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| Camellia x williamsii 'Donation' March 20, 2021 |
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| Camellia x williamsii 'Donation' March 20, 2021 |
It seems a universal concept in indigenous communities that if one survives winter you will live on for another year. That was not the case with my Rosemary who died on December 9, 2020.
Cortazár wrote a poem about not wanting to die in either
fall or spring. I will place it here in its original Spanish. A translation into English follows it.
The poem in its negativity, for me is countered by the fact
that today, the first day of spring, Rosemary’s favourite camellia (Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation’ is in bloom. I will place it here
with another scan from the same date but in 2018. It seems that the
camellia had bloomed, then, a tad early and it had some flowers that were past their
prime. I think they are beautiful but Cortázar would have disapproved.
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| March 20, 2018 |
I see the fresh blooms of this camellia as a celebration of my Rosemary’s life and how she will prod me to make sure her garden this year will look as good as it can. I have planned to open it for the Vancouver Rose Society. I have been pruning the roses in a burst of enthusiasm and today I scrubbed the deck with a liquid that Rosemary would buy every year at Canadian Tire that removes the green slime that builds up over the winter.
Cortázar and spring
