Dorothy's Observations for April
It appears that spring has sprung in Grasmere in April, at least in 1800-1802. There are 65 entries in Dorothy's Grasmere journal in the month of April. I wonder how many of these are blooming this year.
pile wort [Ficaria verna] —15 April 1802. “We got over into a field to avoid some cows — people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flowers, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, & that starry yellow flower which Mrs C calls pile wort.”
primrose [Primula vulgaris] —15 April 1802. “We got over into a field to avoid some cows — people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flowers, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, & that starry yellow flower which Mrs C calls pile wort.”
anemone [Anemone nemarosa] — 15 April 1802. “We got over into a field to avoid some cows — people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flowers, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, & that starry yellow flower which Mrs C calls pile wort.”
furze bush [Ulex europaeus] — 15 April 1802 “We first rested in the large boathouse. then under a furze bush opposite Mr. Clarkson's.”
strawberries [Fragaria vesca] — 15 April 1802. “We got over into a field to avoid some cows — people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flowers, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, & that starry yellow flower which Mrs C calls pile wort.”
daffodils [Pseudo Narcissus] —15 April 1802 “When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the water-side. We fancied that the sea had floated the seeds ashore, and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and yet more ; and at last, under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful. They grew among the mossy stones about and above them ; some rested their heads upon these stones, as on a pillow, for weariness ; and the rest tossed and reeled and danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, that blew upon them over the lake ; they looked so gay, ever glancing, ever changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here and there a little knot, and a few stragglers higher up ; but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity, unity, and life of that one busy highway.”
scentless violets [Viola riviniana] — 15 April 1802. “We got over into a field to avoid some cows — people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flowers, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, & that starry yellow flower which Mrs C calls pile wort.”
wood sorrel flower [Oxalis acetosella] — 15 April 1802. “We got over into a field to avoid some cows — people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flowers, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, & that starry yellow flower which Mrs C calls pile wort.”
yellow palms [ ] — 16 April 1802. “The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing & sowing—Lasses spreading dung, a dogs barking now and then, cocks crowing, birds twittering ,the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills, yellow palms, purple & green twigs on the Birches, ashes with their glittering spikes quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green with black stems under, the oak & the moss of the oak glassy.”
ashes [Fraxinus excelsior] — 16 April 1802 “The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing & sowing—Lasses spreading dung, a dogs barking now and then, cocks crowing, birds twittering ,the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills, yellow palms, purple & green twigs on the Birches, ashes with their glittering spikes quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green with black stems under, the oak & the moss of the oak glassy.”
birches [Betula pendula] —16 April 1802 “The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing & sowing—Lasses spreading dung, a dogs barking now and then, cocks crowing, birds twittering ,the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills, yellow palms, purple & green twigs on the Birches, ashes with their glittering spikes quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green with black stems under, the oak & the moss of the oak glassy.”
hawthorn [Crataegus oxyacantha] — 16 April 1802 “The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing & sowing—Lasses spreading dung, a dogs barking now and then, cocks crowing, birds twittering ,the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills, yellow palms, purple & green twigs on the Birches, ashes with their glittering spikes quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green with black stems under, the oak & the moss of the oak glassy.”
oak [Quercus robur] — 16 April 1802 “The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing & sowing—Lasses spreading dung, a dogs barking now and then, cocks crowing, birds twittering ,the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills, yellow palms, purple & green twigs on the Birches, ashes with their glittering spikes quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green with black stems under, the oak & the moss of the oak glassy.”
moss [Phylum Bryophyta] — 16 April 1802 “The people were at work, ploughing, harrowing & sowing—Lasses spreading dung, a dogs barking now and then, cocks crowing, birds twittering ,the snow in patches at the top of the highest hills, yellow palms, purple & green twigs on the Birches, ashes with their glittering spikes quite bare. The hawthorn a bright green with black stems under, the oak & the moss of the oak glassy.”
primroses [Primula vulgaris] —16 April 1802 “primroses by the roadside, pile wort that shown like stars of gold in the Sun, violets, strawberries, retired & half buried among the grass”
violets [Viola reicenbachiana] —16 April 1802 “primroses by the roadside, pile wort that shown like stars of gold in the Sun, violets, strawberries, retired & half buried among the grass”
pile wort [Ficaria verna] —16 April 1802 “primroses by the roadside, pile wort that shown like stars of gold in the Sun, violets, strawberries, retired & half buried among the grass”
strawberries [Fragaria vesca] —16 April 1802 “primroses by the roadside, pile wort that shown like stars of gold in the Sun, violets, strawberries, retired & half buried among the grass”
ash [Fraxinus excelsior] —17 April 1802. “The dead hedge round Benson's field bound together at the top by an interlacing of ash sticks, which made a chain of silver when we faced the moon.”
honeysuckle [Lonicera periclymenum] — 17 April 1802. “We sate in the garden all the morning. William dug a little. I transplanted a honey suckle.
pile wort [Ficaria verna]—21 April 1802 “The pile wort spread out on the grass a thousand shining stars, the primroses were there & the remains of a few daffodils”
primroses [Primula vulgaris] —21 April 1802 “The pile wort spread out on the grass a thousand shining stars, the primroses were there & the remains of a few daffodils”
daffodils [Pseudo Narcissus] —21 April 1802 “The pile wort spread out on the grass a thousand shining stars, the primroses were there & the remains of a few daffodils”
laburnum [Laburnam anagyroides] — 22 April 1802. “Coleridge talked of his plan of sowing the laburnum in the woods.”
holly [Ilex aquifoleum] — 22 April 1802. “I was tired and sate under the shade of a holly tree that grows upon a rock, and looked down the stream. I then went to the single holly behind that single rock in the field, and sate upon the grass till they came from the waterfall.”
holly [Ilex aquifoleum] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
ivy [Hedera helix] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
ivy with brown berries [Hedera helix] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
moss [Phylum Bryophyta]—23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
mountain ash [Pyrus aucuparia] —23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
eglantine [Rosa rubiginosa] — On 23 April 1802 Dorothy describes a walk with William and Coleridge. She says: “We left William sitting on the stones feasting with silence — & Coleridge & I sat down upon a rocky seat a couch it might be under the bower of William's eglantine, Andrew's Broom.
broom [Cytisus scoparius]— On 23 April 1802 Dorothy describes a walk with William and Coleridge. She says: “We left William sitting on the stones feasting with silence — & Coleridge & I sat down upon a rocky seat a couch it might be under the bower of William's eglantine, Andrew's Broom.
common ash [Fraxinus excelsior] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
fir tree [Pinus sylvestria] —23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
umbrella yew tree [Taxus fastigiata] — 23 April 1802. “It was very grand when we looked up, very stony, here and there a budding tree. William observed that the umbrella yew tree, that breasts the wind, had lost its character as a tree, and had become something like to solid wood, Coleridge and I pushed on before. We left William sitting on the stones, feast- ing with silence”
yew tree [Taxus baccata] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
holly [Ilex aquifoleum] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
hawthorn [Crataegus oxyacantha] — 23 April 1802. “The hawthorns are black & green, the birches here & there greenish but there is more of purple to be seen on the twigs”
birch [Betula pendula] — 23 April 1802. “The hawthorns are black & green, the birches here & there greenish but there is more of purple to be seen on the twigs”
hawthorn [Crataegus oxyacantha] — 23 April 1802. “We saw him climbing up towards a rock, he called us & we found him in a Bower, the sweetest that was ever seen — the Rock on one side is very high & all covered with ivy which hang loosely about & bore bunches of brown berries. On the other side it was higher than my head. We looked down upon the Ambleside vale that seemed to wind away form us the village lying under the hill. The Fir tree Island was reflected beautifully — we now first saw that the trees are planted in rows. About the bower there is mountain ash, common ash, yew tree, ivy, holly, hawthorn, mosses & flowers, & a carpet of moss—Above the top of the Rock there is another spot—it is scarce a Bower, a little parlour, one not enclosed by walls but shaped out for a resting place by the rocks & the ground rising about it. It had a sweet moss carpet— We resolved to go & plant flowers in both these places tomorrow.”
primrose [Primula vulgaris] —24 April 1802. “We all stood to look at Glow-worm Rock a primrose that grew there, and just looked out on the road from its own sheltered bower.”
strawberries [Fragaria vesca] —28 April 1802 “I happened to say that when I was a child I would not have pulled a strawberry blossom. I left him, and wrote out The Manciple's Tale. At dinner time he came in with the poem of Children gathering Flowers? but it was not quite finished, and it kept him long off his dinner. It is now done.”
hawthorn [Crataegus oxyacantha] — 29 April 1802. “The copses greenish, hawthorns green”
mullins [Verbascum Thapsus] — 29 April 1802. “Met old Mr S at the door— Mrs S poorly— I got mullins and pansies”
pansies [Viola tricolor] — 29 April 1802. “Met old Mr S at the door— Mrs S poorly— I got mullins and pansies”
celandine [Ranunculus ficaria] — 30 April 1802 “We came into the orchard directly after Breakfast & sate there. The lake was calm — the sky cloudy. We saw two fisherman by the lakeside. William began to write the poem of the Celandine.”
