Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years & ten
Twenty will not come again,
Now, of my threescore years & ten
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
When the cherry blossom season is here I am reminded of A. E Housman's prophetic prose. Written in 1896 it reflects on the fact that, aged 20, he has just 50 of his threescore years and ten remaining.
Even though Housman wants to appreciate the cherry blossom while he's still around to do so there is a much deeper message here.
He is exploring the themes of life and death, along with the fast
progression of time. The temporary nature of pleasure and beauty - reminding us that time is of the essence.
Great photographer John showed some very rare Oxlips on his blog which are found on the eastern side of the country. They grow in a narrow band stretching through Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. I too thought that I had spotted some growing here in the west just a five minute stroll from my home.
Beautiful blossoms. It'll be three weeks or so before they show here.
ReplyDeleteYou will still have yours to look forward to when mine are just a memory
DeleteI love cherry blossoms and other Spring flowering trees too. Yes, their beauty reminds us of the fleeting nature of life. And I used to see wild cowslips when I was a kid, but I've never even heard of oxlips!
ReplyDeleteThe Oxlips are really really rare now Debra - it is classed as a threatened species here.
DeleteEasily my favourite time of year and the pink and white cherry blossom drifting down like confetti to cover the pavements and lawns is the highlight of Springtime for me. No idea how many I have left but they are always enjoyed with full appreciation... which is rare for a yearly event over many decades but it never seems to get stale or jaded in any way through repetition.
ReplyDeleteThe blossom here is not carpeting the ground as yet - cherry blossom seems to have the ability to lift everyones spirits high.
DeleteThe fragile brevity of life is certainly on our minds often these days, and motivates us to do now what we can for the future is not guaranteed. How beautiful the blossoms are along with Housman's words.
ReplyDeleteNatures beauty is a really great tonic for so many of us today,
DeleteI loved all these pretty blossoms...whether the false O's got in there or not...all the beautiful cherry blossoms are so nice. It's a few weeks and then gone! Especially if the weather gets hot and then cold again.
ReplyDeleteWe must grasp it and cherish it whilst it is here - it is so fleeting.
DeleteHello from across the pond. I found your blog for Wood Fairy. I can just image the sweet smell of those flowers. Our snow drop is about ready to show it colors.
ReplyDeleteIf you find the time stop in for a cup of coffee.
Thank you for your visit Dora - I will call by to meet you - is it very cold where you live? our snowdrops have been long gone.
Deletehadn't heard of oxlips but even if not the natural variant, aren't they beautiful, to discover a field of these would be pure treasure.
ReplyDeleteI was overjoyed when I thought I had found some, such a lovely big clump too. However, the centres of real Oxlips have an orange circle whereas mine have a star shape. Oxlips are really, really, rare today.
DeleteDear Rosemary, I have never seen a cherry tree in bloom, but I would absolutely love to. They are exquisite, and worthy of celebrating in verse. Life is indeed short, and the pandemic has made it more precious than ever. Your little yellow blooms, whatever they are, are part of the beauty of an English Spring.
ReplyDeleteDear Patricia - I do hope that one day you will see these clouds of pink and white blossom one day. Next time you visit Canada you would see Cherry in flower if you visited your daughter in early May.
DeleteThe cherry trees here will soon be in bloom, Rosemary, and I will be very happy to see them having already exceeded my three score years and ten! As for Oxlips, I have never heard the term and I am quite sure I have not encountered the flower. Cowslips, yes - are they related?
ReplyDeleteIt is quite a thought to think about just how many years of cherry blossom you see. Do we really appreciate and realise that when we young? The older it gets the more it matters.
DeleteOxlips are a rare species but False Oxlips are a hybridation which sometimes occurs when Primroses and Cowslips flower close together.
Your Sakura as well as other blossoms are perfectly lovely, Rosemary! The first Sakura variety looks like our mountain cherry. The pristine white Sakura is ethereal, but maybe did pale pink look more whitish due to the bright light? I, too, saw Oxlips on John’s blog. They are pale white while yours are brighter yellow. But rare or common, either way, flowers are beautiful and caught your eyes.
ReplyDeleteYoko
It is a white cherry Yoko with pink stamens and large petals - as far as I know it is called Prunus ‘Tai-haku’. My False Oxlips are a hybridation that occurs sometimes when Primroses and Cowslips flower near one another.
DeleteI’d like to see Taihaku Sakura in person. I checked it on the Net and found interesting stories about Taihaku, Collingwood Ingram, his love of flowering cherry tree, and beautiful gardens cultivated by him. Here; https://thegrangekent.co.uk/the-gardens-of-collingwood-ingram/
DeleteThat is a really interesting link Yoko - thank you forwarding it on.
DeleteDear Rosemary, thank you for the poem by Housman (you know that Inspector Morse adored him very much?)
ReplyDeleteAs to the determination (is that the right word?): I often use the wonderful App Pl@ntNet - very helpful, and we (international) users can add and help others too.
Here in Bavaria I find many wild primroses, and cowslips, but never an oxlip - sounds exciting!
Hello Britta - you are the fount of so much knowledge but I did know that Colin Dexter had been the Vice-President of the Housman Society. I wouldn't say that I adored Housman but I do admire his work.
DeleteI have never heard of App Pl@ntNet before, it sounds like a really good source for those of us that are plant lovers.
You may spot a False Oxlip growing amongst some primroses and cowslips in Bavaria but I believe that the True Oxlips only grow in that narrow band in eastern England.
Mmmmh - you might be right, Rosemary. I was speaking of Primula elatior - which Wiki also tells us as being here in Bavaria - "In den Allgäuer Alpen steigt die Art in Bayern am Rauheck bis zu 2300 m Meereshöhe auf.[4]" - but I would never bet that what I saw was the real one. (I could try to make cough medicine of it - and if it works it was the true one :-)
DeleteBritta - you are correct - they grow south from the eastern side of the UK to Sweeden, The Alps and S. Russia - please accept my apologies.
DeleteThe blossoms are so exquisite in your wonderful photos dear Rosemary - 1, 2 and 3 being my personal favorites. Most of our blossom trees are over now and, after 90F heat today, many other plants are already drooping. I received my first mosquito bites of the season this afternoon while sitting on the front porch. Darned nasty itchy ankles - the bane of summer here!
ReplyDeleteHugs - Mary
I just love, love, love this moment in Spring Mary - I have had a really uplifting day today, and will write about in a few days time. Fortunately no mozzies here, but when I am overseas they go for my legs too, but never touch J. I think it must be something to do with female pheromones.
DeleteSuch delicious photos, Rosemary! The blossoms must have been raining down on you to capture them as you did. Are they scented as well, adding to the sensory delight? Housman's poem has reminded me that I need to get out amongst nature more than I do, the opportunities left to do so shouldn't be considered endless.
ReplyDeleteI was curious about the Oxlip, well, more along the lines of what does an ox's lip look like to call it thus as I'd always read Cowslip as cow-slip not cow's lip but of course that was a bum steer (or is it a bum's steer even a bum's tear??) and see that this rare flower is the official flower of Suffolk. It seems that every county in the UK has its own flower and there are simply dozens! Your world is really awash with flowers.
The common name cowslip is thought to derive from the old English for cow dung, probably because the plant was often found growing amongst the manure in cow pastures. Perhaps the same also applies to Oxlip!
DeleteWonderful blossom. I went back to John's post and see the difference you mentioned in the two flowers.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely time of year - I want time to stand still and hang on to it for as long as I can.
DeleteDoesn't get more beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis time of year brings me so much joy Gina - I am sure that it feels the same for you too.
Delete"Great photographer"? - steady on there!
ReplyDeleteI think what you may have found is perhaps a garden escape; it certainly looks a very vigorous clump of flowers.
Could you puit a name to the escape John - it had very long stems and very long leaves unlike that of a Primrose.
DeleteI couldn’t say, since I have never seen either…but would love to.
ReplyDelete