Blog

I've been blogging since 2010, with different blogs for different topics. With this one, I'm bringing everything together, gradually moving posts here from older blogs, which is why you see long past publication dates on some of them.

If you click on the ALL POSTS button at the top of this page, you'll see, in chronological order, all the posts on this site.

If you you click on a tag at the bottom of an individual post, all other posts with the same tag will appear here.

Marie McKinsey

May 1, 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

199 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Sep 17, 2015
3 min

It's All About YEW

Besides this scene in DIA, yews have another Outlander connection: the European yew is the plant badge of the Clan Fraser. It is said that m

30 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Apr 25, 2015
5 min

This Bud's For You - Cannabis

So what IS the difference between hemp and ganja (or marijuana)? Botanically, they are the same plant. Both are cultivars of Cannabis sativ

31 views0 comments

Black Hellebores and A Little Girl's Tears

Marie McKinsey

Jan 24, 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

22 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Oct 11, 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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Barley the Beverage Grain: beer, wine and whisky

Marie McKinsey

Oct 5, 2014
8 min

Barley the Beverage Grain: beer, wine and whisky

Two of the goals of the ancient alchemists were: 1) to turn common metals into gold, and 2) to create an "elixir of life, that would confer

35 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Sep 15, 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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Bear McCreary: The Man Behind the Outlander Music

Marie McKinsey

Sep 7, 2014
2 min

Bear McCreary: 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

14 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Sep 5, 2014
4 min

Heathers & Heaths

Next to the thistle, heather is probably the plant most associated with Scotland. Much of the color in the moorland landscape is from the fl

19 views2 comments

Marie McKinsey

Aug 28, 2014
4 min

Right Plants, Wrong Season?

One of the differences between Outlander - the Book and Outlander - the TV series is the time of year the story begins. In the book, Claire

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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

48 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Jul 28, 2014
5 min

Meet the Family: The Mints

Updated 12/11/22 Originally posted 7/28/14 Here's a question for you, Outlander Gardeners: What do mint, rosemary, oregano, lemon...

88 views0 comments

Marie McKinsey

Jun 18, 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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Claire and the Fight Against Infectious Disease

Marie McKinsey

Jun 6, 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 26, 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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Potatoes: A Story of Feast, Famine - and Poison

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

22 views0 comments

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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Garlic - a Food, a Medicine, an Aphrodisiac?!

Marie McKinsey

Apr 11, 2014
3 min

Garlic - a Food, a Medicine, an Aphrodisiac?!

Claire might not have known how to grow garlic before Mrs. FitzGibbons handed her that basket of cloves and a digging stick, but she was und

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Marie McKinsey

Apr 5, 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

32 views0 comments

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