Flower Fairy – Hazel Catkin

This is another member of the willow family, along with the pussy willow, which heralds the beginning of spring in the UK.  It can be in flower as early as late February.

The catkins really do look like lambs’ tails.  Cicely Mary Barker really has captured them so well in her illustration.  She has even included the female flower which is that little reddish tuft at the top of the branch.  This is the part, which when pollenated, will grow to form the hazelnut which will be fully formed by autumn and ready to be stached away by squirrels or eaten by humans.

Cicely Mary Barker is the illustrator.

This print along with other original Flower Fairy prints can be found on Ebay.