The writer catches the changes of his mind on the hop. Growth is exciting; growth is dynamic and alarming. Growth of the soul, growth of the mind.
Vita Sackville-WestRead
It is a sad moment when the first phlox appears. It is the amber light indicating the end of the great burst of early summer and suggesting that we must now start looking forward to autumn. Not that I have any objection to autumn as a season, full of its own beauty; but I just cannot bear to see another summer go, and I recoil from what the first hint of autumn means.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses melancholy at the arrival of autumn, symbolized by the blooming of phlox, as it signifies the end of summer.
Vita Sackville-West's quote captures the bittersweet feeling that accompanies seasonal change, particularly the transition from the vibrant joy of summer to the more subdued autumn. The blooming of phlox serves as a poignant reminder that while autumn brings its own beauty, it also marks the end of a season that many cherish, evoking a sense of loss and nostalgia for the warmth and brightness of summer days.
Themes
PhloxAutumnSummerSeasonChangeNostalgia
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the passage of time, one might reference this quote to highlight the inevitable changes we all encounter.
More from Vita Sackville-West
All quotes →I loved you when love was Spring, and May, Loved you when summer deepened into June, and now when autumn yellows all the leaves.
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Gardening is a luxury occupation: an ornament, not a necessity, of life.... Fortunate gardener, who may preoccupy himself solely with beauty in these difficult and ugly days! He is one of the few people left in this distressful world to carry on the tradition of elegance and charm. A useless member of society, considered in terms of economics, he must not be denied his rightful place. He deserves to share it, however humbly, with the painter and poet.
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The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.
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There is nothing more lovely in life than the union of two people whose love for one another has grown through the years, from the small acorn of passion, into a great rooted tree
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It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How _x000D_ else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?
Vita Sackville-WestRead
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