A Note from the Garden

Lenten roses from my garden ©A.Rutherford

Yesterday I spent three hours in the garden in the cool sunshine clearing away the debris in the flower beds from a rather tough winter.  When I began my work, things looked rather bleak, but I worked away remembering how quickly the garden “climate” had turned for the better in Springs past.  And of course, I looked for one of my favorite early Spring signs of hope, the Lenten rose, Helleborus orientalis, which is not a rose at all but only resembles the wild rose.

Although this plant has been known since antiquity, it is not commonly grown in modern gardens.  The Roman historian Pliny wrote about its medicinal purposes, and also suggested that it had magical properties.  Medieval and Renaissance herbalists wrote about it as well, recommending it especially for veterinary purposes.   

But I enjoy it for its quiet Beauty in the winter garden.  The plants are hardy and evergreen.  The petals, or actually sepals, remain on the plant for sometimes many months.  

I think perhaps Lenten roses are not grown more popularly because we are more given to bright, colorful Spring gardens and flamboyant Summer borders.  Most of us don’t venture out into the Winter garden, and so the lovely Lenten roses would bloom unseen and unappreciated.   But with their dusky rose petals, their unique coloration, and their handsome spots, it lifts the heart to see them blooming in the snow.   They are rather shy, drooping their exquisite faces, but breathtaking when you lift a blossom to peer into its heart.

Of course, I think everyone should have a grouping tucked away in a corner of the garden  to provide a rare treat on a day that might otherwise be discouraging.  The Lenten roses are a sign of survival in sometimes brutal circumstances.  

“And why do you worry about adornment? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.   Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”           - Matthew 6:28-29

And here’s a bit of poetry which features the Lenten rose from a book of poetry called The Chinese Poet Awakens.   The much honored Appalachian poet Jeff Daniel Marion, former poet-in-residence and professor at Carson Newman College, is not Chinese at all, but uses this persona of a Chinese poet to look at life in his native Tennessee and distill some wisdom from his daily life and locale.

The poem has an amusing title which sets up the scenario—the Chinese poet has not gotten the worldly honor he has expected.  Will he allow this to cause him to become despondent?  Will he consider that his ordinary life is without consequence and pleasure, now that his existence has not been validated by those with wealth and power?  Will he allow the culture to define him or blind him to what’s really significant in this life?

AFTER FAILING TO RECEIVE HIS APPOINTMENT FROM THE EMPEROR THE CHINESE POET RECONSIDERS THE WORLD

Beside my doorway this morning
the Lenten rose nods,
its bloom a blush of color
on yesterday's pale cheeks of snow.

Last night the faithful stars
appeared, steady travelers swinging their lanterns
through millions of dutiful rounds.
Who am I to them,
my day's but a flintspark?

Now the old dog nuzzles my palm.
To her I am no title, not even a name,
just a friendly hand to scratch her belly,
to deliver her daily lump
of meat in a blue granite bowl.
She sniffs my leg, loving the scent
of all the dusty trails I've wandered
to come home.

By the river the blue heron stands
and waits, poised in the long patience.
Here the world offers itself, wave after wave
of mountains washing across the miles.
Here the sparrow sings from the sycamore.
I lift my voice
and come down to earth
here.  

The poem makes us smile, but it makes us pause to ponder as well.   I think we can easily get the Chinese poet’s point, but having the courage to resist the siren call of the materialistic culture is more difficult.

I tried to give them a little "Medieval" context *smile*

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