Marie McKinsey
- May 2, 2016
- 3 min
Cascara Might Not Kill You, But...
You may remember this exchange between Master Raymond and Claire at his apothecary shop, in which he explains his clever solution for the pr
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Marie McKinsey
- Jan 25, 2015
- 4 min
Black Hellebores and A Little Girl's Tears
I love hellebores. I have been growing them for years. They are highly prized in the gardening community for their exotic flowers and the fa
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Marie McKinsey
- Oct 12, 2014
- 3 min
Grinding Corn
When Dougal MacKenzie told Claire in The Wedding episode of Outlander that he was tickled by the thought of grinding her corn, the remark pr
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Marie McKinsey
- Sep 16, 2014
- 3 min
Rowan: The Druid's Tree
Rowan, or "Luis" in Gaelic, is both a tree and the name of the second character in the Celtic Ogham Tree Alphabet.
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Marie McKinsey
- Sep 8, 2014
- 2 min
The Man Behind the Outlander Music
I can't imagine a composer more suited to creating the score for the Outlander TV series than Bear McCreary. Growing up, he attended the Sco
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Marie McKinsey
- Aug 24, 2014
- 3 min
A Druid's Herbal
I have always been curious about the Druids. Much of what is "known" about them is mere speculation because their most sacred rituals and
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Marie McKinsey
- Jun 19, 2014
- 2 min
Bee Is for Borage
it is likely that an 18th century herbalist would make a tea from the dried leaves as a remedy for depression or to relieve menopausal disco
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Marie McKinsey
- Jun 7, 2014
- 3 min
Claire and the Fight Against Infectious Disease
Discouraging "germs" is a bit off- topic for a plant blog. But we are talking here about the Outlander books and Claire Fraser's pragmatic a
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Marie McKinsey
- May 27, 2014
- 2 min
In Praise of Laudanum
Claire wanted the laudanum to sedate Jamie while she treated his badly damaged hand. In the event, he insisted on substituting whiskey for t
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Marie McKinsey
- May 5, 2014
- 3 min
Potatoes: A Story of Feast, Famine - and Poison
As a time-traveler, Claire knew what a calamity The Rising would be. She advised Jenny to plant potatoes so the residents of Lallybroch woul
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Marie McKinsey
- Apr 18, 2014
- 3 min
Lavender Blues
As Tom Robbins, another of my favorite authors, says in his novel, JITTERBUG PERFUME, "with immediacy and intensity, smell activates the me
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Marie McKinsey
- Apr 13, 2014
- 3 min
Rhododendron Hell
"Roger didn't need to read it; he knew well enough the thoughts that were going through the other's mind. The same thoughts he'd wrestled...
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Marie McKinsey
- Apr 6, 2014
- 3 min
Stinging Nettles
If you've ever encountered a stinging nettle, you have no trouble understanding how being flogged with a bunch of them would be an effective
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Marie McKinsey
- Apr 2, 2014
- 2 min
The Little Blue Flower At The Start Of It All
If it is possible for plants to travel through time, forget-me-nots would be well suited for the journey.
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Marie McKinsey
- Mar 30, 2014
- 3 min
Strawberries and The Clan Fraser
In Drums of Autumn, Jamie tells Claire this story, "Strawberries ha' always been the emblem of the clan - it's what the name meant, to start
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