anzu-ai:

needlesslydefiantwithtea:

ishmaeldreaming:

evilsoutherngentleman:

clarabolina:

The Alnwick Poison Garden
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, England

The Alnwick Poison Garden boasts some of the world’s most dangerous plants, hence the name. Behind big black gates, the carefully curated garden contains about 100 varieties illegal narcotics including poppies, which are used to make opium, the poisonous Atropa belladonna (also known as deadly nightshade), Strychnos nux-vomica (used to make strychnine), Coca (from which cocaine is produced), hemlock (used to kill Socrates), cannabis and more.

The current Duchess of Northumberland decided to revamp the gardens when she became mistress of Alnwick Castle. The project began around 2000, but she did not begin the Poison Garden until five years later. Inspired by the garden near Padua, Italy which was once used by the Medici’s to find better ways to kill their enemies, the Duchess decided to build a garden that was filled with narcotic, poisonous and deadly plants. The initial design included some medicinal plants, but she had them removed to maintain the concept of the Poison Garden.

::uncomfortable sounds of longing::

WHY WOULD YOU LABEL IT SO CLEARLY IF YOU DON’T WANT ME TO MOVE IN THERE? OH GOD

The current Duchess of Northumberland isn’t anyone I’ve ever given any thought to before but she sounds fucking awesome oh my god

i’m so glad this wasn’t here when i visited Alnick with the school because i guarantee only half of the students would have made it back alive

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW NERVE-WRACKING IT IS TO WALK THROUGH THIS THOUGH??? I BRUSHED AGAINST A LEAF AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE.

On my list of things to see

vintagegal:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Passarge of Hamburg dresses up as a cat and dances on wine bottles in June 1958. Her performance was based on a dream. She practiced for eight hours a day to do this. (x)

I love seeing passion in action

nogodsonlyman: Wow, I love this. I want everyone to see this—particularly people who are hurting and don’t seek help because they see their pain as somehow shameful.

(Source: anotherdayanotherscar)

libraryjournal:

Today, on the 50th anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s death, the Academy of American Poets is honoring the poet’s life and work with her letters, journals, and poems. Discover 10 things that Sylvia Plath loved, including sun bathing, Marilyn Monroe, and The Joy of Cooking at poets.org.

Also, to mark the occasion, we have digitized archival letters from Sylvia that are a part of her years-long correspondence with the Academy of American Poets, where they are now available to the public for the first time.

From the Academy Archives: Letters from Sylvia