Bealtaine, Butterfly Ranunculae, Bluebells, Compost Cakes & Guinness Barley fields, yes summer is here!
And May is here, we look at the traditions of Bealtaine in Europe before walking you through fields of bluebells and barley & showing off flowers we made too.
“And the season is at its cusp. The moment will soon drop its weight to summer’
– Kevin Barry, ‘Beatlebone’
Yes, we know the weather has rollercoastered between winter and spring on an hourly basis lately but rest assured we feel positive that summer will arrive now that May Day happened this week. Let us explain all things Bealtaine, show off our Tan Organic event, chat about bluebells, tell you about an indoor barley field by florists, get you to think about baking a compost cake and bring all of the things we loved this week to you as our Bláthanna Grá. Enjoy X
NATURE STUDIES
Bealtaine - May Day - La Fête du Muguet - The Time of Love
Beannachtaí na Bealtaine to you all…
All over Europe, the First of May is celebrated as a day to welcome in summer, good fortune and love, the day is seen as the doorway into the season of Summer and we say Amen to the sunny days we hope approach us soon! Ancient Rome called the day Floralia because it was dedicated to the goddess of Spring and fertility.
We call it Bealtaine here. As a child, I used to love picking primroses & bluebells to make an altar around my First Communion Mary statue and to welcome the garden faeries. Here in Ireland, the primrose (Sabhaircín - Primula vulgaris) was traditionally linked to May Eve. Children used to gather them before dawn, posies were made to hang in the house or placed on the doorstep/windowsill. This woodland yellow flower was considered a powerful source of protection against evil spirits or fairies mischief. Indeed, primroses were also added to cows tails & rubbed on their udders to increase milk yield before they were moved to higher summer pastures to graze. My Mary Fairy altar childhood tradition is probably derived from the tradition of our relatives picking primroses to dedicate small altars to the Virgin Mary around our countryside too.
Families washed their faces in the First of May morning dew as it was considered a magical elixir to protect each person & bring prosperity & good luck for the summer. Funnily enough and I am not sure I would be so adventurous but legend has it that May Eve, called Nettlemas Night in Cork was when girls stung lovers with the early leaves & in west Galway, the man of the house would gather nettles to make juice for all who lived at home to drink & ensure good luck again for the summer months.
The National Folklore Collection describe May Eve Customs in 1938 here :
"We procure a branch preferably cross-shaped. Then we send the children to pluck a bunch of primroses and we string them onto the branch we have procured. The branch thus decorated is then erected in the midden before sunset. The belief was prevalent that neighboring witches could steal the milk during the entire year if they succeeded in taking it on May-eve before sunset. It was believed that the witch could not exercise her charm near the homestead where a May Pole was erected. Another custom is to throw a handful of the same primroses at your neighbor’s door in honour of the Blessed Virgin."
And then in France, a sprig of Lily of the Valley (Lily an ghleann - Convallaria majalis) or Le Muguet is given to all ladies in your life on May Day, the day is called La Fête du Muguet. Long associated with spring, renewal and luck, the tradition of offering le muguet to family and friends can be traced back to 1561 when King Charles IX of France received a sprig of the plant’s sweetly scented, bell-shaped white flowers. The king was told that it would bring him luck and prosperity for the year ahead & he decided to share the good fortune by offering lily of the valley to every lady in his court. A yearly tradition was born. Around 85% of France’s lily of the valley is grown in the Nantes area with the rest coming from Bordeaux. Today, the French continue to offer lily of the valley to their loved ones on 1 May, with many families getting up early to go into the woods to pick the flowers themselves. Plants and bouquets are widely available for sale across the country and it’s estimated that some 60 million brins de muguet (sprigs) are sold in France each year, representing an official market worth €24 million. However, on the First of May – and on this day alone – anyone in France can legally sell bouquets of lily of the valley on the street, without having to pay any taxes, as long as they adhere to certain conditions. These include being at least 40 meters from the nearest florist and not selling any other type of flower!
At home, this delicate dainty woodland flower, so scented above its size, informs Irish lore beliefs that they formed ladders for fairies so that they could reach reeds to plait their cradles. On our Carrowmore shoot in Bláthanna, we felt they were so appropriate to leave as a token of our thanks that day in the fairy field.
In Czech, Veronika just told me that the 1st of May is still celebrated as 'The Day of Love' / “Svátek zamilovaných” (Love Day) which is gorgeous.
At the beginning of the 19th Centure, the Czech Romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha composed his famous powem 'Máj' (May) about a tragic love between 2 people:
'It was late in the evening, on the first of May,
The eve of May was the time of love.
The turtle-dove's voice called to love,
Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay'
The tradition says that on May Day, that a girl should be kissed under a blossomed cherry tree but now allows for this passion to occur under any pretty tree in bloom. The kissing is also related to the tradition of building a Maypole. On May Eve, single men would go to the woods to cut a tree. They then removed the branches before decorating the trunk with different things such as scarves, ribbons, and flowers. They were originally built close to the windows of a chosen girl, the one who built it had to protect it before a potential competitor could destroy it! I presume that the Maypoles were moved to the village centres to prevent homes being damaged by mischevious pole fellers!
& OUR SIOPA STORIES FOR BEALTAINE
- all the latest in news & grooves from our flower store in Cornelscourt
BUTTERFLY RANUNCULAE ROCK!
Speaking of Primroses, we tried to use as many of their May flowering friends in the Buttercup family, the butterfly ranuncula in the flowers we loved to make to celebrate a great Irish brand Tan Organic. Buttery textures of sweetpea, butterfly ranunculae, forget-me-knots (myosotis), Quicksand & Sahara roses were bound in a loose suitably early Summer style into golden glass with hints of larkspur & placed amidst this brunch celebration. Guests heard from brand founder, Noelle O’Connor about the importance of SPF & the brand’s commitment to sustainability as their products give a golden glow.
A million thanks to all at The Publicity Loft for bringing our blooms along.
LET’S HEAR IT FOR OUR CARD DESIGNERS IN IMAGE INTERIORS THIS MONTH
What a gorgeous feature on gorgeous Donegal in the latest edition of Image Interiors with lovely shout outs for 2 of our favourite card designers - Lynn from The Pear in Paper + Maggie Marley from Cló & Co. - both these artists create magic in illustrative form for us to have for you in store.
And also a big hi to our friend in Breac House where everyone should spend a few days at least once in their lives!
OUR NEW DELIVERY INFORMATION (just in case you didn’t know)
We are delighted to announce that you can now order our flowers through the Dunnes Stores Grocery site as well as the current site we are using. Orders can be placed for delivery or collection and we will be expanding on this service over the coming months. Yay! You will find us on both the Home Page and in Our Brands once you choosed Cornelscourt as your delivery store. Here’s to us winging more of our blooms around the fair city of ours.
ORDER MORE OF OUR FLOWERS HERE
BLÁTHANNA GRÁ
- a gathering of all we loved this week as we work our days amidst seasonal blooms :
IN FLOWERS (& GUINNESS THIS WEEK…)
Already fans of Grandirosa's work who have grown organically to become one of London's leading floral brands, what a joy to see their work in our very own Guinness Storehouse.
They worked with Dalziel & Pow who were commmissioned to :
'Create a world class sensory and immersive experience that tells the story of the 4 simple ingredients used to create Guinness.“A porter brewer buys none but the best as none else will answer”
Arthur Guinness always believed in using the best quality ingredients, and Guinness continues this commitment today protecting the future source of their quality ingredients.
The Concept
The 4 simple ingredients of Guinness are brought to life as a world of magical installations, each with its own personality, and story to tell. It was important to get the right balance of impressive scale, drama and art, with human scale tactility and a focus on people, making this an experience that ‘Only Guinness could do’.
You’re in rural Ireland, where the weather is dramatic and changeable. A large LED screen sits above the Barley playing content of the sky with ever changing weather, as the colours change from sunrise to sunset as does the Barley beneath it, creating a dramatic immersive feel to the space.'
THEN over 12 months, Grandirosa worked to create an immersive permanent field of real barley at the Home of Guinness. From helping with the harvesting of barley from the field to hand bundling 40,000 bunches to installing, this visceral, sensory installation is such a job well done & a wonderful commitment to event floral creativity and sustainability too.
https://www.dalziel-pow.com/work/guinness-ingredients-experience
https://www.instagram.com/grandirosa
IN WORDS : AND COMPOST CAKES …
At the Festival of Gardens & Nature where we all have to go next year ... I was so thrilled to listen to the Land Gardeners in person. Bridget & Henrietta were so entertaining, passionate & inspiring.
Their new book 'Soil to Table' is a must for all of us. They are passionate about healing the soil to enable it to sequester carbon as a solution for climate change. This book shows a love for soil, gives recipes how to make your own compost cake and shows how to find the right composting method and ingredients for your garden.
"Soil is the most important and essential ecosystem, linked to every function on the planet - Nicole Masters
Whether you have a balcony, a windowsill, a square patch or a garden to work in, this book and the Land Gardeners work in the field of Climate Compost is necessary to read so we can all help bit by bit.
https://www.thelandgardeners.com/
IN LIFE : IT’S BLUEBELL SEASON
Bluebells - Coinnle corra - Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Whatever the May Day floral traditions may be, this time also is when we cherish bluebell carpets appearing in the most unlikely of spots.
The bluebell is an iconic image of the Irish countryside with its delicate deep blue flowers carpeting our wild woods in late spring and early summer. It is a symbol of beauty in Irish myth. A myth states that Fionn and his men were put to sleep with bluebell mixture to allow Grainne elope with Diarmaid. The sap has been used to glue books, set tail feathers on arrows and to cure throat ailments.
In fact, here's a list of Bluebell filled gardens if you fancy a magical glance to feel some Bealtaine beauty.
https://thefamilyedit.ie/blog/best-bluebell-walks-in-ireland/
https://lovin.ie/lifestyle/bluebells-ireland
Just remember a few tiny tips especially if you have small enthusiastic folk who might want to run through this fairylike flourish of blue.
Never collect Bluebell bulbs from the wild.
When buying Common Bluebell bulbs, make sure they have not been wild-collected and preferably have been grown on the island of Ireland to avoid any imported pests and diseases.
When you visit your local Bluebell wood, tread carefully, avoid stepping on the bluebell leaves, as trampling can crush the leaves and weaken the plant as it can no longer photosynthesise.
IN MUSIC : AN ALBUM TO SAVOUR IN ONE SITTING
Longtime fans of Iron & Wine, Sam Beam has created one of his best albums, ‘Light Verse’. It is quirky, profound, playful and moving. The 10 tracks include some with a 24-piece orchestra, a duet with Fiona Apple “All in Good Time” which I have on repeat al desko & just lovely sunkissed pop exuberance in other pieces. Such a great song collection from an artist doing his own thing always.
NATURE WALKS
- Podcasts are a comfort, an entertainment, an education & a joy. There is nothing better than being out (well not this week in the sleet) with Ella, our beagle listening to people you admire & learning something … always a great start to each day.
Phillippa Craddock (who created the wonderful bloom for Harry & Meghan’s wedding amongst many other wonderful events) has created a very positive podcast called ‘Passion to Profit’. This particular episode resonated as it reflected how many of us in small business are feeling about social media tools. It is worth a listen as Phillipa looks into platforms that might align better with our business goals & personal values to ensure that our marketing efforts enrich rather than drain us.
https://www.philippacraddock.com/podcast
UNTIL NEXT WEEK FRIENDS - OUR WEEKLY GLIMMER :
'It is not enough to love flowers to arrange them well; it is very good first to love them, but beyond that is necessary to work, to practise, to observe, to criticise, to be rarely, very rarely satisfied, to think and imagine and try again and again and what infinite pleasure there is in it and how much richer your everyday life becomes. It becomes richer because every hedgerow and field, every garden, little or big, every street barrow, flower shop window holds the material of your art or hobby or whatever name you choose to give it, and your imagination is fired and feeds on things that perhaps before you never even noticed.
- Constance Spry - How To Do The Flowers