The Vila Fairy

The Vila Fairy

The Vila is a Eastern Europe Fairy, who are often depicted a beautiful winged tiny women. They are often naked or dressed in white thin cloth with very long flowing hair which is usually white or silver. 
The Vila is also a shapeshifter and can appear as swans, horses, falcons and snakes. They can 
also shapeshift into Natural Phenomena such as a whirlwind, Thunderstorms, and earthmoving. 
The Vila live deep in the ancient forest and are fierce protectors of the forest in which they live.  They are also very protective of the trees, plants and animals that live within her forest. 
They are revered for their deep knowledge of herbal healing, and will use their knowledge of healing powers in the forest if the human or elf is worthy.
Now if any human were to do any harm to the Vila Fairy's forest or her Creatures she might lure them into a magic fairy circle. Once the human is been lured inside the circle they are joyed with other fairies to dance and they will dance to their deaths. 
Another's have been  killed by a natural landslide or drowning in a lake in the Vila Fairy's forest. 
Various stories are told about the origin of the Vila. Some have said that they are the spirits of women who are caught between this world and the afterlife because of their frivolous habits on earth. 
Others say they are spirits of betrothed young girls who died before the wedding night and were unable to rest quietly in peace on either worlds, so they became the Vila. 
This is a interesting fairy, I only found one image that was I thought was good for this blog. It was very difficult to find any in numbers like that of the original fairy. But I feel that's because it doesn't want to be seen or discover. I hope that you find this wonderful ting fairy as interesting and mysterious and fun as I did. 
I hope that you also enjoyed the one photo that I found.
The Artist - Ado Ceric 
Wendy  

Night - Gothic Gardens-2013

Night - Gothic Gardens

The Night Garden or Gothic is not about mystery, fear and wickedness. Now to some it might be, it just depends on the individual and their personal type of garden theme they are trying to make for themselves. 
There are some that may make their night gardens about mystery, fear & wickedness... But from the most part, I found that when it comes to the Gothic Gardens day or night - it is all about loving the dark, moon, stars and combining a variety  of shapes, plants, colors with shadows to the garden.
They are special kinds of flowers that bloom only at night and they release their perfumes into the

cool night air only in under the stars and moon. 

Tube Moonflower 

Evening time or even later into the night can be a wonderful time in your garden. You just need to find the right kind flowers, plants, foliage, and other Nature or Gothic themes, to ensure that your garden will be a special place at night too. 
When you decided to make a night garden, choose a place that is most visible when there is no light when the sunsets. You can choose a space only for your night flowers, while in another area of the garden you can put your daytime flowers and plants. 
The Moonflower is is born to glow in the Gothic night time - it opens

The Oenothera Moonflower - In its Yellow and Pink 

when the sun has completely  gone down and will stay open until sunrise. 
Each flower will only last for a day. So if this flower sounds intriguing  to you, it would probably be a good idea to plant quite a few of these beauty's .
The Moonflower is refer to a group of flowers that belong to the genus Ipomoea and get their name from their large, fragrant flower, which pop open at night. Moonflower is a lender vine closely related to the morning glory. although moonflowers do not have the hallucinogenic properties of morning glorying. The vine always coils clock wise even in the southern hemisphere. They come in a variety of colors some white, yellow, pink and silver. Most of the moonflowers all grow on vines. The best way for the Moonflower to grow is on either a trellis, fence and hanging baskets are great too. They say that some of these vines can grow up to 20'...
There is The Oenothera which is a beauty and comes in Yellow and Pink. These flowers are great for the late afternoon till early the next morning blooms.
The Yellow flowers are first to bloom into the twilight then the Pink there after. There are Purple ones too. These blooms would work really well in a Gothic theme garden with the purple colors. 

"Brandywine"Foam Flower Tiarella-Silvery Flower

When you make your night garden, try to add other type of plants that don't necessarily have to bloom during the night. You should also be aware of the blooming seasons to extend the beauty of the colors in your night garden. Historically white flowers weren't the favorite in the night gardens because they are to prominent, so instead you could choose silver colors if you like-
For a night bloom that doesn't shine too much as the pale yellows, whites, and pinks for a more Gothic feeling if that is what you are looking for in your night garden.

The Silvery fragrant flower of the Native ''Brandywine"Foam flower Tiarella - These are excellent for ground cover and they have shiny green leaves that turn bright Red in the fall. 
The Rhododendrons - Silver foliage - Blooms of Silvery White and Blue Tulip flowers-

These night flowers will get you that more Gothic look to your night garden, with their silvery bluish tulip flowers.  












The Black Knight Morning Glories -

These will look great in hanging baskets & fancy pots that you pick out special for your night garden.
















The Black Pansies -

This is another great flower for an Gothic theme garden.










The Dragon Coleus-

This is a great foliage that easy to grow & great as a ground cover. It's colors are deep purple's and blacks so, this to would be another great plant for a Gothic theme garden.


 




Black Tulips-

These beauty's would be another great addition to any Gothic garden that you make . They have Beautiful deep purple colors with black Gothic look-










1) Evening Primrose-

Evening Primrose is a plant from the Onagraceae family origin - which is indigenous to Northern America, but is now found in Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia too. The beautiful yellow beauty is named the Evening Primrose because the flower blossoms only at night. The plant is famous medically. Its seeds, leaves and oil of the seeds and root are used in many different medicines. It grow 3' by 5' tall Flowers are .078 to 2" wide.




2) Night Bloom Water Lilies-
 Night Waters Lilies are quite beautiful. And if you have a pond in your garden they would be a great addition to your garden. These are Tropical night blooms and as you can see in a pond like setting they are quite beautiful. The water lily of deep crimson red, pink and purple, would work very well for either a night or Gothic garden. The blooms will open in your pond with the dark cool evening breeze, bringing a beautiful mystery to your garden. And with the backdrop of the dark ripples of the dark water with these blooms floating in your pond, you will have a most special night garden.

3) Moon Flowers-

The Moonflower - flower name is Ipomoea - are called Moonflower because they bloom in the moonlight. These are beautiful flowers and come in Pink, Yellow and white. The flowers quickly open at night and last the entire evening. Then they will close when the first light of the sunrise touches the delicate petals.







4) NightGladious-

These beautiful blooms are a Creamy Yellow flower with the most wonderful spicy fragrance. It is usually grown in dense areas with heavy rainfall. These flowers are also found in late spring and early to late summers.
Its name comprises to two words-
Night and Gladiolus. Gladiolus is a word of Latin origin which means Sword. 
Parts of this flower is poisonous and can cause the skin irritation and allergic reactions... 
This flower is attractive to butterflies and bees. 

5) Four 0' Clocks-

These beauty's of the night blooming flowers are tender perennial flowers. They will bloom in spring and summer time. 
These tiny gem's are available in a number of colors ranging from red, yellow pink, blue and white. The need for full sun exposure to glow and start blooming at 4pm hence got their name-
They are excellent hedges and barriers for your night gardens. And have and outstanding fragrance when they open at 4pm. 





6) Saussurea Obrallata/ Brahma kamal-

The Saussurea Obvallata is also known as the Brahma kamal. It is a beautiful night blooming flower named after the Hindu God Brahma. It is native of China, India and Burma. It Blooms only Once a Year!  And it has many medicine uses. The flower grows in the high mountain tops and cold areas. The flowers heads are actually purple and are enclosed in layers of greenish - A yellow boat shape covers it in a papery subsists  in nature. Strange but beautiful.




7) Dragon Fruit Flower-

These flowers are native to Mexico and Central & Southeast Asian Countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia. They are also produced in Taiwan, Israel, and Southern china. Its plant has a Beautiful flower which only blooms at night.
The flower starts blooming around 7pm and will reach it full bloom and glory at 12-night. 
I would image it is quite a sight to see if one is so lucky to. But for all of us who can't see this gem of a bloom, I hope you all enjoy the photo.
These flowers give blooms against the it large deep green leaves which with its magnificent bloom flower it can be a stunning addition to your garden, along with its fruit too. Although it is a rare one. 

8) Dutchmans - PipeCactus-

This is my last flower that I found for you all for your night gardens. These large Epiphytic Cactus native from Mexico to Brazil. In nature the plant can reach up to 20' in height - The dark green branches are lanceolate, and can accumulate to 3' in length  to 4-5" wide. They are said  to be very easy to grow and when in bloom very showy as you can see in the photo's I've provided for your readers. 
The Flowers will open when in late evening and close at sunrise. Its best to plant in late spring toe early summer. The flower can grow up to be 11" long and 5"wide. And the blooms are very fragrant. 
Keep them in a greenhouse during the winter months.  

I hope all these ideas will help you create a wonderful night garden for you all on your own. Some of these flowers you will be able to find at your local nursery with plants and flowers. But others are probably too rare to find in any local nursery. I just thought it would be fun for you to see some of the beauty's that are out there. I have tried growing MoonFlowers once by seed and it didn't work out because of all the squirrels we have. The just dug them up thinking that was food. I personally would try the full plant if possible. 
Note.. None of these photo's are Mine.
Wendy.  

Magic of Photography 2013-1-[Photos around Kent Washington]

Magic of Photography 2013-1-[photos around Kent Washington]

Summer Time Play 

Spring Time

summer time

Hawaii 

Purple Bee Balm 

Rosy - My Hummingbird 

 ICE

Me

Arcata - The Marsh 

The Magic of The Redwoods 

 My favorite flowers 

THE RED BEE BALM

MY KATIE

I miss you Grandma!