The Rose Family of Fairies: Advice for Gardeners

Photography by Elizabeth Elder @emackphoto

Story Model: Emily O’Dette @esodette
Gown: Firefly Path @fireflypath
Wings: HelloFaerie @hellofaerie
Crown: Fiori Couture @fioricouture
Videography: Griffin Sendek @griffinsendek

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, said Mr. Shakespeare, but the rose family (Rosaceae) is so large and varied that his poetic statement is not entirely accurate. Of course, that family includes our common garden roses, but also fruit trees and shrubs. Even the strawberry is a kind of rose. Some members of the rose family are sweetly scented, some have no scent at all, but what they do all have is fairies. Members of the rose family fairly swarm with fairies, and when the peach and pear and plum trees are blooming, you may see a fairy sitting on every branch.

Some of these fairies are mild-mannered, but others can be quite pesky, so readers of this magazine may wonder, How do I deal with fairies in my garden? Dealing with fairies in an orchard is a separate issue, and I would direct you to “The Problem of Fairies in a Commercial Orchard” by Rev. Edwidg Higginbottom, where he describes what to do if, for example, fairies attack the families that come to pick apples in your orchard, pulling their hair and pinching them in defense of the fruit.

Here I shall deal only with the average urban or suburban garden, which contains perhaps a few rosebushes, a cherry or apricot tree, and a raspberry bush from which the homemaker intends to make jams and preserves. I shall focus specifically on the rose family of fairies, which are by far the most troublesome of the garden fairies, but certainly worth having—just like the plants they care for and defend.

Consider, for example, how easy it is to grow lilacs, peonies, or daffodils. All these have their own fairies, but they give us practically no trouble at all. However, roses must be cared for diligently lest they get black spot or an infestation of aphids. They must be pruned in the right season, as must fruit trees and bushes, if you are to get any fruit. The rose family of fairies are exactly as troublesome as their plants. Let us now discuss them in detail, so you will know what to expect from your particular set of fairies and why you may wish to include them in your garden despite the additional care they require.

Old Rose Fairies

The old rose fairies are as varied as the roses themselves, from the prickly wild roses that scramble through country hedges to the stately bourbons and gallicas that ornament our rose beds.

I am always delighted to see a fairy ball in my bed of old roses. Some of the fairies play miniature lutes and pipes and tabors, while others engage in ancient court dances, moving in intricate figures over the grass. They dress in gowns made of rose petals, the albas in pale many-petalled confections, the gallicas in various shades of pink, the damasks wearing mossy green caps. The queen of my garden, the Empress Josephine fairy, sits in state on a toadstool, watching the throng.

Modern Rose Fairies

The modern rose fairies are more troublesome, but great fun. They are the fairies of garden roses hybridized after 1867, and their ancestors come from all over the world—India, China, Japan, and elsewhere. They think the old roses are dull, and on moonlit nights you can see them jitterbugging to a cricket jazz band. Their petal outfits are colorful, from creamy yellow to mauve and deep purple, and they tend to be daringly modern in style. Some of the female fairies even wear trousers!

Fruit Bush and Other Plant Fairies

Fruit bush fairies tend to be shy—the raspberry and blackberry fairies hide in their bushes, so you may scarcely see them. But the strawberry fairies are as bold as their bright red caps, and if you are polite to them, they will show you which of their berries are the ripest and ready for picking.

Fruit Tree Fairies

I must confess that the fruit tree fairies are my favorite. In spring, I like to see the peach and plum and apricot fairies sitting on the branches of their trees in delicate pink and white gowns. They are good friends to the birds, helping to build nests and rescuing baby birds that have fallen out of them. The apple blossom fairies can be a bit sour and disagreeable, especially the wild crabs, but they are worth the trouble. If you gain their friendship, you will have a bountiful harvest of apples to keep in your cellar over the winter.

The most beautiful by far, in my opinion at least, are the cherry blossom fairies. In spring you will see them, arrayed in layers of pink tulle, covering their trees so completely that it looks as though they are having a debutante ball. It is a treat seeing them flutter through the air or float down to the grass like pink snow. The trouble you will take in growing a cherry tree will be worth it for the beauty they bring to your garden.

The rose family of plants is not the easiest to grow, and if you have been wounded by the sharp thorn of a protective blackberry fairy or suffered through an invasion of aphids, you may be tempted to give up on them. But I urge you to persevere, for no other fairies bring such beauty and grace to your garden.