Fairies After Dark

Fairies After Dark – A Memorandum

Fairies are everywhere, but you are most likely to see them after dark. I learned this while walking in the woods of a most exquisite Fairie Garden. Or is it Faerie? Or Fairy? Fae?
It seems that spelling is as ever-changing and fleeting as the fairies themselves.

fairy post tiny home — outpost at the beginning of Fairie land – you always introduce yourself here, when entering the garden

Never mind the spelling of Fairies. That is not how you get their attention.

To invite fairies into your world, you must provide a fun place for them to visit and entice them to stay. Your garden must have whimsy, pizzazz, flash, sparkle, dazzle and yes, lots and lots of razzle.

FAIRIES LOVE RAZZLE AND DAZZLE AND PLAYFUL GARDENS — a quaint meeting hall for Fairies, often you will hear chimes sounding from here

It cannot be a dull drag of grass. Grass is a certain death for fairies The landscape must invite fantasy and play. Think: playful, unique, dream-like. I highly recommend you create artsy homes out of reclaimed materials. Ideally, you use natural materials. Fairies actively seek out gardens where the Earth is honoured and loved.

There is a handy Do’s and Don’ts list at the end of this Memorandum.

Fairies love a good party. Especially after dark.

Your Fairie garden will be full of the sprightly spirits, if you fill it with sparkles, crystals and a variety of nooks and crannies. Hide ’n seek is their favourite game. That’s why you can never see them. They are always playing hide n seek with you. And, they are very, very, very good!

You just don’t get it(if you’re ‘grown up’).
Ask a young one.
They see Fairies all the time.

basic Fairie Garden building materials: impatiens (all colours, the more the better!), moss, old log, swirly, twirly do-dad plants, twigs

Fairies After Dark dance area — Do Not Attempt this large-scale garden on your own! Seek professional help.
This Fairie Paradise is at Bullington Gardens, in North Carolina, USA. Link at the end of this memorandum.

Best time to discover in your own Fairie Garden.

Wait till almost dark. Walk through your garden at dusk and you will hear them stirring. The woods may be still but there will be a whirl in the air, like a soft breeze, which you can’t place. That’s the fairies making plans for after dark. They are curious. Oh so inquisitive. Their nosiness is beyond all measure. Your presence will excite them. And, their jubilant excitement is effervescent.

Fairies After Dark typical fairy home — typical Fairie home, where the pre-party happens, low-key but oh so much fun!

Grumpy visitors will surely fail.

Your attitude affects your experience. If you carry curiosity in your mind and joy in your heart, as you wander through your newly built Fairie Garden, the fairies will surround you in no time at all.

Be a grump and your visit will be a lump – of gargantuan disappointment. Save yourself. Soften your mood. Find a little cheer in your heart before you depart on your Fairie walk-about.

Fairies After Dark where the fairy dance raves happen — this is the usual type of Fairie complex where the all-night dance parties and raves take place – build it and they will come

Fairies after dark are the biggest tricksters.
Watch where you step. (or don’t. But I warned you)

Better yet, don’t walk!
If you visit them in the late evening, in the most fantastical fairy garden you have created (I am assigning you great creative powers!), plant yourself on a little stool made of wood. Bring some bug spray and listen.

Listen. Teee heee heee.
Crunch. Crunch.

Their foot steps make the slightest sounds as the soft, wood branches bend under their playful hops and spring back up as the fairies take flight.

Fairies After Dark woods at sunset — a typical portal that Fairies use to visit their friends all over the world – it’s not for you. just admire it and walk on

Fairies know what’s what.

Strain your ears good (yes good, not well, this is a fairie memorandum – they dictated it!) As you tune into the sounds of the garden, you will hear a soft rustling. At first you think it is the leaves. But listen.

Notice the tone change. Notice the staccato rhythm. If you are fortunate enough to hear that, you are privy to a consortium of fairies laughing, giggling and playing.

Count your blessings. This is where dreams are born.

FAIRIE GARDEN TABLE SETTING FOR TWO MONIKA MEULMAN PHOTOGRAPHY — If you are feeling creatively brave, set up decorative stations out in the open, to entice them to entertain you

Let there be light – fire light.

If you are REALLY lucky, there will be fireflies out as well. Fairies love fireflies. With fireflies around, a fairie dance party almost always turns into a rave and can last all night.

Come to think of it, bring a thermos of hot cocoa just in case luck is on your side. You may even detect a faint whiff of their tiny fires burning in rock burrows.

This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for you. Oh, and leave the camera and phone at home. This kind of magic is not for mass consumption. Let this wander nourish your heart and soul. Know that you are ‘dancing’ with them in a world of your own.

Lastly, whatever you do, do not go into the portal – you are a mere mortal.

Fairies After Dark the portal for fairie magic — the portals may change colours as fairies come and go

Dos and Donts Short Summary

Do’s for Fairie Encounters

Create fun, playful structures in your garden (be your best 5 year old self!)
Use natural materials (Earth and Fairies are best friends)
Re-use materials in innovative ways – good luck
Add lots of sparkles and crystals
Make tiny homes, nooks and crannies (the funner the better, they said)
Design pathways that invite flitting around the plants
Fill your garden with 13.5 times more razzle and dazzle than you originally planned

Don’ts for Fairie Encounters

Don’t be an obnoxious twat (they can smell that a mile away)
Don’t be loud or crude
Don’t be needy or desperately seeking fairies (that’s so 1983)
Don’t forget to plant lots of flowers
Don’t forget to add building materials so they can make more homes (yeayee for lazy gardeners – leave your cuttings and pruning wherever!)
Don’t stomp around like a neanderthal (you’ll scare them away)
Don’t be grumpy. You are sure to trip and have an awful time.

All photos are copyright me, Monika Meulman Photography, and were taken on location at a splendid Fairie Garden (still under renovation after the fires and flooding), in Bullington Gardens in North Carolina. I hope you enjoy them.

Purchase Select Fairie Garden Photos here.