Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker - May Flower Fairy

My buds, they cluster small and green;
The sunshine gaineth heat:
Soon shall the hawthorn tree be clothed
As with a snowy sheet.

O magic sight, the hedge is white,
My scent is very sweet;
And lo, where I am come indeed,
The Spring and Summer meet. 

May
Trailing-Arbutus 
Epigaea repens 

Other common names include Gravel plant, Mayflower, ground laurel, mountain pink, winter pink. Trailing- arbutus spread out on the ground in sandy soil. This plant, generally referred to in the drug trade as gravel plant but more popularly known as ''trailing-arbutus" spreads on the ground with stem 6 or more in length. It has rust-colored, hairy twigs bearing leathery, evergreen leaves from 1 to 3 inches long and about half as wide. The flower clusters, which appear from March to May, consist of fragrant, delicate, shell pink, waxy blossoms. 

Trailing-Arbutus may be increased by seed, but they are slow in sprouting. By carefully dividing the well-established tufts in autumn, or by layering the branches, good plants are sometimes obtained. The trailing stalks, which put out roots at the joints, may be cut off from the old plant and placed in a shady situation and a moist soil. If done in autumn, the plants may be well rooted before the spring. Cuttings of previous year's wood are more successful inserted in sandy soil, under a glass in gentle heat in spring. As soon as rooted, plants should be grown on in pots until well established, and then transferred in early autumn, or spring, to their permanent positions outside, but they will never grow so well in the open (where they will always be more or less stunted specimens), as they will under conditions which closely imitate those which the plant enjoys in the woods of New England. 

Medicinal Action and Uses - Used as an astringent and diuretic. Used in the same way as Buchu and Uva ursi for bladder and urinary troubles: of special value when the urine contains blood or pus, and when there is irritation. 

The infusion of 1 OZ. of the leaves to a pint of boiling water may be taken freely.