Vintage Illustrated Children's Poem: The Queen's Messenger

by Tudor Jenks
"Spider, spinner! ― you're very late!
What do you think will be your fate
Should the Fairy Queen and court arrive
To find the tent you promised to spin
Of the glossiest web at precisely five
Not ready for holding the dances in?
She may change you into a tiny gnat,
Or a fly, or something worse than that!
There's only an hour before the ball
To finish the room for our dance to night,
So that when the dew shall fall
It will spangle all with silver light.
You've wasted time in catching flies ―
I read the truth in your eight green eyes!
To work with a will, for the sun is low,
And soon the moon comes over the hill;
The fairies begin to gather, you know,
As soon as they hear the whippoorwill.
Haste, then; spin! ― or you'll be too late.
The Fairy Queen will never wait;
And unless the pavilion shall be complete,
The nug gray roof with dew pearls spread,
The silken rug for the fairy feet,
Oh, spider! you may quake with dread!"

An illustrated Victorian fantasy poem titled "The Queen's Messenger" written by Tudor Jenks about a spider tasked with spinning a party tent for the Fairy Queen. Great for framed poetry, graphic design, papercrafts, nursery art or scrapbooking projects. You can download the poem in full as a high-res 8" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Blackberries from the Garden (1)

You have to wait for a fruit to ripe before you harvest.
You must also learn to wait for the fulfillment of your visions.
― Lailah Gifty Akita, The Alphabets of Success: Passion Driven Life

It's that time of year when fat, juicy blackberries are ripe for plucking and eating! Are you eating yours fresh or making into pies and jam? If you love drawing out the season like me, here is a low-sugar, blackberry jam recipe from Practical Self Reliance that is perfect for putting on scones while drinking tea beside a roaring fire.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

Vintage Illustrated Children's Poem: Roses Red (Garden-themed Nursery Rhyme & Sheet Music)

ROSES RED
Roses red, roses red,
Whisper how you're growing!
Then I can tell
Dear little Nell,
And we shall both be knowing.

Roses red, roses red,
Some folks say you're fleeting!
But we have come
To take you home,
And keep the summer's greeting.

Roses red, roses red,
Say, why are you dying?
If I could tell
Poor little Nell,
Perhaps 't would stop her crying.

An illustrated children's garden poem originally published in June 1887. It is sung to a little tune which is shown below the drawing of a boy and girl in the garden, gathering roses from a vine that is climbing along a brick wall. Great for framed poetry, graphic design, papercrafts, nursery art or scrapbooking projects. You can find the high-res 6" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


From my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Two Habitats (A Juxtaposition)

We forget, in a world completely transformed by man,
that what we’re looking at is not necessarily the environment wildlife prefer,
but the depleted remnant that wildlife is having to cope with:
what it has is not necessarily what it wants.
― Isabella Tree, Wilding

We will spend billions making inhospitable distant planets habitable.
And yet we spend trillions destroying the abundant ingredients for life on our home planet.
― Freequill

A photo taken many years ago showing two different types of dwellings that we stumbled upon as we were wandering in the area around the Music Gardens in downtown Toronto, a small park fronting on its ineer harbour. I am not sure if the magnificent bird house is still there but it would be lovely if it was!

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.