evil. In Ireland honeysuckle was believed to have a power against bad spirits, and it was used in a drink to cure the effects of the evil eye.

Bringing the flowers into the house will bring money with them.

Honeysuckle has long been a symbol of fidelity and affection. Those who wear honeysuckle flowers are said to be able to dream of their true love. Its clinging nature, in the book The Language of Flowers, symbolizes 'we are united in love,' and emphasizes the bond of devotion and affection between two people. It was also believed that if the blooms were brought into the house then a wedding would follow within a year.

In the Victorian era there was a ban on young girls bringing honeysuckle into the home because the heady fragrance of the flowers was believed to cause dreams that were far too risqué for their sensibilities.

The wood has been used to make walking sticks because of its nature to grow around and entwine saplings. Actually, I have never seen honeysuckle big enough for this, unless this is referring to the shrub?

The dried flowers are used for adding to pot-pourri, herb pillows and floral waters. Also, scented cosmetics are made from the fresh flowers.

The sturdy stems of honeysuckle have been used to make rope as far back as the Bronze Age, and in parts of Britain were commonly made into bridles and harnesses for pack ponies. Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned 'wodebyne' is a symbol of steadfastness.

Well, if having honeysuckle in my garden near the entrance to our walk, then perhaps it's a good thing. I just hope we can learn to co-exist peacefully. What are the odds? Not in my favor, I'm sure.





Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

8 comments:

  1. I was walking up in Yorkshire many years ago with a friend who is a botanist. We came across a group of highly twisted hazel trees. He said that honeysuckle had been removed long ago from the young trees with the intention of making hazel walking sticks but for some reason that hadn't happened and the oddly twisted trees grew to full size.
    Your mention of the name Woodbine reminded me of the fine old song "Spencer the Rover" in which a man who had left his family finds himself far from home:
    "The night fast approaching to the woods he resorted,
    With woodbine and ivy his bed for to make.
    There he dreamt about sighing, lamenting and crying,
    Go home to your family and rambling forsake"
    Woodbine, symbolising "united in love", and ivy representing "the bond between married couples" - no wonder he had a dream that sent him homewards.

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  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqtYQ5xNFJo
    is where you'll find Bob and Ron Copper singing the song that had been passed down through his family for generations. I think the line "He had been so reduced which caused great confusion" might refer to the Enclosures when many small farmers found the commons, on which they grazed their sheep and cattle, were stolen by large landowners, making the small farms unviable. Many men took to the road to find work. Some of them were employed building the stone walls which enclosed the commons and kept them out. How cruel was that?

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    Replies
    1. That was delightful, John! Thank you for the link. Would you post more about the Enclosures? I have not heard of that in England. How very cruel people can be to each other.

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  3. I am not sure that honeysuckle grows wild. We had a plant at our last house, but it was a cultivar that certainly didn't spread.

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  4. Oh, finally! Logged in and can comment. So sorry to be atrociously behind on all your posts.

    I have made the same mistake with honeysuckle in the past and have two in my Cottage Garden which have now gone completely feral, are complete thugs and I REALLY need to deal with them.

    Good luck getting rid of yours.

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  5. Interesting info on honeysuckle.

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  6. How lucky! Here there is a shrub, but then there is Japanese honeysuckle, which can take over whole hillsides here if left unchecked. I used to make baskets from vines on our land.

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