The Goddess in Her Garden

A garden for Freya can help you grow-your wealth!

Written by Cauldron Living staff writer and author Stephanie Hainsfurther

The Norse goddess, Freya, has many special interests. Love is one of them, and personal growth is also a favorite of hers. But do you know that she is partial to gold as well?

Freya loved the god Odin, and when he disappeared for a time, she wept tears of gold. She also took many other lovers, and was quite distracted by a golden necklace made by dwarves. She slept with them to get it. Hey, Freya was the original Material Girl.

If you want to grow financially this season, plant a small garden that prospers for Freya.

When I was a little girl, I sometimes was allowed to attend family bridal showers with my mother. At every one of these events, there was a "money tree," an odd-looking plant in a pot heaped with coins, onto which the women would clip paper money for the bride-to-be. The sheer femininity of the gatherings charmed me, the fact that I was there at the party with Mom, Grandma and all of the aunts made me feel all grown up, included in this private, womanly ritual.

Much later, I found out that the money tree was really Lunaria annua (Zones 5 to 9 ); its folk names are the money plant, silver dollar and honesty. Do you know what the money plant looks like? Those branches planted in pots at the bridal showers showed Lunaria in its dried state-slender beige branches with bronzy-white, coin-like seedpods. But Lunaria has bright green leaves and showy flowers for much of the growing season, reverting to the coin-shaped seedpods only in autumn. In my Freya's garden, Lunaria is an important detail. Plant it in partial or full shade.

Money plant rests beneath shade trees in my yard. These trees are called Golden Rain trees (Koelreuteria paniculata, Zones 5 to 9 ), and they have the most abundant yellow panicles in midsummer. Their green leaves are absolutely draped with small, star-like flowers in draping bunches. To me, they are a glorious symbol of wealth and prosperity. This year, I plan to send a shade-loving vine up the trees, like Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Zones 3 to 9 ) or Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata, Zones 4 to 8 ) to adorn the bare bark.

My backyard is a bit large for a city garden, so I can experiment with compact trees and their underplantings. But if you have a smaller space, Freya will be just as pleased with a container or a corner dedicated to rituals designed to attract gold.

Plant a pocket-and pray that it soon will be filled with money, honey! Marigold is a natural stand-in for gold in a sunny Freya's garden. My favorite to represent abundant coins is a new wood sorrel called 'Lucky' (Oxalis, Zones 6 to 8, but you can grow it in a sunny window indoors). 'Lucky' spills over with dark-burgundy leaves, but will spew golden-yellow blooms in contrast. Because Freya is a Scandinavian goddess, include forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica, Zones 5 to 9) or the true-blue flowers of dwarf plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Zones) to honor her icy blue eyes.


Picture: Dwarf plumbago's summer flowers represent the Nordic-blue eyes of Freya.

A small shade garden for Freya might include the same blue-and-gold colors, although in different forms. Lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis, Zones 4 to 7 ) has a nice, chartreuse color and is mostly a foliage plant. However, it does get tiny, chartreuse flowers that glow like gold in the shade, from late spring into summer. Add blue with the same dwarf plumbago-now there's a versatile plant that doesn't mind varying light, soil or water conditions-or Ajuga reptans 'Blue Chip' (Zones 3 to 9 ).

White is a bright color in the garden and, if I were you, I'd mix in some white-flowered plants to capture Freya's attention. After all, with so many aspects and so many lovers, she's a very busy woman. Just like you.

The Perfect Rite:
When taking cuttings from money plants, marigolds, and other plants mentioned here for rustic arrangements or propagation, don't forget to bury a silver coin at the base of the plant, say thank you, and tend it well. You've got to give a little to get a lot. Good luck!


--Stephanie Hainsfurther is a freelance writer and editor living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the author of Pocket Gardening for Your Outdoor Spaces (Hobby House Press, 2004).