Elder Scrolls garden brainstorming
Jul. 24th, 2013 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dotsandlinesNotes on a goofball idea I had a couple of weeks ago - a garden corner/pocket based on The Elder Scrolls. (I haven't done it yet; just sorting out which plants in-game have real-world counterparts.)
I should be doing this on Pinterest, but I don't have an account. ...yet?
NOTE, this is just me free-associating from memory, as far as guessing what the fictional plants look like. I don't know what actually influenced the artists.
Stage 1: general list
Stage 2: narrow down by hardiness zones and practicality
Stage 3: narrow down by color, season, personal preference
Morrowind: Jay hasn't played this, and the landscape is cool, but just this side of apocalyptic. So I'd go lightly on this, if at all.
Black Anther: This looks like half-hellebore, half-blown out tulip. I'd probably go for hellebore if I were trying to fake this.
Chokeweed: Juniper?
Comberry can be lots of things; bayberry comes to mind.
Gold Kanet looks like hydrangea at first glance, but the leaves are completely different. I'll have to think about that one.
Heather: duh
Roobrush also looks like juniper.
Scathecraw: Sansevieria, more of a houseplant
Spore Pod: Amusingly, I already have ostrich fern in my front yard.
Stoneflower: columbine, though there's something else that looks more like it - might be bluebells.
Skipped ones without photos (like I said, I'm skimming Morrowind) and all the lichen and mushrooms. I'd plan to accent a planting with some wood/ceramic mushrooms, since you ALWAYS have mushrooms in TES games.
Here we go. In Oblivion they started using real plants straight-up, so this should be easier.
Oblivion, now we're talkin'
Shivering Isles
Oblivion: Leaving out the crops, because that's fun and all, but I personally have what the gardening world amusingly calls "deer pressure."
Alkanet: Real.
Arrowroot: This looks like Sagittaria cuneata to me, a.k.a. arrowhead, a.k.a. don't quote me on this, the plant that Katniss was named after in The Hunger Games. More research in round 2. Either way, it's a water plant, so not for me.
Bergamot: There is bergamot and also bee balm, Monarda, which I intend to get anyway. But the in-game plant doesn't look like bee balm.
Bloodgrass, a must-have IMO. Fictional, of course, but there are tons of red ornamental grasses.
Columbine, one I'd thought of getting anyway.
Dragon's Tongue: Fictional. I am too tired to brainstorm real-life lookalikes right now; will get to this.
Fennel: Herbs! Bring 'em on.
Foxglove: Lovely, and not poisonous unless you eat them! (see Monkshood below)
Ginseng: This is what they actually look like, pretty much. It'd be a fun curiosity, although they may be expensive and fussy.
Goldenrod: I love goldenrod. And it does NOT cause hay fever; that's ragweed. And every time I look up goldenrod, I get all of this stuff about Pokemon, so I get the impression that there was once a sidequest to collect goldenrod or tell it apart from ragweed or something. +1 to that fandom.
Lady's Mantle: I already have this plant, actually. :) It is called lady's mantle, or Alchemilla.
Lady's Smock: Also real!
Lavender: Ohhhh, I love lavender. I covet our neighbors' lavender so hard. I don't know what their secret is.
Mana Bloom is obviously fictional, but would be really fun to reproduce in permanent form (wood, stone, something) and paint, as an accent.
Mandrake: Another one that would be fun just for its sheer weirdness value, and it's quite attractive (scroll down).
Monkshood, a.k.a. aconite, a.k.a. wolfsbane, is horrendously poisonous. And gorgeous. But I won't grow it because the toxicity makes me nervous.
Morning glory: Already have it. ...Which means we'll always have it. Whether we like it or not.
Motherwort: Real, and kinda pretty.
Nightshade: It's a weed in our area, so no thanks. It's pretty, though.
Peony: Have it. Have it in pink! It doesn't quite grow singly like that. Artistic license.
Primrose, not much else to say there.
Domica Redwort: One of the few fictional ones outside Oblivion. I don't have any offhand guesses yet.
Sacred Lotus: like it says. But I don't have a water garden, personally.
Somnalius Frond: Also fictional. Ostrich fern can stand in for this one, too.
St. Jahn's Wort: obv. St. John's Wort. That is what they look like. I am also fond of medicinal plants, not to use, but as a curiosity / for historical value.
Tiger Lily - I might look into this for sentimental value, too.
Viper's Bugloss: Despite the dramatic name, this is real.
Water Hyacinth: I don't have a water garden, as noted, but this is a real plant.
Wormwood: Real. This is a contender for me too, because my dad has (for some reason) become a connoisseur of absinthe in recent years, so that's a fun crossover. (Not to use, again. Just for fun.)
Shivering Isles: the vast majority of the plants in this area are bizarre alien fungus.
Alocasia is real; it's a tropical.
Red Kelp could be cutely faked with coleus.
Finally, I would have to either find a fake or make a prop for nirnroot. I collect nirnroot compulsively in these games. Glow-in-the-dark paint?
Skyrim!
Mountain Flowers, all of them: TBA.
Canis Root: Fictional. Might be another fun one to fake, with dead wood.
Dragon's Tongue, back and looking very much like an orchid.
Elves Ear is sage.
Frost Mirriam looks a lot like cilantro to me.
Hanging Moss: Not our climate, but might be fun to mock up on a nearby wall.
Juniper, not pretending to be something else this time
Lavender again
Nightshade: The nightshade I know looks more like Oblivion nightshade.
Nirnroot - you know what's kind of awful, though? Nirnroot looks like a glowing dandelion plant.
Snowberries: Real! Though the in-game art looks rather like holly.
Thistle: A weed around here, unfortunately.
I should be doing this on Pinterest, but I don't have an account. ...yet?
NOTE, this is just me free-associating from memory, as far as guessing what the fictional plants look like. I don't know what actually influenced the artists.
Stage 1: general list
Stage 2: narrow down by hardiness zones and practicality
Stage 3: narrow down by color, season, personal preference
Morrowind: Jay hasn't played this, and the landscape is cool, but just this side of apocalyptic. So I'd go lightly on this, if at all.
Black Anther: This looks like half-hellebore, half-blown out tulip. I'd probably go for hellebore if I were trying to fake this.
Chokeweed: Juniper?
Comberry can be lots of things; bayberry comes to mind.
Gold Kanet looks like hydrangea at first glance, but the leaves are completely different. I'll have to think about that one.
Heather: duh
Roobrush also looks like juniper.
Scathecraw: Sansevieria, more of a houseplant
Spore Pod: Amusingly, I already have ostrich fern in my front yard.
Stoneflower: columbine, though there's something else that looks more like it - might be bluebells.
Skipped ones without photos (like I said, I'm skimming Morrowind) and all the lichen and mushrooms. I'd plan to accent a planting with some wood/ceramic mushrooms, since you ALWAYS have mushrooms in TES games.
Here we go. In Oblivion they started using real plants straight-up, so this should be easier.
Oblivion, now we're talkin'
Shivering Isles
Oblivion: Leaving out the crops, because that's fun and all, but I personally have what the gardening world amusingly calls "deer pressure."
Alkanet: Real.
Arrowroot: This looks like Sagittaria cuneata to me, a.k.a. arrowhead, a.k.a. don't quote me on this, the plant that Katniss was named after in The Hunger Games. More research in round 2. Either way, it's a water plant, so not for me.
Bergamot: There is bergamot and also bee balm, Monarda, which I intend to get anyway. But the in-game plant doesn't look like bee balm.
Bloodgrass, a must-have IMO. Fictional, of course, but there are tons of red ornamental grasses.
Columbine, one I'd thought of getting anyway.
Dragon's Tongue: Fictional. I am too tired to brainstorm real-life lookalikes right now; will get to this.
Fennel: Herbs! Bring 'em on.
Foxglove: Lovely, and not poisonous unless you eat them! (see Monkshood below)
Ginseng: This is what they actually look like, pretty much. It'd be a fun curiosity, although they may be expensive and fussy.
Goldenrod: I love goldenrod. And it does NOT cause hay fever; that's ragweed. And every time I look up goldenrod, I get all of this stuff about Pokemon, so I get the impression that there was once a sidequest to collect goldenrod or tell it apart from ragweed or something. +1 to that fandom.
Lady's Mantle: I already have this plant, actually. :) It is called lady's mantle, or Alchemilla.
Lady's Smock: Also real!
Lavender: Ohhhh, I love lavender. I covet our neighbors' lavender so hard. I don't know what their secret is.
Mana Bloom is obviously fictional, but would be really fun to reproduce in permanent form (wood, stone, something) and paint, as an accent.
Mandrake: Another one that would be fun just for its sheer weirdness value, and it's quite attractive (scroll down).
Monkshood, a.k.a. aconite, a.k.a. wolfsbane, is horrendously poisonous. And gorgeous. But I won't grow it because the toxicity makes me nervous.
Morning glory: Already have it. ...Which means we'll always have it. Whether we like it or not.
Motherwort: Real, and kinda pretty.
Nightshade: It's a weed in our area, so no thanks. It's pretty, though.
Peony: Have it. Have it in pink! It doesn't quite grow singly like that. Artistic license.
Primrose, not much else to say there.
Domica Redwort: One of the few fictional ones outside Oblivion. I don't have any offhand guesses yet.
Sacred Lotus: like it says. But I don't have a water garden, personally.
Somnalius Frond: Also fictional. Ostrich fern can stand in for this one, too.
St. Jahn's Wort: obv. St. John's Wort. That is what they look like. I am also fond of medicinal plants, not to use, but as a curiosity / for historical value.
Tiger Lily - I might look into this for sentimental value, too.
Viper's Bugloss: Despite the dramatic name, this is real.
Water Hyacinth: I don't have a water garden, as noted, but this is a real plant.
Wormwood: Real. This is a contender for me too, because my dad has (for some reason) become a connoisseur of absinthe in recent years, so that's a fun crossover. (Not to use, again. Just for fun.)
Shivering Isles: the vast majority of the plants in this area are bizarre alien fungus.
Alocasia is real; it's a tropical.
Red Kelp could be cutely faked with coleus.
Finally, I would have to either find a fake or make a prop for nirnroot. I collect nirnroot compulsively in these games. Glow-in-the-dark paint?
Skyrim!
Mountain Flowers, all of them: TBA.
Canis Root: Fictional. Might be another fun one to fake, with dead wood.
Dragon's Tongue, back and looking very much like an orchid.
Elves Ear is sage.
Frost Mirriam looks a lot like cilantro to me.
Hanging Moss: Not our climate, but might be fun to mock up on a nearby wall.
Juniper, not pretending to be something else this time
Lavender again
Nightshade: The nightshade I know looks more like Oblivion nightshade.
Nirnroot - you know what's kind of awful, though? Nirnroot looks like a glowing dandelion plant.
Snowberries: Real! Though the in-game art looks rather like holly.
Thistle: A weed around here, unfortunately.
