(photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonpatrick17/)

When asked by a friend about the use of pixies and other wee folk as gardening tips, I responded:

Gardening Tips with Pixies

Some of my older ag books cover the subject carefully, trying to be dispassionate and “scientific”. But if you read between the lines, you’ll learn all sorts of things about how to encourage pixies:

Pixies like appropriate gifts. These may change, depending on the local climate. Female pixies like flowers, so it’s good to have some growing at the edges all year – which legend has why certain flowers (marigolds) work to keep pests out. Male pixies like small nuts in the shell, just don’t overdo it or the squirrels take that as a hint. Acorns or hazelnuts – even small buckeyes will do, just not the larger hickory or walnuts. Some pine cones (small ones) can be appropriate. Put these in out of the way places where it’s not obvious you are bribing them – and then they can make a “big deal” to other pixies about what they “discovered”. Easter egg hunt.

Also, they like broad leaves which shade the soil – rhubarb, pumpkin – anything they can nap under during hot summer afternoons (which is where, it is said, the siesta came from).

Generally, they like a neatly organized garden, but also appreciate the ones which also have whirly-ma-gigs that keep the birds away. (Birds, especially the bigger ones, can harass pixies.)

In general, anything that people generally attribute to good garden practice are actually good pixie environments. Clean mulch on paths between rows – anything that promotes earthworms promotes pixies. (However wee-folk experts are actually divided on what that relationship consists of, they just know there’s a relation.)

Most companion planting works due to pixie magic. Also, putting your taller plants in north-south rows so that they shade different parts of the garden each hour – this is helpful to pixies as it allows them to work in the shade all day in different parts of the garden. Constant shade makes lazy pixies, which is evident by how few things grow in constant shade.

Pixies also need your help trimming the larger bushes and shrubs. Like berry vines and orchards. While field pixies (like the ones good farmers encourage) are beyond this discussion, the principles are the same. Good stewardship, adequate moisture, proper mulching – all these things foster a good environment which cries out for pixies.

Now, additionally, Feng Shui is useful – installing decorative items in each corner. Some people put their tomatoes in two corners and broom or sweet corn in the other two. Or sunflowers on the North end. (Pixies like it especially when beans are grown up the corn or sunflower stalks.) So your decorative items could be grown, or simply artwork.

Some face their pieces to each wind, especially in Western states, where the Amerindians had substantial pixie influence. (And if those gods are still around, it doesn’t hurt to respect them, anyway.)

If your garden has a lot of rocks to get rid of, consider putting them into even piles for each wind – these (like Louis Lamour’s “Lonesome Gods”) are for even more ancient gods – who live both in the earth and the sky. As you find rocks, putting them in these piles pays tribute. Pixies may or may not pay homage to these old gods, but they are smart enough not to disrespect them. (Plus, rock piles give them a vantage point to watch over your garden. Butterfly gardens, which often have a big rock for butterflies to sun on, are loved by pixies.)

Toad houses (upside down clay pots with a opening big enough for a toad to enter) are a near essential. Pixies love the idea of these. Toads are an asset in organic vegetable gardening.

While bird houses should be established near by (but not in the garden or on its borders), bat houses can be installed either on a corner, a side, or the center. Not only do they keep insects down, but they are great sport for younger pixies to ride.

However, one of the most key points is to sit out in your garden some time each day (when it’s cool enough to be there and still warm enough to stay for awhile) and just sit and think of all the great things that you appreciate about your garden. Some practice a flute or other musical instrument, some just sit and enjoy and express gratitude. Pixies love a gracious host.

But above all, even as Barrie wrote about Tinkerbell, they like to be believed in.

If you get most of these points in above – mulching, earthworm care and feeding, a tidy layout (pixies love square-foot gardens with raised beds), and some time personally spent in deep appreciation of Nature – then pixies will flock to your garden. And sometimes, late at night when you can have your windows open – if you’re real quiet and just listening – you can hear their quiet whispering voices and maybe even a musical instrument or possibly a small band playing. While disbelievers say it is only the wind, or sound from a nearby highway, true believers know it is the pixies who are planning out how to help you improve your garden and figuring out more of their wonders to work for you.

Two additional points:

1) You can never have too many pixies. If they get crowded in the garden, they’ll spread out to start helping other areas. This is one reason why you can sleep well at night after you’ve helped the garden pixies by removing dead growth and planting new seeds, etc. House pixies have been putting their sleep magic into your bed while you were gone. This is just one of the great things pixies will do for you.

2) Most all good things (serendipity) which happen to you are due to your accumulated pixie-karma. If you look for and appreciate the gifts these pixies have brought into your life, then you’ll see more of these things showing up. And if you constantly give to others and work to help them, pixies see this and will surprise you with more rewards – as you deserve it. (House pixies also talk to you while you are sleeping and can give you hints about how to solve problems and situations – so listen to your dreams and learn from them.)

While these last points go beyond garden pixies, they’re also worth knowing about.

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That covers just about all I know on garden pixies. But if I run across more in my studies (or my old ag books) I’ll let you know.

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Our latest upcoming release, “Freedom Is — (period.)”

While I didn’t see any clue how it got there, I did find at least one set of raccoon tracks – which stories say pixies like to ride for longer treks.

It’s from Billy Bob Bubba (no relation that I know of):

I’m sorry, venerable wise one, but you have made a common mistake.

It’s easy to make, so don’t be too hard on yourself.

I know you will be kicking yourself when I reveal it to you.

It will be so obvious.

Pixies and the old gods are one and the same!

As faith in the old gods declined with the advance of Western science, they were gradually reduced in size until they became the size of pixies.  Some were reduced until they became quarks, leptons, hadrons, genes and other small phenomena we believe in but don’t understand.  Other deities have been reified and have maintained their stature as “attitude”, anal-retentive personality (along with most other personality “types”), depression, , obsessive compulsive disorder, race, class, education with the help of the many sociologists and psychologist who are their acolytes.

Other old gods have morphed into Corvettes, Mustangs, Harley-Davidsons, speed boats, yachts, McMansions, giant flat screen TVs and all the other seemingly physical objects which men worship, bow down to and believe in.

In gardening, some of the old gods have been able to keep a stronger following than pixies by becoming “organic agriculture,” “sustainable agriculture” (which has exploded in power as sustainable communities and become even more powerful than the old god it once was as just plain old “sustainability”) “vertical integration,” federal crop programs for the wealthy, affirmative action, institutional racism and a host of other concepts which are not based in anything tangible and require blind faith in order to continue to exist and hold power.

In fact, and this is where I bow down in obeisance to your most wondrous Oneness, all that is tangible and true is in the garden.  “Closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth” is a saying thankfully repeated often.

• If its not true in the garden, its not true at all.
• If it works in the garden, it has the potential to become a new god.

But now we are really getting off the topic of pixies.  Creating new gods is not something I care to get into this morning.

Instead I’ll just get in the truck and head up the mountain to see how the boys are doing in the woods.

Dropped three of them off to see how they make it without any of their material gods for a couple of days.  Bet they are eager to get their cell phones and video games and ipods back.  Or, more hopefully, maybe those gods have a little less control on them now.

Just believe and you will be happy.

Blissful ignorance is loads of fun until you hit the brick wall.

Thanks for visiting my blog and reading this entry.
If you’ve found it valuable, please consider donating via PayPal to enable my continuing research.

Our latest upcoming release, “Freedom Is — (period.)”