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Faeries and Faerie Gardens

A faerie is a small, supernatural creature which dwells in a magickal place. Folklore faeries are usually human in form, but are known to disguise themselves well when the necessity arises. There is a wide variety of earth spirits, from elves and gnomes of the deep forest, to the pixies and faeries of flower gardens and meadow lands. Undines, nymphs and sprites are water creatures and sylphs are air spirits.

Faeries live in their own enchanted Realm but have also been sighted among the flowers, woodlands, hills and streams, sometimes riding on their faerie steeds or flitting from flower to flower. When faeries gather together to sing and dance, you might find a fairy ring of toadstools or mushrooms after they have left.

In folklore, faeries are mainly understood as being charitable to humans. They are playful creatures however, and love to play tricks on we mere mortals. They must be spoken well of and treated with respect, or you may provoke their anger. Folklore speaks of leaving small trinkets as gifts to faeries, such as small beads and dainty deserts, to gain their favour. Faeries love all things glittery.

So, why not create a faerie garden for these little folk? Constructing a faerie garden that will attract faeries and their winged friends is easy and doesn't take up a lot of space. You can plan a traditional garden in the yard, a row of flowers along a garden wall or plant your faerie garden in an old, shallow, stone sink. Mine is planted within a circle of dry stones, in a corner of my garden.

Faeries and butterflies alike, love brightly coloured flowers with nectar. They seem to prefer the cottage style' garden with a wide range of different flowers to choose from. It is not important for a faerie garden to be neat and tidy as the little people and butterflies will find shelter in a hollow stump or an upturned clay pot on cold, rainy days. Faeries enjoy sunning their little wings, so it is good to place flat sunning stones among the plants. A sunny spot, protected from the wind will make a nice sanctuary for faeries and butterflies.

A combination of wild flowers, native grasses and greenhouse flowers will help to keep your garden or patio pots lovely throughout the year and if you are planning a patio garden, use several different sizes and heights of pots grouped together. When watering your fairy garden, you'll find soaking from the bottom better, as sprinklers will wash off the nectar that fairies and butterflies love!

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