Posts Tagged ‘lilac’
abandoned gardens: a pantoum about lilacs
Over the years, faced by change, some communities continue to thrive. Others, once vigorous, may decline and disappear. Sometimes, communities may hang on but individual homes may be abandoned. Abandonment can occur if the owner moves away or dies, or if aspects of the home become unsustainable (for example, a water source dries up).
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When a home is abandoned, what becomes of the vegetable garden, so carefully tended, or the flower gardens, each plant chosen with love and care?
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Annuals are usually the first to go, although biennials may continue to grow for a year and some plants, like sweet William or pansies, may reseed. Perennials may thrive, sometimes for years. Rhubarb, chives and berry crops often continue to grow in a vegetable garden. In the flower garden, peonies, day-lilies and phlox may bloom year after year. Trees and shrubs often persist.
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rhubarb persisting in an old garden
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In my poetry project about abandoned gardens, I want to learn more about various poetry forms. The poem below is written as a pantoum. A pantoum consists of four line stanzas. The second and forth lines of the preceding stanza are used as the first and third lines of the next. The first line of the poem may also be used as the last.
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The poem below is written about an abandoned house in central New Brunswick. Keep in mind, these properties are still owed by someone and the owners may care a great deal about them and perhaps use the property if not the house.
lilac bush next to an old house
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lilacs persist
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delicate scribble of winter wren
lilac, a cushion of shadow and green
props the abandoned house
roof rusted, clapboards and shingles grey
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lilac, a cushion of shadow and green
at night leaves peer in windows
roof rusted, clapboards and shingles grey
features sculpted by overlapping leaves
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at night they peer in windows
stare, front windows to back yard
features sculpted by overlapping leaves
scented panicles of purple bloom
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stare, front windows to back yard
noses tuned to lilac sweet
scented panicles of purple bloom
lilacs persist and thrive
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noses tuned to lilac sweet
roof rusted, clapboards and shingles grey
lilacs persist and thrive
delicate scribble of winter wren
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This work is supported by a Creation Grant from artsnb (the New Brunswick Arts Board)!
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Perhaps we can learn from the lilac …
persist and thrive.
All my best,
Jane
abandoned spaces: remnant plants
On a drive towards the centre of the province, we found the property below to exemplify what happens to the surrounding vegetation when home sites are abandoned.
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On the property, I could see the old home, the roof fallen in, the tin roof rusted on the half that was not shingled. All around were wildflowers, most noticeable, the fireweed. There were also remnants of cultivated plants:
- lilac
- rose bushes
- hops
- orange day-lilies
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Street View, Google Earth gives a glimpse of the property back in 2009.
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remnants
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Not meant to sprawl but climb, hops
crouch between grass, fireweed.
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Recline, each five-fingered leaf
with spaces between digits.
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Remnants of pink rose bushes
and an apple tree, apples
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green but plentiful. Lilac
lifts spent and skeletal blooms.
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The two-track road still leads to
back pasture, woodlot beyond.
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Orange day-lilies echo
the rusty reds of tin roof,
the house fallen to decay.
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All my best,
Jane
in the shelter of the covered bridge – not a hummingbird
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not a humming bird
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Benton Covered Bridge
Eel River #3
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wing blur in the lilac
threshold of the bridge
scent-thick and purple
invisible
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hawkmoth
hummingbird clearwing
Hemaris thysbe
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lilac thryse to lilac thryse
side-slip, hover
nectar thirst
fierce harvest
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For more information on the hummingbird hawkmoth at the Benton Covered Bridge, see https://janetims.com/2015/06/10/in-the-shelter-of-the-covered-bridge-hummingbird-moths/
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Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
in the shelter of the covered bridge – hummingbird hawkmoths
At one end of the Benton Covered Bridge (Eel River #3) is a large Lilac bush.
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Lilac by the Benton Bridge
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Since I was looking for wild life in the vicinity of the bridge, I was delighted to see what appeared to be bumblebees or hummingbirds busy gathering nectar from the Lilac blossoms.
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moth getting nectar from the flowers – you can see his orangy body and dark antennae
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As we approached, we realised these were not bumblebees or hummingbirds, but a type of ‘hummingbird hawkmoth’. They behaved like hummingbirds, darting among the flowers, backing up and slipping sideways. Their transparent wings were a blur, they moved so fast. Their bodies were striped in gold and black and their bodies were very hairy.
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hummingbird hawkmoth, his wings a blur, gathering nectar
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Although my photographs are not very clear, with help from the New Brunswick Museum staff, I now know these are Hummingbird Clearwing moths (Hemaris thysbe). Although I listened carefully, I could not hear the sound their wings made, since the rippling of the water in the river was so loud!
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There were hundreds of moths in the Lilac bush. The hummingbird hawkmoths shared their feast with a group of very nervous Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio canadensis).
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The Lilac scent was overwhelming, thick and sweet. If that scent was a room, it would be a Victorian parlour. If it was a textile it would be deep-purple satin. If it was weather, it would be a sultry August evening. If it was a light, it would be a Moroccan lantern … and so on.
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
Downderry by the sea 7-6
my first view of Downderry (image from Street View)
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map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)
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Downderry is a charming town, tucked beside the sea …
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houses in Downderry (image from Street View)
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My virtual memories of Downderry will be of stone walls …
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gardens along Downderry street (image from Street View)
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hillside gardens …
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hillside gardens (image from Street View)
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and a charming red brick church …
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Downderry church (image from Street View)
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Best View: a lilac in front of a white house …
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July 4, 2013 ‘Lilacs, Downderry’ Jane Tims
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and a Horse Chestnut tree beside Downderry Church …
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July 5, 2013 ‘Downderry Church’ Jane Tims
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Then, onward to Seaton and a backward view at Seaton Beach from Looe Hill …
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July 6, 2013 ‘Seaton Beach’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
along the Cornwall shore 7-1
After completing my virtual bike journey through central France, I was faced with a decision …. where to go next? I considered all sorts of places, but the winner has been the setting for some of my favorite literature … the Cornwall coast of England.
A few minutes with Street View convinced me. Along the Cornwall coast are the ocean views I love, the rugged shoreline of Daphne du Maurier fame, the hilly countryside of southern England, and numerous opportunities for side trips to see farmsteads, churchyards and ruins. It was hard to settle on the 26 images that would take me through my first 30 minute virtual bike excursion. So hard, in fact, I selected 39 images for the first trip!
I decided to begin just west of Plymouth, and I plotted ten, 3 km trips to begin. Beyond that is a more than 300-km-distance around the entire Cornwall coast.
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Today’s trip took me through the hamlet of Rame, along the Whitsand Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. The Street View image of the parking lot at Rame’s Head provides a view of 14th century Saint Michael’s chapel on a cone-shaped headland. The chapel is now derelict and is thought to be the site of a Celtic hermitage …
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St Michael’s chapel is the tiny building on the cone-shaped hill at about 5 o’clock (image from Street View)
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The first part of the trip took me past the Saint Germanus churchyard …
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Saint Germanus churchyard (image from Street View)
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The church was dedicated in 1259, on the site of an older building. In the church are pews surviving from the 16th century! Since there is no electricity or gas, services are by candlelight. I particularly like the lych gate in front of the church since my novel begins with my main character standing under a lych gate to keep dry from the rain. A lych gate is a covered gate – during a funeral, the body of the deceased person is carried through the lych gate on the way to the church …
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Saint Germanus church in Rame (image from Street View)
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The next part of my trip was along the Military Road. This road runs along the coast on the high land. Other, narrower (!) roads run between the small communities closer to the coast. My guess is, this road was built as a way to patrol the coastline for military purposes …
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Military Road near Rame – Gorse blooming along the road (image from Street View)
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I enjoyed my visit with a herd of horses along the Military Road …
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As I looked back along the road I’d just travelled (virtually), I was so glad I chose this as the next stage of my exercise scheme …
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Best View: so many to choose from! I liked a view of lilacs in the yard of a house near Rame …
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July 1, 2013 ‘Lilacs near Rame’ Jane Tims
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
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