During one of my last trips to Virginia, I came across my mother-in-law's stash of books related to gardening. She was a landscaper for a time, and more importantly, was president of the Garden Club of Virginia for many years. A few of the books looked really interesting and beautiful, but this one in particular caught my eye. As you can see, it's called 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' and it...its just remarkable, is what it is. Aside from the description on the book flap, nothing--not a word--has been changed.
On January 1st, 1906, Edith Holden started a journal to carefully record the countryside of Olton, Warwickshire throughout the year...
Every word was carefully written by hand, and every single picture she painted into the book herself. This was a woman who loved nature...
...and also had the sensitivity of an artist...
I looked up the entry for this time of the year: for August 17th (close enough) she went cycling to Aberfoil. "Very bright, clear day, with wonderfully fine distant views. On the high ridge of hills between Aberfoil and the Trossachs I found the bright scarlet berries of the Bear-berry growing among the heather, and sundew in flower. Found some Gentian beside Loch Vennachar."
I can only guess how much time she spent on this and how much this object must have meant to her...and yet she never showed it to anyone. It was found 70 years later in an English country house. Isn't that both sad and amazing? I can't help but think at a time like that--when women weren't expected to work or have careers but keep a home and tend to the needs of others, she quietly and privately poured her heart into something she loved--and was quite good at--and never thought it important or interesting enough to show anyone. Ever.
And yet--over 100 years later a woman who was president of a garden club would be given the gift of her book and then years later her daughter-in-law would find it and obsess over it and stare at it and be filled with such admiration for her talent, and attention to detail and devotion to a project and be so moved by what seems like such a sweet shyness and feel so compelled to write about her on this thing called 'a blog' which happens on a 'computer'...wouldn't she be tickled to know? :)
More about her here.
