Flowers, Herbs, and the Faeries of May
 
by Edain McCoy
 
From Beltaine to Midsummer, the faery kingdom celebrates the newborn
spring. Throughout the centuries, Europeans made note of which
vernal foliage was attractive to the wee folk and, by contrast,
which plants would offer protection. Those plants marked with an
asterisk (*) are poisonous and should be cultivated only with great
caution, and should never be grown wherever children or pets are
present.
 
Bluebell --- If bluebells ring in your garden, an evil faery is near.
Carnation --- The red ones draw faeries who enjoy healing animals.
Clover --- Wildly attractive to faery life.
Cowslip --- The best choice for attracting faeries to your yard.
Dandelion --- Believed to be used by faeries to make beverages.
Dill --- The fresh plant has a scent faeries dislike.
Foxglove* --- A favorite of earth elementals.
Hawthorne --- Sacred to faeries, as well as to May Queen.
Heliotrope* --- Enjoyed by fire elementals.
Gorse --- Repels virtually all faery life.
Hollyhock* --- A faery favorite, particularly the pink variety.
Lilac --- The gentle scent draws faery life.
Lobelia* --- Will help attract winged faeries.
Mistletoe* --- Can also attract unpleasant tree faeries.
Morning Glory* --- Repels unwanted night faeries
Mushrooms* --- Often used by faeries to mark the boundaries of their
sacred circles or portals to their world.
Pansy --- Known to attract parades of trooping faeries.
Primrose --- Believed to give faeries their power of invisibility.
Rosemary --- The fresh plant protects from baneful faeries.
Sassafras --- Enjoyed by air elementals.
Shamrock --- A form of clover Celtic faeries adore.
 
(The above article for "Flowers, Herbs, and the Faeries of May" is
written by Edain McCoy and directly quoted from "Llewellyn's 1995
Magical Almanac", pages 88-92, Llewellyn Publications, 1994.)