English Folklore: The Tulip Faeries

Our gardens are magickal places. Not only do they grow the food we need to sustain our bodies and continue the cycle of life, but they can also be homes to magickal creatures of all kinds. And if we already have a knack for finding the magick around us, then it isn’t too hard to know which magickal creatures reside within these lush and beautiful spaces full of vegetation. But sometimes we can find magickal garden creatures when we aren’t expecting it, just like the old woman’s garden in the Fairy Tulips.

The tale of the Fairy Tulips was adapted into a story written by James Reeves called The Tulip Bed in a collection of short fairy tales from different countries. Originating in England, this story begins on the edge of Dartmoor, where an old woman lived alone in a cottage, but while she lived alone, she was never lonely. She kept a garden and took much pride in growing beautiful flowers and plants. Every day she would wake up and water the garden, carefully pulling weeds she saw growing. Her garden was full of rosemary, lilies, lavender, forget-me-nots, primrose, and hollyhock. It was the envy of the neighbors, who would often peak their heads over the shrubs to admire the old woman’s flowerbeds.

Just beyond the cottage was a large field where the Faeries lived. There came a time when the Fae babies would not fall asleep in their cradles. The babies lay awake at night, and the Fae mothers barely got any sleep. So they came up with a brilliant idea.

One night as she sat outside on the porch during the full moon, the old woman heard the tinkling of bells. She assumed it was the Fae folk as they had come before and left rings in her yard. Not wanting to bother them, she went inside for the evening and decided to get ready for bed. As soon as she crawled into bed, the tinkling bells grew quiet, and she heard the sweet singing of a lullaby along with the sounds of babies’ laughter. She quietly got out of bed and went to the window. As she peered out, there was nothing to be seen.

The next night, as she began to snuggle down into bed, again she heard the sweet singing of a lullaby and babies’ laughter. This time, as she looked out the window, it seemed as if the tulips were rustling. In the morning, she inspected the tulip bed but found no trace of any signs someone had been there. On the third night, as she tucked into bed, the sweet singing of a lullaby and babies’ laugher could once again be heard. This time she tiptoed quietly through the house and out into the garden. The moon was bright and round in the sky, providing enough light for her to see the flowers, and the tulips were swaying to and fro. As she peered down into the tulips for a closer look, she saw a Fae mother standing by each tulip. They were gently rocking a Fae baby who was cradled in the cup of the flower. The babies were laughing and playing, and slowly, they began to get sleepy with the rocking.

That night, the old woman fell asleep with her heart full of joy. Her soul overflowed with love for the Faeries and the flowers in her garden. For years, the old woman tended her tulips. She never picked the flowers or pruned them. And each night, she would leave a thimble of honey and a saucer of water for bathing as thanks for tending her tulips. The tulips in her garden grew brighter, bigger, and bloomed throughout the year, thanks to the Faeries.

The day finally came when the old woman crossed over to Summerland, and her soul drifted along like the Faeries’ song. As the sun rose the next day, her garden mourned her passing. And as the story goes, a farmer purchased her cottage. He tore up the garden to make room for more profitable crops like parsley. The neighbors begged him to keep the tulips out of respect for the old woman and her Faeries, but the farmer scoffed at their request. He tore the tulips from the ground and planted his own crops. But as hard as the farmer sowed and tilled, he never reaped a single harvest. Eventually, the farmer abandoned the land and the cottage. And as the earth took over, the flowers began to grow once again. The cottage regained its color through the wildflowers, and the Faeries returned to the land, but the red tulips never grew again.

She was the last of her family to perish, so she had no one to tend to her grave. Each month at the full moon, the Fae mothers gather and place red tulips atop the old woman’s grave.

For many, the story of the tulip Faeries represents the love and magick of the mother figure. The Faeries cared for their babies just like humans as they rocked them to sleep in their tulip cradles. It teaches us that if we tend to something with all our hearts, it too will grow and blossom into something beautiful. The old woman loved her garden and the Faeries that came to stay there. Their symbiotic relationship provided a way for the Fae mothers to soothe their babies to sleep and the old woman to find joy in her thriving flowers. In thanks for the safety of the garden, the Fae mothers helped the tulips grow bigger and stronger, the same as they wanted for their babies.

When we work together with the magickal creatures around us, whether in our garden or not, light and love will fill our hearts with joy.