Winter would stay its stress?
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
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| Chrysanthemum x grandiflorum 'Pelee', December 4 2018 |
All the flowers and plants I have scanned from my garden all
these years I have proudly considered that they were indeed from my garden. I
sometimes state that my roses, especially, communicate with me to inform me
that the critical moment has arrived for me to go after them with secateurs and
to scan them.
But here you see an exception. My Rosemary at this time of
the year manages to find reasons to go to garden centres. This we did. I was
struck by this Chrysanthemum x
grandiflorum 'Pelee' when I saw it and I told Rosemary, “We must buy it so
that I can scan it.”
It was not expensive at $12. It is definitely (at this time
of the year) an indoor plant. Some who read this might know that the
chrysanthemum is the symbol of Japan and that its inhabitants call their
kingdom (which it is) the Chrysanthemum Throne.
In these dark days of early December it is somewhat
pleasing to see all this white in this lovely flower.
The Last Chrysanthemum – Thomas Hardy
Why should this flower delay so long
To show its
tremulous plumes?
Now is the time of plaintive robin-song,
When flowers are
in their tombs.
Through the slow summer, when the sun
Called to each
frond and whorl
That all he could for flowers was being done,
Why did it not
uncurl?
It must have felt that fervid call
Although it took
no heed,
Waking but now, when leaves like corpses fall,
And saps all
retrocede.
Too late its beauty, lonely thing,
The season's shine is spent,
Nothing remains for it but shivering
In tempests
turbulent.
Had it a reason for delay,
Dreaming in
witlessness
That for a bloom so delicately gay
Winter would
stay its stress?
- I talk as if the thing were born
With sense to
work its mind;
Yet it is but one mask of many worn
By the Great
Face behind.
