MHG Volunteer Blog: Week 4

It's time to find out what our Medieval Herb Garden volunteers have been up to this week! Find out more about their blog series here.

The Medieval Herb Garden and Visitor Centre at Pontefract Castle

27 January 2025

So, no snow last week, just lots of wind and rain. The crab apple tree has weathered the storm well. However, the upright rosemary is still looking “battered”.

Today, Dave and James helped Site Officer Joe by sweeping up the fallen leaves in the kitchen area.  They also re-planted some of our fallen signs. Dave later checked the concentration of the liquid fertilizer we made last summer.

Carole finally finished weeding the dry-stone wall. This took longer than planned, as lots of lovely castle visitors wanted a chat! The non-gardening topics for today were the pleasures of completing the Pennine Way and the Lyke Wake Walk, and the merits of the various Doctor Who incarnations since 1963. Never a dull day here! 

If the ground dries next week, we will start to dig up all the green alkanet seedlings from last year. These managed to escape the last Autumn weeding session.

Plant of the week: Black Hellebore / Christmas Rose / Melampode (helleborus niger)

The generic name of this plant is derived from the Greek elein (to injure) and bora (food). This indicates its poisonous nature. The specific name refers to the dark coloured rootstock.

One of our rain and mud-splattered black hellebore flowers

The black hellebore is a semi-evergreen perennial. This means it tends to return each year, unlike an annual plant which only grows once. 

It originates in the mountain areas of Europe, and grows to a height and width of 0.1m to 0.5m. It prefers growing in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil (not the chickpea kind!) in the alkaline to neutral range. Black hellebore is said to prefer dappled shade. In summer, ours are protected by the large horseradish plants. However, this plant can thrive in most aspects.

Black hellebore flowers between midwinter and early spring. Its white flowers look similar to wild roses, hence the name 'Christmas Rose'. Despite this, it's actually a member of the buttercup family.

Medieval uses

Black hellebore was used in the past to treat 'insanity', melancholy, gout and epilepsy, and was referenced in Pliny's 'Natural History'. In the medieval period, people would use hellebore to ward off evil spirits.

However, we now know it to be very toxic, so it musn't be used to treat any ailments today!

Folklore

In Greek myth, the god Dionysus used his powers against the daughters of Argos. They roamed naked and hysterical, until Melampus of Plyos made them a special brew. The brew was made of hellebore, and this is where the name 'melampodium' comes from.

Helleborus niger is commonly called the Christmas Rose, as it traditionally flowers around Christmas. There is an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had nothing to give to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

In the past, people blessed their cattle with this plant to keep them from evil spells. For this purpose, it was dug up with certain mystic rites.

In Victorian times, the flowers of the hellebore plant signified delirium. Some cultures today still see the flowers as representing stress, anxiety, and scandal.

Find out more about the Medieval Herb Garden here

Visitor information for Pontefract Castle