FOR THE LOVE OF LILACS...

 

Welcome to the month of May.

"May is white clouds behind pine trees/

Puffed out and marching upon a blue sky,

May is much sun through small leaves/

May is soft earth/

and apple blossoms,/

and windows open to a south wind.

May is a full light wind of lilacs."

Amy Lowell

The lilac is one 

of my most favorite flowers.  

I love everything about them. 

 If I could, I would wish

 to be surrounded by lilacs 

my whole life long. 

 My farthest away memory

 is of my great-grandmother, Susie,

 standing in the doorway

 of her Victorian farmhouse

 with a lilac bush

 in full bloom beside her...

"A faint smell of lilac filled the air,

There was always lilac in this part of town,

Where there were grandmothers, 

there was always lilacs."

Laura Miller

When we lived in Santa Cruz, 

our neighbors from across the street 

gave us a small off shoot

 of their lilac bush. 

 We planted it

 in a corner of the garden

 and it thrived.  

When we moved to the Cottage 

we took a piece of it with us, 

although everyone said 

that it couldn't be transplanted, 

and it thrived here also.

Regardless

 of how it was trimmed (or wasn't)

 throughout the years,

 it was always beautiful and fragrant.  

This bush has been here at the Cottage 

for close to 30 years 

and a good 20 years in Santa Cruz before.

  This bush and I 

have always had an endearing relationship 

up to about two years ago.  

When the first tiny buds appeared 

on the slender stems, 

I couldn't wait to pick a big bouquet 

and bring all of its glory into the house. 

 It was a sad day

 when I realized that,

 in close quarters,

 the scent was overwhelming to me

 and I could not endure it.

The last Cottage lilacs in the guest room

2018

 

 Today, I have taken a chance, 

and for just a little while,

 I brought an antique pitcher

 full of lavender blooms

 into the Cottage 

to share with you, 

along with some words that I found

 that convey their beauty

 to the poets in all of us.

Lilacs:

"You are the smell of all summers,

 the love of wives and small children. 

 You are brighter than apples, 

sweeter than tulips."

Amy Lowell

"Now that the lilacs are in bloom, 

she has a bowl of lilacs in her room".

T.S. Eliot

"The lilacs stood close 

to Elizabeth's window,/ 

all purple with bloom.../

 but a wind is stirring the lilac blossoms,/

 and a wonderful sweetness

 came floating in."

Mary E. Wilkins

"The Message of Flowers", 1905

"A pewter bowl of lilacs in the room/

 seem to him to weigh 

and change the gloom."

William Faulkner

"If you have a garden and a library

You have everything you need."

Marcus Tullius Cicero

"Just now,

 the lilac is in bloom/

 all before my little room."

Rupert Brooke

"The Old Vicarage"

In the Language of Flowers:

Lilac:

The first emotion of love.

I love the colors 

of the flowers and the walls together 

along with the shape

 of the oval frame

 behind it...

...and its elegance

 against a rustic background...

...but lilacs and blue skies...

it doesn't get much better

 than that!

I am so sorry,

 for myself as much as

 for everyone else, 

that this beautiful flower,

 with its vibrant colors and sweet scent,

 has to be removed 

out to the front porch. 

 It still is my most favorite

 but I will have to be content

 with its beauty

 only in passing.

"The smell of moist earth and lilacs

Hung in the air

Like wisps of the past

And 

Hints of the future."

Margaret Millar

"To be overcome 

by the fragrance of flowers

 is a delectable form 

of defeat."

Beverly Nichols

"In the dooryard

 Fronting an old farm house

Near the white wash'd palings

Stood the lilac bush tall growing

With heart shaped leaves

 of rich green."

Walt Whitman

 

Have a wonderful week 

and take in the beauty

 of the lilac 

in springtime.

...Judy...

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