By Tamara Galbraith

When you want to get blue, get rue.

Rue is an interesting and lovely herbaceous shrub that will add a unique blue-green foliage accent to your garden. A small evergreen semiwoody perennial that matures to about two feet tall and wide, rue has been used as a medicinal and "antimagic" herb for centuries, and was even considered a reliable defense against witches.

Quite drought-tolerant once established, rue thrives in poor sandy soils and hot, dry sites that receive full sun. Good drainage is a must.

Rue was formerly used to treat many common human ailments, but modern herbalists now question its effectiveness as well as its safety. In fact, some people are allergic to rue and get a skin rash from handling the plant, especially on hot days. Consuming large amounts of rue can cause violent stomach pain, vomiting, and convulsions. Pregnant women should never ingest it.

Rue is a symbol of regret, sorrow and repentance, and Catholics used sprigs of it to sprinkle holy water on worshippers. On the light side, the rue leaf was the model for the suit of clubs in playing cards.

'Jackman's Blue,' a popular cultivar in Europe, has beautiful bluish green foliage and stays in a tight, rounded form. 'Blue Beauty' is smaller, with powdery blue foliage. 'Variegata' has white splashes on the leaves and is often used in floral arrangements.

Rue foliage has a strong, somewhat unpleasant scent when torn; for this reason, it is often used as a natural dog, cat and/or insect repellant. And it is supposedly really good at keeping witches away...a good thing to know as Halloween approaches.

By S. & C. Tollison

One dark and stormy night, long, long, ago...deep in the shadows of deciduous trees, three witches of White Forest Nursery toiled over their witch hazel. The three contrived a witch hazel brew of beauty, ability, care and maintenance.

The first witch added an abundance of beauty. Vibrant autumn colors appeared, creating a tapestry of a deep red, haunting orange and bewitching yellow. Twenty feet of ominous vase-shaped shrub filled the cool night air with the spirited sweet fragrance.

The second witch threw in a dash of ability. The acidity that she added was supposed to help with warts, but instead it promoted healing of acne, bruises, burns, varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

The third witch sprinkled care and maintenance into the bubbling cauldron to complete the brew. She incorporated ease of growth with full sunshine, fertile humus-rich acid soil and plentiful moisture.

From their toil emerged witch hazel with its sinister beauty, miraculous abilities, easy care and low maintenance.

So when the witching hour approaches, don't be spooked by witch hazel.

Happy Halloween!

The End

By Tamara Galbraith

As Halloween approaches, consider decorating your porch or front sidewalk with some pumpkins of a different color.

If you want a really rare pumpkin, try hunting for a Blue Pumpkin, often referred to as an Australian Blue. These unique pumpkins are smaller and flatter than a standard jack-o'-lantern, with a beautiful bluish grey color. Two red pumpkin varieties sometimes available are "Rouge D'Etant" or "Cinderella."

To complete the red, white and blue trifecta, look for ultra-chic white pumpkins, either in regular sizes or as impish miniatures. All forms of white pumpkins are becoming more popular every year for Halloween and Thanksgiving displays. Larger varieties are named Casper, Lumina and Snowball. And the small ones are Little Boo or Baby Boo.

Striped pumpkins are gaining attention too, especially the Austrian kind known for their cherished green seed oils. And not only does it sport gorgeous green stripes, but the Cushaw pumpkin has an elongated neck like a big squash. Italian cooking cultivars, like Marina Di Chioggia with scary bumpy skin, are also being developed.

Non-orange pumpkins are all edible, of course, but the flavor isn't always that great. Don't hold that against them, though - these colors are too much fun to be ignored. After all, Halloween is the time to dress up and be different!