A Victorian Flower Dictionary - Mandy Kirkby [16]
from THE IVY WIFE
I longed to love a full-boughed beech
And be as high as he:
I stretched an arm within his reach,
And signalled unity.
But with his drip he forced a breach,
And tried to poison me.
In new affection next I strove
To coll an ash I saw,
And he in trust received my love;
Till with my soft green claw
I cramped and bound him as I wove …
Such was my love: ha-ha!
By this I gained his strength and height
Without his rivalry.
But in my triumph I lost sight
Of afterhaps. Soon he,
Being bark-bound, flagged, snapped, fell outright,
And in his fall felled me!
THOMAS HARDY
LARKSPUR
Lightness
A glimpse of the larkspur cannot fail to lift the spirit: it has a delicate and playful appearance with its bright, summery flowers and carries an irresistible air of frivolity. Its name invokes one of the loveliest of songbirds, and again the heart is lifted in recollection of that bird’s joyful and seemingly never-ending melody.
It owes its name to the shape of its seed pod, which has been likened to a lark’s foot. It was once said to be beneficial for the eyes, and bathing them in the distilled water of the flowers was held to sharpen and strengthen the sight.
The larkspur is the quintessential cottage garden flower, and was regularly included in the flower garden paintings that became so popular in the last half of the nineteenth century. These soft and gentle images of cottage scenes and country lanes portrayed the rural floral idyll in soft focus. In Helen Allingham’s Girl Outside a Cottage, a cluster of blue larkspur grows by the path. The painting shows a young girl just turning out of the cottage gate; roses encircle the door, ivy scrambles over the cottage walls. Country flowers and herbs were grown not only for picturesque and for medicinal purposes, but also to hide the shabbiness of the dwellings.
The French painter Henri Fantin-Latour also tried to capture the essential quality of the larkspur in his still-life Larkspur and Roses, painted in 1885. The light in this image is beautifully soft, and the larkspur seems vibrant and real. Fantin-Latour’s style was very different from that of the cottage garden painters, but was equally popular, such was the Victorian passion for flowers. He added just a touch of Impressionism to the floral still-life. His pictures sold so well in Britain, yet they remained virtually unknown in his native France.
For those who couldn’t afford a fashionable flower painting, there were other ways of bringing this lovely flower into the home. A lady could try her hand at watercolour painting, or making artificial larkspur from coloured paper or cloth, a popular parlour pastime. Or perhaps, far less demanding, adding the petals of the dark blue variety to a bowl of potpourri. A glorious summer nosegay might include a generous spray of the flower, and what a compliment – it would signify great affection, and would wholeheartedly convey the message: what a joy and a pleasure it is to know you.
Who does not love a flower?
Its hues are taken from the light
Which summer’s sun flings pure and bright,
In scattered and prismatic hues,
That shine and smile in dropping dews;
Its fragrance from the sweetest air,
Its form from all that’s light and fair; –
Who does not love a flower?
ANON.
LAVENDER
Mistrust
In summer, lavender is utterly enchanting: a haze of purple shimmering in the heat, bees in a frenzy to partake of its sweet delights before the sun goes down; it is a glorious vision not to be missed. But centuries ago, when it grew only in hot climes, it was the belief in those countries