In her wonderful autobiography "Eeenzam Maar Niet Alleen" (which I would translate as "Lonely but Not Alone") Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, ruling from 1898 - 1948, describes the little garden she had as a child. (Rough translation by me - from Nederlands to English - a bit daring as both are not my mother tongue :-)
"Also for my little garden - I had a small garden of my own - he ordered (Wilhelmina speaks of the Head-Gardener Kraaijenbrink) all flowering plants, among others a whole planting of miniature roses (Perle d'Or) along the path that led there. Father was interested also in the hothouses and glasshouses; he gave Mother many beautiful foreign plants of many sorts and origin.
Mother made sure that I cared for flowers in father's room throughout the whole year. First pluck, then despatch, that was my task. He was always so glad with them! Of course mother got her due too."
(The text in Nederland: "Ook voor mijn tuintje - ik had een eigen tuintje - bestelde hij (tuinbaas Kraaijenbrink) alle bloeiende planten, onder andere een hele beplanting van dwergroosjes (Perle d'Or) langs het pad daar doorhen. Ook de kassen en kasplanten hadden vaders belangstelling; hij schonk moeder vele mooie uitheemse planten van allerlei soort en herkomst.
Moeder droeg er zorg voor dat ik het hele jaar door vaders kamer van bloemen voorzag. Eerst plukken en dan schikken, dat was mijn taak. Wat was hij er altijd blij mee! Natuurlijk kreeg moeder ook haar deel.")
Did you have a garden bed of your own when you were a child? Did you like to help in the garden?
Of course, but largely in spring and summer. The gardener did the lawn, trees and bushes while my brothers and I planted cherry tomatoes, spring onions, zucchini, herbs, spinach, passionfruit etc. My memory as a small child was that the garden was huge.
ReplyDeleteDear Helen, the impression of "huge" one has of houses and flats one once lived in as a child too.
DeleteTo plant something one can eat is very rewarding - zucchini are so grateful in their abundance, and tomatoes of one's own: yummy!
I remember Wilhelmina in wartime. Brave lady. I didn't know she was a gardener. Nice to read about it.
ReplyDeleteDear Boud, I am really curious what you remember of her.
ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of the garden work was done by professional gardeners - when she writes about her little garden then it is a remembrance of her early childhood - but I think that the love for flowers and plants was forwarded by her parents, and that is wonderful.
She was presented in the newspapers as a symbol of fortitude and defiance during the Nazi Occupation, and a gracious older woman when she abdicated in favor of Juliana. She was a guest of the King at Buckingham Palace at some point, admired by ordinary people because she seemed friendly and approachable, unlike British titled folk. Never read a word against her.
DeleteI love that report, dear Boud! Thank you - it is the impression I got of her from her books (autobiography and letters).
DeleteBrava to you, dear Britta, for reading and enjoying Dutch books! Queen Wilhelmina and her mother Queen Emma had some cracking jewellery, news of which never fails to turn my head :)
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't have a garden of my own as a child but, like Hels, in my memory the front and back gardens of my house as a child always seemed huge. You could run and run about in them until exhaustion.
Thank you Pip! Before Covid I studied (I mean: really studied, with exams and tests; not guest student) Netherland's philology and language at the FU Berlin - and though the other students were a few years younger than me (hahaha), I found friends - and three of them still are there, though by the Covid Pandemie and then my double homes (Berlin/Bavaria) I stopped the studies and now only read books in that language.
ReplyDeleteI will find out about the jewellery on my trips to the Netherland - how fascinating!
I think that children are very lucky who have a garden and parents who love nature. I try to "teach" the triplets that what my parents gave to me.
Gardens are central to my life, even as I age and can do less gardening work. The beauty captures me. For me, God makes each and every flower and petal, each a work of art. That is charming to think of the Queen as a child gardening.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Terra! Gardens are central to my life too - I visited so many, and every time I am surprised of the many ways a gardener presents his/her way of seeing plants. Yes, I do believe too that God has created that richness and ingenuity.
ReplyDelete