Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill: Rainy Reflections from an 18th-Century Garden

On This Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:

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July 11, 1788

On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to the lush gardens of Horace Walpole, that witty chronicler of 18th-century life and letters.

As we meander through his verdant paths, let us pause to consider his astute observations on that most essential element of our horticultural endeavors: rain.

Picture, if you will, the scene at Strawberry Hill, Walpole's Gothic Revival villa. The air is thick with the scent of damp earth, and droplets cling to every leaf and petal.

It is in this moment of post-shower brilliance that Walpole puts quill to paper, recording for posterity his thoughts on nature's own watering can:

My verdure begins to recover its bloom... in this country, nobody pays his debts like rain.

It may destroy your flowers, but you cannot complain of want of fruit; cherries, apples, walnuts, are more exuberant than their leaves.

Oh, how these words resonate with us gardeners!

Is it not true that rain, that capricious benefactor, can be both boon and bane to our beloved plots?

Consider, if you will, the dual nature of this celestial downpour. On one hand, it breathes life back into our parched lawns and wilting blooms, coaxing a vibrant green from even the most stubborn of browning leaves. Yet, in the same breath, it may pummel our delicate petals and tender shoots, leaving a trail of botanical casualties in its wake.

But let us not despair!

For as Walpole so keenly observes, nature has a way of balancing its accounts.

While our prized roses may droop and our delphiniums may dangle, our fruit trees stand tall, their branches heavy with promise. Cherries blush deeper, apples swell with sweet anticipation, and walnuts grow plump within their green fortresses.

Is this not the very essence of gardening, my dear readers?

To dance with the whims of nature, accepting both its gifts and its challenges with equal grace?

As we go about our horticultural pursuits this day, let us channel the spirit of Horace Walpole.

May we find joy in the resurgence of our gardens after a hearty shower, and consolation in the bounty of our fruit trees when our flowers falter.

For in the end, is not a garden that weathers all seasons the true mark of a gardener's skill?

Now, I implore you to share your own rainy day reflections. How does the rain transform your garden?

Do you, like Walpole, find silver linings amidst the clouds?

Let us cultivate a conversation as rich as the soil beneath our feet!

Horace Walpole by Rosalba Carriera, 1741
Horace Walpole by Rosalba Carriera, 1741
Rain in the Garden
Rain in the Garden
Horace Walpole by John Ciles Eccardt, 1755
Horace Walpole by John Ciles Eccardt, 1755
Horace Walpole by Jonathan Richardson, 1735
Horace Walpole by Jonathan Richardson, 1735
Horace Walpole by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1756
Horace Walpole by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1756

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