DoomsdaysCW<p>Flower Face - <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Blodeuwedd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Blodeuwedd</span></a></p><p>by Ardd Fotaneg, 2017</p><p>"There are many places that I love in the Garden one of which is ‘<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FairyWoods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FairyWoods</span></a>’. Wandering through the woods you can see fairy doors in the tree trunks, their toadstool houses and even the remnants of a fairy tea party. I think I even saw a fairy once, hidden in the dell which reminded me of Blodeuwedd.</p><p>Blodeuwedd is one of the many tales to be found in the Mabinogion. The Mabinogion is a collection of ancient Welsh legends, myths and tales.</p><p>"Blodeuwedd was created by the relatives of Llew, the son of Arianrhod. Arianrhod had decreed that Llew could not marry a mortal woman; if he didn’t marry then he couldn’t own the land to which he was entitled. The Magicians, Math and Gwydion created a beautiful woman from nine flowers amongst which were <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oak" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Oak</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Broom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Broom</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Primrose" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Primrose</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Meadowsweet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Meadowsweet</span></a>. They called their creation ‘Blodeuwedd’ meaning ‘Flower face’. Blodeuwedd is also the ancient name for the Owl into which she was turned, after betraying her husband, Llew.</p><p>"Blodeuwedd is considered by some to be the Welsh Goddess of Spring bringing warmth and new life, in the form of flowers, after the cold and barrenness of winter.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Flowers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Flowers</span></a> are the symbol of Blodeuwedd; they demonstrate their beauty when they blossom and their resilience when they flower again in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/springtime" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>springtime</span></a>. I feel the plants throughout the Botanic Garden of Wales display in its own way the beauty, the strength and the determination – sometimes with a little coaxing from Horti – of the plant world from which Blodeuwedd was created.</p><p>"The spirit of Blodeuwedd can be found in the in the Garden of Wales and although the ‘fairy’ that I saw in Fairy Woods has flown away for the winter she is now emerging wearing her Snowdrop costume heralding once again the return of Spring. Why not send her a letter or a picture that you have drawn and post it in the fairy post box in Fairy Woods?</p><p>"You see there really are fairies at the bottom of the Garden and if you are quick you might catch sight of her in the Great Glasshouse."</p><p><a href="https://botanicgarden.wales/2017/02/flower-face-blodeuwedd/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">botanicgarden.wales/2017/02/fl</span><span class="invisible">ower-face-blodeuwedd/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WelshMythology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WelshMythology</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/May" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>May</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Flowers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Flowers</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Blodeuedd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Blodeuedd</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pagan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Pagan</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Springtime" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Springtime</span></a></p>