September 29th is St Michael's Day. St Michael, the Archangel, has two roles which bring him into focus for my wee Witch's Garden and its magical protections of me. St Michael is the Protector - leading the fight against the Devil. The Devil was thought traditionally to come from the north and hence churches at the northern end of town were dedicated to St Michael to gain his protection. St Michael's second role was as a Healer. With these thoughts in mind, I have planted my Michaelmas daisies in the north quarter of the central plot.

Michaelmas daisies are perennial plants belonging to the genus Aster, belonging to the Asteraceae family. In the language of flowers, they symbolise a departure or farewell. To me they signal the departure of summer, blooming their most extravagently from the equinox into the autumn. They are beloved by autumnal bees attracted deliberately into the garden - the tree bees (below) are particularly frequent visitors to the garden dancing today in the sun.