The secret meanings of plants
Among the (many) rules of our neighborhood homeowners’ association is one that requires shielding of central air conditioner units from view. Most of my neighbors have custom-built fencing around their units that looks sturdy enough to contain a pony. We decided to go in a more natural direction by planting pampas grass around our AC.
The decorative plants, which came in cute little pots from Lowe’s, are small now; within a couple of years they’ll grow to a height of 10-13 feet and six feet in width—excellent camouflage for unwanted views—with pink-tinged feathery flower plumes swaying in the breeze.
I think our shiny new AC unit is far from being an eyesore, but rules are rules. So we dutifully dug up the rocky dirt around it, freed the little plants from their plastic pots, mounded soil around them, and doused them with water.
According to the instruction tag that comes with each plant, they don’t need much attention and thrive in full sun and damp soil. We congratulated ourselves on getting them installed
on a humid summer morning then scurried into the house, made blessedly comfortable by that supposedly unlovely air conditioner.
That’s when it occurred to me to find out more. Imagine my surprise when an Internet search turned up the following introductory line on a web post: “Why is pampas grass bad?”
Well, rats, I thought. It’s probably toxic to dogs. Invasive. A fire hazard. Hard to control.
All those are true, but the weirdest thing I found out about the plant: It has a reputation of being a sign that the residents of the house where it’s growing are swingers, wordlessly inviting married couples to stop by for some sexual partner-swapping. At least in the UK, according to a story in The Guardian.
That story was published in 2017, and three years is a long time in the Internet age, so this may have been a passing fancy. In fact, the story concludes that the plant-as-signal is probably irrelevant in the age of Tinder and other hookup apps.
Although I’m not going to worry about unwelcome guests (the dogs are on the alert—far from the toxic plants—and besides, who answers random doorbell rings?), it turns out that plants have plenty of symbolism, going back many years.
According to treehugger.com, using flowers to convey emotions was a big deal during the 63-year period from 1837-1901. “Known as floriography, flowers were sent to reveal secret sentiments of love and affection, but flowers meant to pitch woo could be arranged differently to impart a negative message instead. Just as the 19th century brought about complicated social customs, so was the language of flowers. So complex, in fact, that entire dictionaries were devoted to decoding the delicate disclosures.”
Not that those dictionaries preach the same set of guidelines. Each writer tends to have unique interpretations of what individual plants mean. That can lead to trouble if signals get crossed; it’s probably best to cross-reference plant choice and find one that has similar properties across a range of dictionaries.
Along with floriography, there’s witchcraft, which assigns meaning to all sorts of herbs and plants. “Each herb [whether burned, sprinkled, carried in a sachet or worn in an amulet] is believed to possess different energy, and can be included in spells and amulets to attract or repel certain outcomes,” says website White Moon witchcraft.com.
Examples: Catnip is associated with joy, happiness, love, beauty and peace. Chamomile is used to promote peace, love, dreams and meditation. Elderberries are considered strongly protective against evil, negativity and hexes. Frankincense is believed to ward off evil and protect from negativity and harm.
Juniper berries are said to shield those who carry them from evil people, theft, accidents, hexes, negative spirits and nasty energy. Lavender supposedly aids in attracting love and sex and promoting feelings of happiness.
If you want plants that serve a more practical purpose beyond emotions, such as those that discourage mosquitoes, houseflies, and other bugs, stick with that catnip and lavender, and throw in chrysanthemums, basil, nasturtiums, lemon thyme, mint, petunias, rosemary, marigolds, and lemongrass.
And here’s the busiest herb of them all: Patchouli leaf is believed to attract money, wealth, prosperity, lust, sensuality and love. It’s associated with all things material and sensual; wear it to attract earthly pleasures.
But not swingers. We don’t have to worry about them. The HOA would never approve.