Wordsworth's Gardens
Readers of the poems of William Wordsworth have likely encountered at least in some small way his love of the garden and gardening. And those who’ve visited the Great Britain’s Lake District know well that Wordsworth was master of more than one craft. Each year, thousands of visitors from throughout the world treat themselves to an enchanting taste of Wordsworthian England on the grounds of Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount. There they find themselves awed by the aesthetic of the poet who designed...
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In all of Wordsworth scholarship, no one has so definitively connected the themes of Wordsworth's poetry to his philosophy of gardening or has truly in one work demonstrated how nature in the raw and rocky Lake District became the soul and backbone of a poet and gardener who would not be enslaved by the tastes of his day. Counterposing poems of the garden and the letters and journals of Wordsworth and his eloquent sister Dorothy, Carol Buchanan pictures the whole Wordsworth: poet, gardener, and devoted and long-suffering family man. Illuminating Buchanan's perspective on the gardens, and on the Lake District that shaped Wordsworth's sensibilities, are three never-before-published garden plans and more than one hundred breathtaking photographs.BooknewsBuchanan describes the philosophy and spirituality in which Wordsworth's landscaping and gardening plans were rooted. A brief history of landscape design and the concept of nature in the 18th century is followed by a careful description of the connections between his poetry and the many features of the gardens at Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount. Illustrations include garden plans and abundant, although sometimes a bit dark or fuzzy, color photographs of structures, plants, and the natural landscape which inspired him. 11x9
ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsA Note on VocabularyPrelude to Wordsworth: Landscape Design and the Concept of Nature in the Eighteenth Century3Design and Discovery4The Era of Inspired Discovery10The Leasowes14The Picturesque16The Ode and the Dung23The Love of Flowers: Dove Cottage55A Gardening Partnership60The Garden's Structure64The Love of Gardening72The Plants74Life in the Garden81The Garden Today83The Garden as Poem: The Winter Garden at Coleorton89A Gift of Friendship90Beginning of the Winter Garden94The Design95The Winter Garden Today109Rock of Ages: The Rydal Mount Garden115The Situation of the Property118The Traumatic Years120Poetry of the Rydal Mount Years123Spiritual Shift125The Symblism of Stone129Dora's Rock130The Healing Garden134Building the Garden135The Terraces138The Voice of Waters154The Plantings159The Kitchen Garden172The Garden Today173Wordsworth's Garden Legacy177Portfolio of Lake District Scenes183App. AWordsworth's Gardens in His Poetry195App. BThe Plants199App. CDescription of the Garden by Christopher Wordsworth, Jr.205App. DRhododendrons Introduced into British Cultivation207Notes209Selected Bibliography213Index219
\ BooknewsBuchanan describes the philosophy and spirituality in which Wordsworth's landscaping and gardening plans were rooted. A brief history of landscape design and the concept of nature in the 18th century is followed by a careful description of the connections between his poetry and the many features of the gardens at Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount. Illustrations include garden plans and abundant, although sometimes a bit dark or fuzzy, color photographs of structures, plants, and the natural landscape which inspired him. 11x9<">. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \ \ \ \ Anyone who has studies the writings and William Wordsworth is aware of the poet's admiration and enjoyment for gardens and gardening. In Wordsworth's Gardens, Carole Buchanan showcases Wordsworth's perspectives on the gardens and on the Lake District that shaped his perceptions and attitudes. Included are three previously unpublished garden plans. The informative text is wonderfully enhanced with more than a hundred splendid photographs by Richard Buchanan. Wordsworth's Gardens is further enhanced with a "Portfolio of Lake District Scenes"; and appendices: "Wordsworth's Gardens in His Poetry"; "The Plants"; "Description of the Garden by Christopher Wordsworth, Jr."; Rhododendrons introduced into British Cultivation"; as well as an extensive "Notes" section, a bibliography and an exhaustive six page index. Wordsworth's Gardens is very highly recommended for all William Wordsworth enthusiasts and gardening buffs.\ \
