The weather has been warm enough for the periwinkle fairy to do his magic. Periwinkle flowers are in bloom on the east side of the house. Though some leaves die from year to year, the majority remain evergreen. Thankfully they aren’t appetizing to slugs, so they’re content to grow among dead ivy leaves until I can get in there and clean up the bed.
I was first introduced to periwinkles on a visit to the Royal Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, a settlement established by Samuel de Champlain in 1605. The flower is also known as Myrtle and is a North American native. It has many uses in folk medicine.
Periwinkle is also a shade of blue that’s leaning towards violet, similar to lavender blue. According to Crayola, its personality traits are serenity, purity and infinity.
The image at left was taken from a tiny book called Flower Fairies of the Garden that I’ve had since the 1970s. It contains poems and pictures by Cicely Mary Barker. A beautiful website featuring all of Cicely’s fairies can be found at www.flowerfairies.com
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The periwinkle fairy! Love the little image on the book, it’s magical. Also never knew it was also known as myrtle. You know so many natural facts, Ms. Amy.
One of my spring favorites – I have quite a lot of it but one patch right near the door always blooms way before anything else. Those little faces just make me happy! And don’t you love the name – periwinkle – it even sounds magical!
Well. I knew periwinkle was myrtle but I had no idea at all that it was a native plant rather than a cultivar that spreads. I have a new appreciation for the periwinkle fairies that cluster on the bank below the deck, giving the chipmunks a place to hide from Miss Puss.
That Flower Fairies website is absolutely enchanting! It instantly brought back some lovely childhood memories, and I am so grateful for that. I am sure I still have one of the Flower fairy books somewhere.
A beautiful little flower with a beautiful colour and a beautiful name.
Not periwinkles, but bluebells have recently sprung up in great profusion in and around my garden – reminding me that raw, chaotic nature produces the greatest beauty! 🙂
So glad the periwinkle fairy added a sparkle to your day. The wonder of nature is that it is such a perfect blend of order, chaos and magic.
[…] invasion and the return of a native A few days ago I learned, from a lovely post at Flandrum Hill, that the myrtle growing in my yard is not just an unkempt inheritance from a previous owner, but […]
I love the picture – lots of periwinkle in my little garden… my favorite shade of blue! They lift my spirits when they bloom. Thank you for the website links, the Flower Fairies is so enchanting!