Flower Fairy Season

On the transformation of fairy folklore as seen through the art of Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973), a pioneering illustrator who shaped the image of the flower fairy for the 20th century.

“The Lilac Fairy” from Flower Fairies of the Trees by Cicely Mary Barker ca. 1940. © The Estate of Cicely Mary Barker

When I was little, my mother filled my childhood with fairies.

The tooth fairy left money, along with little notes and a shower of fairy dust (craft glitter) across the bedroom floor. On Saint Patrick’s Day, my sister and I woke up to find our toys strewn throughout the hall and down the stairs—we were told that leprechauns were quite mischievous. Christina and I would scurry down to the living room to check our “leprechaun traps,” which we would assemble from old shoe boxes and gingerly set out the night before. The leprechaun always seemed to outsmart us, but he left us chocolate coins and a little letter boasting of how we would never, ever catch him. Hilariously, there was even a “Las Vegas fairy” (no, I’m not kidding) who visited with sweets when my parents embarked on a weekend trip and left us in the care of our grandmother.

But most of all, there were the flower f…