--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are nettles everywhere, but smooth…" description: "\"There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses are more common still; the blue of heaven is larger than the cloud.\" — Elizabeth Barrett Browning" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png" --- # There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses… ![“There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses are more common still; the blue of heaven is larger than the cloud.” quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png) > “There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses are more common still; the blue of heaven is larger than the cloud.” [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even among thorns, smooth green grass is common; the sky’s blue exceeds any cloud. **In simple terms:** Beauty outweighs hardship. Key Takeaway Seek larger perspective. Themes nature contrast hope Mood hopeful contemplative Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - Gardening - storm recovery - mental health Key Concepts Ecology philosophical optimism Questions to Reflect On - What small joys persist? - How does vastness comfort you? A Different Perspective Grass may hide obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Grasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasses/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Nettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nettles/) ## Related quotes > [The dry grasses are not dead for me. A beautiful form has as much life at one season as another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-dry-grasses-are-not-dead-for-me-a-beautiful-form-has-as-much-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“You ought to see it when it blooms, all dark red flowers from horizon to horizon, like a see of blood. Come the dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/you-ought-to-see-it-when-it-blooms-all-dark-red-flowers-from-horizon/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Summer grasses, All that remains Of soldiers' dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/summer-grasses-all-that-remains-of-soldiers-dreams/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is better to always be firm like grasses lying under the ground if they break you in one place or cut you off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamaran-ihsan-salih/it-is-better-to-always-be-firm-like-grasses-lying-under-the-ground-if/) [Kamaran Ihsan Salih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamaran-ihsan-salih/) > [Instead of looking at someone else's grass make your own grasses green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/detroit-angel/instead-of-looking-at-someone-else-s-grass-make-your-own-grasses-green/) Detroit Angel > [Summer grasses — all that remains of great soldiers' imperial dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/summer-grasses-all-that-remains-of-great-soldiers-imperial-dreams/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [The same wind that uproots trees makes the grass shine. The lordly wind loves the weakness and the lowness of grasses. Never brag of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-same-wind-that-uproots-trees-makes-the-grass-shine-the-lordly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The size and height of the tree determines how heavily the ground will shake when it falls. The cassava tree falls and not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-size-and-height-of-the-tree-determines-how-heavily-the-ground/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [While drawing grasses I learn nothing 'about' grass, but wake up to the wonder that there is grass at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/while-drawing-grasses-i-learn-nothing-about-grass-but-wake-up-to-the/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [Let there be a heaven so that man may outlive his grasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/let-there-be-a-heaven-so-that-man-may-outlive-his-grasses/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Walking in the mountain with bare foot, Teasing the flowers with heavy soot, Touching the grasses, climbing the horses, swinging the girls It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/walking-in-the-mountain-with-bare-foot-teasing-the-flowers-with-heavy/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [The world is a nettle; disturb it, it stings. Grasp it firmly, it stings not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/the-world-is-a-nettle-disturb-it-it-stings-grasp-it-firmly-it-stings/) [Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/) > [Sweet to me was not the voice of man, But the wind's voice was understood by me. The burdocks and the nettles fed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/sweet-to-me-was-not-the-voice-of-man-but-the-wind-s-voice-was/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/better-be-a-nettle-in-the-side-of-your-friend-than-his-echo/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/virtue-a-fig-tis-in-ourselves-that-we-are-thus-or-thus-our-bodies-are/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Elizabeth Barrett Browning > [I should not dare to call my soul my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-should-not-dare-to-call-my-soul-my-own/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Many a crown Covers bald foreheads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/many-a-crown-covers-bald-foreheads/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [And lilies are still lilies, pulled By smutty hands, though spotted from their white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/and-lilies-are-still-lilies-pulled-by-smutty-hands-though-spotted/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [“The face of all the world is changed, I think, Since first I heard the footsteps of they soul Move still, oh, still, beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-face-of-all-the-world-is-changed-i-think-since-first-i-heard-the/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Wall must get the weather stain Before they grow the ivy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/wall-must-get-the-weather-stain-before-they-grow-the-ivy/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-i-love-thee-to-the-depth-and/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [With stammering lips and insufficient sound I strive and struggle to deliver right the music of my nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/with-stammering-lips-and-insufficient-sound-i-strive-and-struggle-to/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The charm, one might say the genius, of memory is that it is choosy, chancy and temperamental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-charm-one-might-say-the-genius-of-memory-is-that-it-is-choosy/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [The flower-girl's prayer to buy roses and pinks, held out in the smoke, like stars by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-flower-girl-s-prayer-to-buy-roses-and-pinks-held-out-in-the-smoke/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [They say that God lives very high! But if you look above the pines You cannot see our God. And why? And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/they-say-that-god-lives-very-high-but-if-you-look-above-the-pines-you/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Men of science, osteologists And surgeons, beat some poets, in respect For nature,-count nought common or unclean, Spend raptures upon perfect specimens Of indurated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/men-of-science-osteologists-and-surgeons-beat-some-poets-in-respect/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [We can't separate our humanity from our poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/we-can-t-separate-our-humanity-from-our-poetry/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Happy are all free peoples, too strong to be dispossessed. But blessed are those among nations who dare to be strong for the rest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/happy-are-all-free-peoples-too-strong-to-be-dispossessed-but-blessed/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Suddenly, as rare things will, it vanished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/suddenly-as-rare-things-will-it-vanished/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) [Explore all 306 Elizabeth Barrett Browning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) ## More Blue quotes > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [Human beings should stick together. Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/human-beings-should-stick-together-honestly-if-i-see-a-red-haired/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/we-live-in-a-state-with-a-wonderful-climate-and-plenty-of-natural/) [Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Mother, she likes the blue material just fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/mother-she-likes-the-blue-material-just-fine/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [You know, I'm the only one in this family who has no problems, . . . And you know why? Because any time I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-i-m-the-only-one-in-this-family-who-has-no-problems-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [The grape Hyacinth is the favorite spring flower of my garden - but no! I though a minute ago the Scilla was! and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/the-grape-hyacinth-is-the-favorite-spring-flower-of-my-garden-but-no/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/i-swam-with-my-first-shark-in-the-1980s-i-was-20-miles-off-the-coast/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) [Browse all 3,452 Blue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses are more common still; the blue of heaven is larger than the cloud.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Barrett Browning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth-green-grasses-are-more-common/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blue" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth-green-grasses-are-more-common/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/elizabeth-barrett-browning-102_blue_there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth_2179771.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses are more common still; the blue of heaven is larger…” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Barrett Browning", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are nettles everywhere, but smooth,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth-green-grasses-are-more-common/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/there-are-nettles-everywhere-but-smooth-green-grasses-are-more-common/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```