All Results for Tom Roberts, Author at Flower Fairies

The Flower Fairies Summer Garden Trail at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

Flower Fairies are coming to Hampshire this summer!  From 19 July to 3 September, Cicely Mary Barker’s much loved creations will feature in Sir Harold Hillier Gardens’ spectacular children’s trail.

What could be more fun than slipping on a pair of fairy wings and exploring one of the county’s most beautiful gardens?  Twelve fairies feature in the trail along with children’s activities and a fairy grotto.  Cicely’s accurate illustrations are a perfect fit for the Gardens – well-known for excellence in horticulture and conservation.

Fairies in the trail include the Honeysuckle Fairy, the Poppy Fairy, the Harebell Fairy and the Foxglove Fairy. The £5 trail (plus normal admission prices) includes a ‘fairy passport’ with activities and a pair of wings.

Flower Fairies: Botanical Magic at The Garden Museum

Since they first crept out from behind leaves and flowers in 1918 for the Elves and Fairies postcards, Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies™ have been enchanting and delighting children and adults alike. A selection of these charming characters will be on display at the Garden Museum this summer in an exhibition which celebrates the centenary of the earliest publication of Cicely Mary Barker’s first fairy illustrations.

Continuing to be inspired by fairies Cicely Mary Barker published the first of her Flower Fairies books in 1923. Visitors will see original illustrations for more than 40 of her Flower Fairiesdesigns, drawing extensively from the Frederick Warne archive which is an imprint of Penguin Random House UK. There will also be previously unseen sketchbooks and drawings together with her research materials.

Younger visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to dress up as some of their favourite fairies from Barker’s Illustrations and send pictures to family and friends.

Some key pieces in the exhibition include a rare set of 1918 Elves and Fairies postcards and the original artwork for these, as well as the preparatory sketches for the White Bindweed Fairy, Alder Fairy and Jack-go-to-Bed at noon. There will be artwork from all eight of the original Flower Fairies books, including Flower Fairies of the Winter, which was published posthumously. Favourites include the Fuchsia Fairy, the Strawberry Fairy, the Rose Fairy and the Horse Chestnut Fairy.

The exhibition will be held alongside a number of family-friendly events, including cookery workshops which explore the use of edible flowers in food and garden workshops which will allow children to make fairy gardens.

 

Flower Fairies of the Spring

The Flower Fairies Colouring Book

The Complete Book of The Flower Fairies

Robert James Bronze sculptures at Chelsea Flower Show

Robert James launched their incredible bronze Flower Fairies sculptures at Chelsea Flower Show this month, bringing the Clover Fairy and the Gorse Fairy to life in exquisite detail.

It has been a real pleasure for us to work with these talented sculptors who aim to bring enchantment from childhood into the contemporary garden.

 

Flower Fairies Exhibition Now On at Huis Ten Bosch – Nagasaki, Japan

Located in Nagasaki prefecture, Huis Ten Bosch is a famous theme park that is a recreation of a Dutch town, complete with beautiful canals and nature.  Flowers bloom throughout the seasons in this park and right now there is a Flower Fairies exhibition being held as part of the 2017 Flower Festival.

Visitors can enjoy gorgeous Flower Fairies displays featuring their art and poems, as well as information about the flowers themselves.  There will be an area where you can enjoy many unique experiences, including meeting fairies with the help of digital imagery and an enchanted mirror.

This exhibition will run through to 3rd July 2017

 

 

Introducing the Flower Fairies ™ Secret Garden Collection!

CHICAGO, IL – Ultimate Source, Inc. Ultimate Source is excited to announce their partnership with the Estate of Cicely Mary Barker and Penguin Random House to introduce the NEW Flower Fairies Secret Garden Collection. This brand-new miniature gardening product line includes 8 Flower Fairies, multiple accessories, and planter kits to create your own real or imaginary miniature garden. With all the diverse ways to decorate your garden, it’s easy to collect, create, and imagine your Flower Fairies world.

Ultimate Source Sr. Manager, Joyce Sprau, has this to say about the product line, “I saw a gap in the market for a Fairy Garden product line specifically designed for kids.  The challenge was to find the right license because children need a story and characters that they can relate to.  I found the perfect harmony through the stories of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker.”

These Flower Fairies are unlike any other miniature garden item on the market, as they are made with durable plastic and they are safety tested for children ages 6 and over. Children can choose to create their real miniature garden using live plants or create an imaginary garden with foam moss and silk plants designed perfectly for the Flower Fairies world. Once they design their own scene, children can continue to play, imagine, and re-create the Flower Fairies stories.

For more information on all of the designs available, visit www.flowerfairiesgarden.com.
Be sure to follow Flower Fairies Secret Garden on Instagram @flower_fairies_secretgarden, on Facebook at Flower Fairies Secret Garden, and on Twitter @flowerfairiesSG

Flower Fairy Hunt | 3rd – 16th April | King John’s Nursery & Garden

The Fairies emerge along with the flowers at King John’s, and this popular fairy hunt gets the children excited, inquisitive and imaginative as they wander around the garden looking for little fairy doors. This year the event will be combined with a special spring watch day on Saturday 15th April. There will be the various activities for children to watch and learn about nature in spring time and do the fairy hunt. There will also be a fairy tea in the cafe to re-energise after the hunt!

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Archive Sundays Launch

This year we’ve launched an exciting a new feature for our Facebook followers called #ArchiveSundays

One of the most special things about the Flower Fairies is their history and heritage, so on the last Sunday of each month we will be sharing some exclusive finds from deep in the archives – from original sketches and covers to interesting history and facts about Cicely Mary Barker herself.

 

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Join us on Instagram

Follow us at Instagram.com/officialflowerfairies for a celebration of Cicely Mary Barker’s illustration, associated arts and crafts, and sneak peeks from behind the scenes.

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Enchanting new Flower Fairies range from Enesco

This brand new collection of ceramic, textile and figural gifts features the enchanting Flower Fairies, originally drawn by Cicely Mary Barker. Available from Border Fine Arts Contemporary.

The first Flower Fairies illustrations were published in 1923 and combined accurate drawings of flowers – often based on Cicely’s studies at London’s Kew Gardens – with fairy images based on real children who attended her sister’s nursery school.

Border Fine Arts designers have been inspired by Cicely’s wonderful Candytuft and Gorse illustrations and by adding a contemporary twist using pastel pink and bright yellow backgrounds, have created a beautiful collection featuring tea sets, scarves and umbrellas.

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The Nightshade Berry Fairy

“You see my berries, how they gleam and glow,
Clear ruby-red, and green, and orange-yellow;
Do they not tempt you, fairies, dangling so?”
The fairies shake their heads and answer “No!
You are a crafty fellow!”
“What, won’t you try them? There is naught to pay!

Why should you think my berries poisoned things?
You fairies may look scared and fly away—
The children will believe me when I say
My fruit is fruit for kings!”
But all good fairies cry in anxious haste,
“O children, do not taste!”

The Snowdrop Fairy

Deep sleeps the Winter,
Cold, wet, and grey;
Surely all the world is dead;
Spring is far away.
Wait! the world shall waken;
It is not dead, for lo,
The Fair Maids of February
Stand in the snow!

The White Bindweed Fairy

O long long stems that twine!
O buds, so neatly furled!
O great white bells of mine,
(None purer in the world)
Each lasting but one day!
O leafy garlands, hung
In wreaths beside the way—
Well may your praise be sung!

The Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon Fairy

I’ll be asleep by noon!
Though bedtime comes so soon,
I’m busy too.
Twelve puffs!—and then from sight
I shut my flowers tight;
Only by morning light
They’re seen by you.

Then, on some day of sun,
They’ll open wide, each one,
As something new!
Shepherd, who minds his flock,
Calls it a Shepherd’s Clock,
Though it can’t say “tick-tock”
As others do!

The Sow Thistle Fairy

I have handsome leaves, and my stalk is tall,
And my flowers are prettily yellow;
Yet nobody thinks me nice at all:
They think me a tiresome fellow—
An ugly weed
And a rogue indeed.

For wherever I happen to spy,
As I look around,
That they’ve dug their ground,
I say to my seeds “Go, fly!”

And because I am found
On the nice soft ground,
A trespassing weed am I!

The Jack-By-The-Hedge Fairy

“’Morning, Sir, and how-d’ye-do?
’Morning, pretty lady!”
That is Jack saluting you,
Where the lane is shady.

Don’t you know him? Straight and tall—
Taller than the nettles;
Large and light his leaves; and small
Are his buds and petals.

Small and white, with petals four,
See his flowers growing!
If you never knew before,
There is Jack for knowing!

The Greater Celandine Fairy

You come with the Spring,
O swallow on high!
You come with the Spring,
And so do I.

Your nest, I know,
Is under the eaves;
While far below
Are my flowers and leaves.

Yet, to and fro
As you dart and fly,
You swoop so low
That you brush me by!

I come with the Spring;
The wall is my home;
I come with the Spring
When the swallows come.

The Black Medick Fairies

“Why are we called ‘Black’, sister,
When we’ve yellow flowers?”
“I will show you why, brother:
See these seeds of ours?
Very soon each tiny seed
Will be turning black indeed!”

The Fumitory Fairy

Given me hundreds of years ago,
My name has a meaning you shall know:
It means, in the speech of the bygone folk,
“Smoke of the Earth” —a soft green smoke!

A wonderful plant to them I seemed;
Strange indeed were the dreams they dreamed,
Partly fancy and partly true,
About “Fumiter” and the way it grew.

Where men have ploughed
or have dug the ground,
Still, with my rosy flowers, I’m found;
Known and prized by the bygone folk
As “Smoke of the Earth” —
a soft green smoke!

The Rose-Bay Willow-Herb Fairy

On the breeze my fluff is blown;
So my airy seeds are sown.

Where the earth is burnt and sad,
I will come to make it glad.

All forlorn and ruined places,
All neglected empty spaces,

I can cover—only think!—
With a mass of rosy pink.

Burst then, seed-pods; breezes, blow!
Far and wide my seeds shall go!

The Ground Ivy Fairy

In Spring he is found;
He creeps on the ground;
But someone’s to blame
For the rest of his name—

For Ivy he’s not!
Oh dear, what a lot
Of muddles we make!
It’s quite a mistake,

And really a pity
Because he’s so pretty;
He deserves a nice name—
Yes, someone’s to blame!

The Red Campion Fairy

Here’s a cheerful somebody,
By the woodland’s edge;
Campion the many-named,
Robin-in-the-hedge.
Coming when the bluebells come,
When they’re gone, he stays,
(Round Robin, Red Robin)
All the summer days.

Soldiers’ Buttons, Robin Flower,
In the lane or wood;
Robin Redbreast, Red Jack,
Yes, and Robin Hood!

The Red Clover Fairy

The Fairy:
O, what a great big bee
Has come to visit me!
He’s come to find my honey.
O, what a great big bee!

The Bee:
O, what a great big Clover!
I’ll search it well, all over,
And gather all its honey.
O, what a great big Clover!

The Stork’s-bill Fairy

“Good morning, Mr Grasshopper!
Please stay and talk a bit!”
“Why yes, you pretty Fairy;
Upon this grass I’ll sit.
And let us ask some riddles;
They’re better fun than chat:
Why am I like the Stork’s-bill?
Come, can you answer that?”

“Oh no, you clever Grasshopper!
I fear I am a dunce;
I cannot guess the answer—
I give it up at once!”
“When children think they’ve caught me,
I’m gone, with leap and hop;
And when they gather Stork’s-bill,
Why, all the petals drop!”

The Tansy Fairy

In busy kitchens, in olden days,
Tansy was used in a score of ways;
Chopped and pounded,
when cooks would make
Tansy puddings and tansy cake,
Tansy posset, or tansy tea;
Physic or flavouring tansy’d be.
People who know
Have told me so!

That is my tale of the past; today,
Still I’m here by the King’s Highway,
Where the air from the fields
is fresh and sweet,
With my fine-cut leaves and my flowers neat.
Were ever such button-like flowers seen—
Yellow, for elfin coats of green?
Three in a row—
I stitch them so!

The Bee Orchis Fairy

In the grass o’ the bank,
by the side o’ the way,
Where your feet may stray
On your luckiest day,
There’s a sight most rare
that your eyes may see:

A beautiful orchis that looks like a bee!
A velvety bee, with a proud little elf,
Who looks like the wonderful
orchis himself—
In the grass o’ the hill,
Not often, but still
Just once in a way
On your luckiest day!

The Ribwort Plantain Fairy

Hullo, Snailey-O!
How’s the world with you?
Put your little horns out;
Tell me how you do?
There’s rain, and dust, and sunshine,
Where carts go creaking by;
You like it wet, Snailey;
I like it dry!

Hey ho, Snailey-O,
I’ll whistle you a tune!
I’m merry in September
As e’er I am in June.
By any stony roadside
Wherever you may roam,
All the summer through, Snailey,
Plantain’s at home!

The Agrimony Fairies

Spikes of yellow flowers,
All along the lane;
When the petals vanish,
Burrs of red remain.

First the spike of flowers,
Then the spike of burrs;
Carry them like soldiers,
Smartly, little sirs!