14th March ... periwinkle!

The wood was sparkling this morning!  Like little sunbursts of mauve, the periwinkle flowers have suddenly appeared, studding and starring the woodland floor with their pretty, open faces.  Their leaves are bright green against the leaf little and tiny insects and spiders, birds and animals are exploring the new growth looking for shelter, food and mates!

In ancient times, periwinkle was believed to be a plant which assured safe passage from this world to the next ... unfortunates on the way to the scaffold would be given a circlet of periwinkle by their loved-ones, to see them across the divide, while more pleasantly, village maidens would gather posies of the flower and take them to bed, hoping to get a glimpse of their lovers-to-be via the intercession of the spirit world.

Certainly to see their sweet, spring-like brightness amid the dull dross of the winter's debris is a magical insight into the world of Faerie as the spring begins to take shape ...


Magical - lesser Periwinkle