Jack in the Pulpit

My fascination with the Jack-in-the-Pulpit never wanes. Originally, I found this plant by the wayside, after spending a considerable amount on a plant from a nursery that died shortly after I transplanted it. I carried this one home in my handbag from a local cave, wrapped in a handkerchief... It was not the 'parent' bulb but a small new bulb and I therefore did not feel guilty really for taking it from its natural habitat. In any case, the plant thrived, somewhat to my surprise and great delight. There were one or two years when I thought it would not reappear, but this year, it actually has produced some new bulbs. Furthermore, I've been able to plant another on the other side of the path beneath the Solomon's Seal and Bleeding Hearts.

The Jack-in-the-Pulpit is so named for its ancient pagan connections. Jack is the old god of the woodland and forest. Green flowers have a certain mystical attribute. Like 'Deadly Nightshade', they are the plants of legend.

There are those who cut down trees in their gardens in order to plant grass and have orderly lawns. There are others who allow Nature to rule somewhat supreme in all her rather riotous glory. Unfortunately, one does have to curtail the growth of the weeds somewhat, but shade plants like the Jack-in-the-Pulpit would not survive without the trees and the protection of taller neighbouring plants.

Well, the Jack-in-the-Pulpit has survived one more year. Urban child that I was, I once thought that perennials lived forever, and was horrified when they died as the years passed. My aconite and wormwood are no more. The bright Lobelia has returned to the soil as well... and it is almost impossible to find a replacement. The 'Big Brother' attitude that prevails has thrown the poisonous plants into disfavour, despite their use in homeopathic remedies. Beauty is not enough, alas, to protect the existence of a plant. The Papaver Somniferum is one of the most beautiful flowers, after all. The 'Angel's Trumpet' is another. Plants that kill can cure as well.

One day perhaps the political climate will shift... let us hope it occurs before these plants become entirely extinct.

That Which is Rare and Unusual

This is a photograph of the flower known as the 'Jack-in-the-Pulpit'. These flowers are beloved of folklorists and magicians alike. They have been a part of Northern European 'magical' gardens for centuries. Some people might consider them to be too bizarre to be truly beautiful. The Jack-in-the-Pulpit, however, is one of my favourite plants.

Actually, I like all the flowers that appear quite magically every Spring from barren ground. Most of them have names that conjure stories, such as 'Bleeding Heart', Dutchman's Breeches' or 'Solomon's Seal'. 'Bleeding Heart' and 'Solomon's Seals' grow near the Jack-in-the-Pulpits in the woodland garden I created a few years ago. I grew up in urban environments all over the world and the delight of being able to grow plants was virtually out of reach to some one who moved from continent to continent on a regular basis.

I found my first Jack-in-the-Pulpit in the wilds. It was a small plant growing near a large group, so I felt it would do no harm if I uprooted it to take it home to my own garden. I transplanted it and the next year, much to my joy, I found that it had taken root well and truly as a perennial.

Each year, I hold my breath in Spring, fearing that the Jack in the Pulpits will not reappear. So far, they failed to do so only once. One year, a plant developed an incredible cluster of red berries, almost like a cluster of tiny red grapes. Evidently it was a female plant, for berries never are produced by the males. That plant, alas, never reappeared after that. I suspect that, like the spider, the effort of creating a potential new generation was a death sentence for it. Unfortunately none of those seeds ever produced a new plant.

It is not the unique 'spathe' or flower of the plant alone that has given it a magical reputation. It is the fact that its leaf formation is three, a number that has special magical and religious significance in most cultures.

Jack-in-the-Pulpits are plants that flourish best in the shade. They do best in a 'wet year'. They sometimes can be difficult to find, if the area is dense with vegetation. I consider them to be very 'showy' in their own fashion, yet they show themselves only to those who have the determination to look for them.

In terms of people as well as plants, I am inevitably drawn to the rare and unusual personality, one who does not represent the 'mainstream' in any sense of the word. There is a fine old tradition of the 'British eccentric', but it never is an easy path to take. Those who choose or are fated to be individualists always must endure loneliness and a sense of being a visitor from another realm at times. The best they can hope to achieve is the admiration, respect and even the love of others, but they never quite feel at home.