skip to main content

The Garden Party

April 1, 2009

15 years ago

Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne

Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,

And smale foweles maken melodye,

That slepen al the nyght with open ye

(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimagesÂ

--Geoffrey Chaucer

April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

T.S. Eliot

He capers, he dances, he has eyes of

youth, he writes verses, he speaks holiday,

he smells April and May.

--William Shakespere

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

lindac
15 years ago
THE wild and windy March once more

Has shut his gates of sleet,

And given us back the April-time,

So fickle and so sweet.

--Alice Cary
endorphinjunkie
15 years ago
Learnt how to pronounce that first passage in proper middle english when I took Medieval Literature.

Chaucer is a hoot, as well as the language that we supposedly speak.

Wonder where the lingual shifts will take us in another 500 hundred years.
Related Discussions
Quote - April 24, 2009
Q
Comments (4)
Don,I'm envious...the accessories often used like the bamboo whisk and strainer are beautiful, not to mention having tea served in a Japanese-inspired garden. Not sure where I read of it, but I've recently tried placing a teaspoon of marmalade in my cup before pouring the tea...shocking probably to tradition but I really enjoy it. It adds a little zest (pun intended) to the tea and then you spoon up the warmed marmalade...yum. Batya, I hadn't thought about it but I could grow tea here...even just a small one in a pot would be fun to "harvest" young leaves from for a special treat. josh
...See More
WV Koi Pond April 2009
Q
Comments (4)
Thank you....30-35 feet long..I have fantails in the middle pool...they are hiding LOL...This is a fairly new pond..my third one...I moved it from the back corner of the yard to be closer to the deck...and also the shade is better there..I added the stream to help with the filtering...I have 40-50 hours in moving it to its current location...I have 9 koi..Comets (regular,white,Sarasa,Butterfly)..1 bluegill..and some fantails...and one bullfrog..100 gallon rubbermaid stock tank is the main filter..fed with 3000+gph pump going through a 1" tygon tubing hidden in the rocks...finished it last fall..so still need to add a few touch ups to it..once water lettuce becomes available I'll add that...it kept my pond clear last year.. :-)
...See More
High Point Swap April 25th 2009
Q
Comments (19)
Yes, I do have some epies, recovering from winter neglect so they aren't real pretty right now as I let them go pretty dormant in the gh over winter, but they're rooted and healthy. Have some of the zigzag/rickrack rooted too. I also have some nice jades and some jade/Hobbit. I need to take a pic of my Hobbit Jade, it just gets prettier and prettier and I whack it back so it has a nice sturdy trunk. There are a couple very small pink syngoniums I'll bring too. Sorry, no blackberry lilies, I think they maybe got buried under some mulch, so not sure if they'll make it back. Had a nice surprise when I went to the gh, there's a jasmine blooming, smelled it before I saw it, Mmmm... Better get back to it, lots to do. :)
...See More
UMass Landscape Message April 24, 2009
Q
Comments (1)
Thanks for the news, Claire. I've had really good results with B.t. The main winter moth infestations in my garden have been on maples, cherries, roses and blueberries; all but the maples (which, in my garden, are huge undesirable Norway maples, anyway) can easily be protected by spraying B.t. from an inexpensive pump sprayer, available at any hardware store. Although I can't reach the upper branches of the cherry trees, I can get most of the visible foliage, which not only limits the damage done to the tree but prevents that awful raggedy look - the visible foliage stays good looking.
...See More
lilod
15 years ago
Farmer's Almanac's answer to T.S.Eliot:

April is here!
Blithest season of all the year;
The little brook laughs as it leaps away;
The lambs are out on the hills at play.

ÂEben E. Rexford (1848Â1916)

That's more like it!
andie_rathbone
Original Author
15 years ago
I had to include the Chaucer which I had to memorize in the Old English when I took English Lit. in high school. I've forgotten most of it, but those first four lines will never come out of my head.

Related Stories

SHOP HOUZZ Shop Houzz: Off-the-Wall Accents for April Fools’ Day

Celebrate wit and whimsy with playfully eclectic decor

MONTHLY HOME CHECKLISTS Your April Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home

By Laura Gaskill

Shake off the winter blues and spring into action to get your home in the spirit of the new season

MOST POPULAR Spring Gardens Are Blooming — Here’s What to Do in April

By Annie Thornton

Get the guide you need for gardening in your U.S. region, with tasks, climate-appropriate plantings and more

HOUSEKEEPING April Checklist for a Smooth-Running Home

By Laura Gaskill

Refresh and organize your rooms and outdoor spaces to meet the new season with a spring in your step

COLOR Color of the Week: April Sky Blue

By Jennifer Ott Design

See how to use this soft neutral hue that’s neither gray nor pure blue

REGIONAL GARDEN GUIDES Texas Gardener's April Checklist

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Get your sowing and planting on — spring brings a tantalizing array of possibilities in the garden

EVENTS Design Calendar: Where to Go and What to See in April 2016

By Bryan Anthony

Tour modern homes, peruse handmade furniture and stroll native-plant gardens this month

GARDENING GUIDES Rocky Mountain Gardener's April Checklist

By Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Kick-start spring planting with an infusion of new colors, textures and edibles in your garden

0

GARDENING GUIDES Southwest Gardener's April Checklist

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Welcome the return of roses and herbs, and consider a new use for vines as you rejoice in your newly green spring garden

CALIFORNIA GARDENING California Gardener's April Checklist

Outsmart droughts with water-savvy plants and sustainable approaches that suit the landscape

Sponsored

More Discussions

NYT Connections word game

500