SEX, Fertility and Plants

Indulging in sexual intercourse among the crops was a custom which accurred frequently in many places throughout America and Europe. Ritualistic copulation was so performed to increase the fertility of plants.

A scene from The Herbal Bed in NYC

Sometimes pregnant women were employed to plant seed, the inference being that their own obvious bountifulness would transfer itself to the growing plant. Similarly, pregnant women hugged trees to induce healthy growth.
All of the above is part of folk and legend from A Miscellany of Garden Wisdom by Bernard Schofield.
In The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan he says, " the gardeners and descendants of Johnny Appleseed who would try to make some of this wildness... All of them had ventured into the garden--into Darwin's Ever-Expanding Garden of Artificial Selection-for the purpose of marrying powerful human drives to the equally powerful drives of plants; all were practitioners of the botany of desire.
In many of the foods we eat aphrodisiac's are used from the garden....such as in the Fall: The crisp air and autumn colors of fall ask for cuisine that is hearty, rustic, and substantial.

Feeling Sexy Now in the garden?

Pollinating Tomatoes
Procure a cotton ball or some other similar light fluffy ball and tie it to a stick. At about midday, treat every tomato plant by lightly touching the front part of each flower with the fur. This will distribute the pollen, fertilizing the female organs of the flowers.

Here is a recipe link from Intercourses, sure to have you thinking about your garden in a different way! http://urbanherbal.com/recipes/index-11.htm#spicy_grilled_shrimp

The garden is a place of many sacraments.....
Herbs, grow up close and personal. They are not just flowers, but calendulas, nasturtiums and roses. They are not garnishes, but cinnamon and lemon basil, apple mint and chocolate mint, parsley, lavender and thyme. They are not bulbs, but garlic, chives, dill and fennel. That is why I encourage you to try your hand at growing savory, reputed to have earned it name from the satyrs who found it essential to their amorous activities. Consider, too, the advise of Nicholas Culpeper, herbalist of the 17th century, who suggested a garden of mustard, onion and prickly asparagus for sparking an enchanted evening. For more on Growing and Using the Plants of Romance read Herbs by Bill and Sylvia Varney http://shop.urbanherbal.com/HERBS-Growing-Using-the-Plants-of-Romance-0600.htm