A Delightsome Life Celebrate Spring Blog party And Spring Violets

Joining with A Delightsome Life for the Celebrate Spring blog party.

In Edith Holden's classic Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady written in 1906,  Edith quotes William Wordsworth's poem "Lines Written In Early Spring" on page 27 which I reproduce here:

I heard a thousand blended notes

While in a grove I sat reclined,

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts,

Bring sad thoughts to the mind;

To her fair works did Nature link

The human soul that through me ran

And much it grieved my heart to think

What man has made of man.

Though primrose tufts in that green bower

The periwinkle trailed it's wreathes,

And tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,

Their thoughts I cannot measure, -

But the least motion which they made,

It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan

To catch the breezy air

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,

If such be Nature's holy plan

Have I not reason to lament

What man has made of man?

Spring by Louis Lawrence 1882

A page from the March/April 2009 issue of Victoria Magazine with Peonies which I love. The peony has a special place in China where they are called sho yo or "most beautiful"

But my favorite harbinger of spring is the violet, shyly carpeting the banks under my evergreens and just beginning to pop out their delicately curved leaves and blossoms of lavender and white with heart shaped leaves. Violets and violas make a winter rimed heart lift and the spirit smile!

This is a 1920s birthday gift card for a spring birthday. A lovely vintage piece with a violet theme:

And the famous Devon Violets fragrance in a Devon Torquay Motto Ware bottle with the crown top. The interior still has a faint violet scent.

And of course, a Shelley China Pansy Chintz teacup in the Old Cambridge shape...one of my very favorites!

To see more about these items at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.

Although there are still showers, there are still more sunny days. So enjoy your bulbs as they resurrect from the deeps of winter and rejoice in the sunshine! Life is good and we have so much to be thankful for!