By Leslie Cox
Special to the Record
Who isn鈥檛 fond of fairies? I suspect there may be some who are not. Sad, really.
You see, I grew up on Pookie, the winged rabbit book series by Scottish author and illustrator, Ivy Wallace. Pookie shared all kinds of adventures in each book with garden elves, goblins and frogs. Strong suspicion points to these immensely popular books of the 1950s (republished in the mid-1990s) as the germination seeds of my vivid imagination.
So, when I first spotted a plant in a nursery labeled 鈥淔airy Wings鈥� I just had to buy it for my garden. And it did not disappoint.
Properly named Epimedium x rubrum, this plant was a tidy mound of mottled green and burgundy red leaves. Bunches of small flowers made up of four red sepals surrounding four, larger sepals which cup the four true petals were dancing just above the leaves like so many joyful little fairies. At least, that is how they appeared to me and what captured my heart.
Other gardeners probably know this plant species better by its other common name: 鈥渂ishop鈥檚 hat.鈥� Okay, I can see the resemblance in the flower shape but I much prefer my fairy wing interpretation.
Fairies and bishops aside, there is still a lot to love about this plant. It thrives very well among a mass of tree roots. In fact, tree roots keep the area well-drained because epimediums do not like to be water-logged. Dappled shade is also one of their preferences. But that about sums up their needs. Not bothered by diseases, very minimal insect chewing and supposedly deer and rabbit resistant. I can attest to the rabbit-proof bit as the resident wild bunny in my garden has left my epimediums alone. Up until now.
I did notice this year that one of my Epimedium x versicolor 鈥楽ulphureum鈥� plants had some of the leaves chewed off. And that plant is next to a gold Carex grass, of which the bunny is especially fond. But I have not caught the bunny in the act, so I hesitate to condemn. Especially since a tiny Epimedium alpinum just a few hops away has all its leaves and flowers鈥� er, fairy wings.
I must say my imagination does not need any encouragement in chasing down a couple more fairy wing specimens for my garden. One can never have too many of this truly easy-care plant.
Speaking of fairies鈥� who has seen a fairy ring? No, not kidding. It is an actual 鈥渢hing.鈥� We have seen one but, naturally, we saw it on a day when I was not packing my camera. Dang. You are just going to have to take my word for how neat this fairy ring鈥r pixie circle is.
Scientifically speaking, fairy rings are caused by mycelium鈥 network of fungal threads that form into a circular pattern. You can easily spot a fairy ring because a ring of mushrooms are the exposed fruiting bodies of mycelium.
Once all, or most, of the nutrients in the inner circle are consumed, the mycelium casts itself outward into a wider circle. And the circle can get huge over time.
A fairy ring discovered in Belfort, France is purported to be the largest one ever found at an astonishing 600 metres across and estimated to be about 700 years old. This fairy ring dates back to King Philip V of France!
Bishops, fairies, goblins, elves and pixies鈥hen all is said and done, who鈥檚 to say which moniker is right? To each their own, I say. Just so long as you have an imagination. That is the most important thing.
Leslie Cox co-owns Growing Concern Cottage Garden in Black Creek. Her website is at www.duchessofdirt.ca
