I met the steward of a physic garden. We ended in Poisons. Woody Nightshade, crawling up trees; moody Hellebores, Spurge, Box. Her favourite, the Mandrake, had blight. She talked about nursing it & its folklore: a soul in a human-shaped root, screaming if pulled up. A strange moment, the cool walls bound in vines & locks. The sun eddied into shadow, & waves of people broke softly in the distance.

#poison #mandrake #hellebore #physicgarden #herbology #poisongarden #deadlynightshade #belladonna