Flora in Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere Journal
7 August 2017
These are the flora that Dorothy mentioned in July in her Grasmere journal:
brackens Pteridium aquilinum—On 26 July 1802, Dorothy describes an aside from their journey to France. Leaving Grasmere they travelled to Keswick where they met Coleridge, who walked with them sex or seven miles on their way to Eusmere. When they left Coleridge they “turned aside to explore the country near Hutton John, & had a new & delightful walk. The valley which is subject to the decaying Mansion that stands at its head seems to join its testimony to that of the house to the falling away of the family greatness. The hedges are in bad condition, the Land wants draining & is over-run with Brackens, yet there is a something everywhere that tells of its former possessors—”
fern Pteridium aquilinum —Describing their walk up to Loughrigg Fells to view Rydal, Dorothy notes that the ferns are beginning to turn yellow: “After tea we rowed down to Loughrigg Fell, visited the white foxglove, gathered wild strawberries, & walked up to view Rydal we lay a long time looking at the lake, the shores all embrowned with the scorching sun. The Ferns were turning yellow, that is here & there one was quite turned.” it is likely that Dorothy is referring to the brackens that turn yellow in the late summer and early autumn.
foxglove Digitalis purpurea—On 7 July 1802, Dorothy describes the ending of a “very fine day” at Dove Cottage: “We lay sweetly in the Orchard the well is beautiful the Orchard full of Foxgloves the honeysuckle beautiful—”
honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum— On 5 July 1802 Dorothy bemoans the fact that the rains have spoiled the honeysuckle: “It came on a heavy rain & we could not go to Dove Nest as we had intended though we had sent Molly for the horse & it was come. The Roses in the garden are fretted & battered & quite spoiled the honey suckle though in its glory is sadly teazed.”
honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum— Dorothy describes the day as “a very fine day” on 6 July 1802 and reports that the honeysuckle had recuperated: “We lay sweetly in the Orchard the well is beautiful the Orchard full of Foxgloves the honeysuckle beautiful.”
peas Pisum sativum On 29 July 1800 Dorothy reported that it was “Still very hot. We gathered peas for dinner.”
peas Pisum sativum The next day 30 July 1800 Dorothy “Gathered peas for Mrs Simpson—John & I walked up with them—very hot.”
roses Rosa arvensis or perhaps Rosa canina—On 5 July 1802, Dorothy describes the disarray the garden is in, due to the incessant rain. she says: “The Roses in the garden are fretted & battered & quite spoiled the honey suckle though in its glory is sadly teazed. The peas are beaten down. The Scarlet Beans want sticking. The garden is overrun with weeds.”
roses Rosa arvensis or perhaps Rosa canina—On 7 July 1802, two days before they were to leave Dove Cottage for a trip to France to visit and Annette Vallon and her daughter Caroline, Dorothy laments that the roses look a little battered, perhaps from the rain: “We lay sweetly in the Orchard the well is beautiful the Orchard full of Foxgloves the honeysuckle beautiful—plenty of roses but they are battered.”
roses Rosa arvensis or perhaps Rosa canina—On 8 July 1802, Dorothy says a final goodbye to her flowers and birds before leaving for France: “I must prepare to go—The Swallows I must leave them the well the garden the Roses all—Dear creatures!! they sang last night after I was in bed—seemed to be singing to one another, just before they settled to rest for the night. Well I must go—Farewell.— — —”
scarlet beans Phaseolus coccineus—On 4 July 1802, Dorothy, notes that “The Scarlet Beans want sticking” possibly because the rain has knocked them down or because they were growing so profusely during the wet summer. “Sticking the beans” was providing support for them to climb on as they grow.
white foxglove Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora—On 27 July 1800, a very warm day, Dorothy recounts “After tea we rowed down to Loughrigg Fell, visited the white foxglove, gathered wild strawberries, & walked up to view Rydale we lay a long time looking at the lake, the shores all embrowned with the scorching sun.” A white foxglove was rather an anomaly. Most of the foxgloves were purple. This particular white foxglove seems to be a particularly remembered one that Dorothy and William visited.
wild strawberries Fragaria vesca—On their visit to Loughrigg Fell on 27 July 1800, William and Dorothy also gathered wild strawberries: “After tea we rowed down to Loughrigg Fell, visited the white foxglove, gathered wild strawberries, & walked up to view Rydale we lay a long time looking at the lake, the shores all embrowned with the scorching sun.”
hedge (Hedges in the Lake District are often composed of hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, holly Ilex aquifolium, or wild rose Rosa arvensis or Rosa canina.) On 9 July 1802, Dorothy and William, turn aside on their journey to France to see Annette and Caroline Vallon, “to explore the country near Hutton John.” She reports that they “had a new & delightful walk. The valley which is subject to the decaying Mansion that stands at its head seems to join its testimony to that of the house to the falling away of the family greatness. The hedges are in bad condition, the Land wants draining & is over-run with Brackens, yet there is a something everywhere that tells of its former possessors.”
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