No witches!

In times past traditional old cottage dwellers used to put these Sempervivums - houseleeks - on their roofs, supposedly to keep witches away. Other common names for these hardy little succulent plants are 'liveforever' and 'hens and chicks'.

I love the craggy architectural look of them, so decided to follow the old custom and put a little clump on a sunny corner of our outhouse roof. No soil, just the bare rooted plants sitting straight on the tiles. Years later, they have grown into a very sizeable clump, and regularly bloom at this time of year, when the tall flower shoots erupt from the base.

Do they work in keeping witches away? Well we never see any, so they must do!