Our Forum…

So, all through spring I was working on an epic Faerie garden. I have foxgloves, thyme, 2 kinds of mint, fern, pansies, and an adorable pink bell flower. I had Faerie stones and sun and moon decorations and I left offerings there. Yes, everything was going great and I was really started to notice them.

….Then my dad added an iron fence to keep the chickens out of the garden.

Don't get me wrong, I appriecate him trying to help…but now it feels like my garden has been emptied. Offerings go unnoticed and I haven't seen or heard anything since he put it up. However, I have started having weird, depressing dreams when before my dreams were awesome.

So here's my questions:

*Is it possible the Fae are pissed (hope I can say that here….) at me, so they're ignoring me and making my dreams suck? I really don't know anything about Faeries and dreams, so I'm just wondering.

*Is there anyway to get them back to my garden that doesn't involve removing the offending object? Because I really can't ask my dad to take it down. It would be hard work for one thing and he would absolutly not understand why I was asking.

*Do you think this would be such a severe insult to the Fae that they would leave the entire area, not just the garden? Because I live deep in the country and there are lots of Faery places, but it seems building a lovely garden and then sticking iron in it once they get comfortable there is one of those things that might make them so mad they leave for good.

*What can I do to make up for this and, if they've left, get them to come back?

*Do all Faeries hate iron, or is it just some?

OK, long post, lol. Hope somebody can help me with at least some of these questions because I feel like I've really mucked up the whole relationship I was building. Even though I had nothing to do with the fence, for the record.

some faeries don't mind, do you know the song annachie gordon?

1. Iron tends to rust over time, which not only makes it look bad but can hurt the soil as the rusted iron leeches into the ground. Maybe if your dad can be made aware of this, he would be ok with replacing the iron fence with something else – plastic, or aluminum, or (better yet) wood. Or maybe if he thinks you're ok with there being no fence at all, he would also be ok with that. If you're willing and able to do part of the work yourself, he might be more open to the suggestion.

That's interesting about it hurting the soil. I might mention that tonight.

2. If worse comes to worst and the fence just can't be removed, you could try insulating it (like the way electrical wires are wrapped in stuff to keep people from touching the bare wires). The best way would probably be to encourage vines like ivy, honeysuckle and other living things to grow up and over it if you can. Or depending on how the fence is made, you might be able to wrap bits of cloth and things around it to cover up the exposed metal, and maybe tie the cloth down with ribbons to make it look festive. It might be hard to do this without it looking strange or silly – but then again, it could be a chance for you to be really creative. For that kind of thing I'd say natural materials like cotton or wool would be best. Actually silk would be the very best material, since it has insulating properties, but it can also be kindof  expensive. You might be able to find some old silk handkerchiefs, or an old silk shirt from Goodwill that could be cut up into squares, or something, though.

That's a really good idea, especially since someone just gave me a couple of ivy plants. I'll totally be trying that, thanks!

Whatever you decide to do, it's probably a good idea to also go into some of the faerie places outside your garden, let the faeries know what happened and that you weren't responsible for it, and to apologize to them. If you've decided on a way to try to fix things, also let them know that – or ask them for their own ideas about how to fix it. Setting out some offerings like milk and honey, semi-precious stones, etc. might also help regain their trust.

I will also try that. I left them an offering of incense and ginger last night, but I'll try putting in other places they frequent besides the garden. Thanks for the advice!

 Fast growing vine that  I think won't mind the iron is Morning glory. gotta watch it though it can get invasive. But it grows like mischief. grows from seed which makes it a cheap choice too.

 Lets see Hops is another one,  Grape vines in the right climate grow fast. Climbing roses in the right climate can be fast growing. Clemantis ( watch trimming it its irritating to the skin) They'll cover it in a season. The problem with the vines is that they won't cover it in the winter time.   Grape vines, and ivy are shade tolerant and require shade in hot climates.

Vines are the easiest plant to grow from cuttings so you can thicken it up once  you get some going.

Yes, the vine plants are a really good idea. I'll probably have to do that.

One thing that kinda grabbed my attention is that they are going to know that it was your father and not you that did the iron fence.  You may have trouble convincing them to come back because your not the problem. You read quite a bit about using iron in this way to prevent children from being abducted ( I doubt the abductions were all that real probably just relatives kidnapping or children dying from other causes)  I'd suggest trying to get your dad on board at least as far as the fence is concerned. I know its going to be hard but I think it is probably the best thing. . Another thing chickens are good for the garden I'd encourage them to be in there. They eat harmful bugs in large quantities. I'll probably have a couple showy bantams to do bug control in mine if I can find some.

I'll talk to him about it. It's not really an issue of the chickens eating the plants, he layed straw down all around them to keep the weeds down. The chickens eat the straw and then step on the plants, etc.

Loreena MacKennit does a really nice version of Anarchie Gordan.  I have no idea what the words are to the song though I'll have to go back and look into it.  If they don't like winter why the heck would they live in Cape Breton and Newfoundland. Do you know how much snow they get up  there? there? 

What I reccomend is that you go out there and tell the faery out loud- that you truly apologize and that it wsnt your idea – and ask them for how you can make things better–   since your father probably won't permit you to take the iron fence down,    I reccomend adding some pieces of wood, or other natural things along that side of that fence facing the garden.      Tell the faery that you are blocking the iron from their garden for them.

That's a great idea.  I apologized and left them some offerings in all the places I've sensed them, but I'll try asking what they would like. You know the faery communication symbol and the faery flag? I was thinking about painting those on pieces of wood and leaving them on each side of the garden.

Even if the iron doesnt physically hurt the faery,   they will be offended if they see it-   because people in the earlier centuries used to use it to chase them away–    so they do take it personally.

That's interesting. I always thought it hurt them or blocked them somehow. If they're offended and not being hurt by it, then there's probably a good chance of getting them to come back, right?

Here is a letter I received from a woman who channels the faery-   You can ask the faery questions on her site, and that particular faery being will have her reply back for you- 

Is that from the http://faeriefolkies.com/ you posted? If it's not, what website is that? Because that's interesting.

Thanks a lot to everyone who responded! You've all really helped.

Bluefirephoenix said:

Just a thought for future reference. It  probably takes more than a day or two to put up a fence of any kind. If your aware that someone who you have no authority over is going to take an action which would be offensive,  I would try to give some advanced warning.   They may be able to help deter trouble before it begins especiallyl if it involves something they're into such as a garden.

Actually, it's just a short little fence. You know, about chicken level to keep them out. He put it up while I was at work and since it's a small garden and small fence, I don't think it took him that long.

You  know it's suprisingly hard to clear out iron out of the garden. I've not had much of a chance to mess with the garden yet except to get the rooted starts into the ground so they can establish before winter, basically the studio building is going to have to be re sided and re roofed to make it more friendly.  The sidhe have already covered most of the fence which is essentially horse size chicken wire with nightshade. It looks like they were trying to block off the surrounding woods. I get the impression they were not too keen on the previous humans in this place.  I'm trying to figure out if it's safe to cut down the part of the fence blocking a beautifully compoested 4 ft pile of horse manure. It's covered with nightshade and I'm wondering if to wait for fall. I know I'm being watched but I don't sense trust there yet.  The security system here looks like something you'd see in New York City or someplace like that not in a rural island community, so I think the antagonism was significant.

Has anyone found greenhouses to be a problem with the sidhe?  The produce farm up the road has massive rows of greenhouses the feel is kinda like that scene in X files with the bees. I get a really uneasy feeling about them I'm not sure if its the striking resemblemce to the movie or if its something else.