Glog
APRIL is the cruellest month (April 4, 2011)
« April is the cruellest month » wrote poet T.S. Eliot in his poem The Waste Land. Eliot was a poet who observed and loved gardens and his poems are full of images drawn from his close observation of the birth and regeneration of the gardens and forests of the English countryside.
The rebirth of a garden in the spring is a miraculous process – all the more miraculous in our climate because of the long winter and heavy snow. With more than 100 cm of snow having fallen in two immobilizing blizzards this March alone, spring is still several weeks away. The lilacs certainly will not be emerging out of the dead land for many weeks. It is at this time of the year when we most appreciate how different our garden and its climate are from others in North America.
Memory and desire is what animates most gardens and gardeners. The memory of gardens past and the desire to see the plants come to life and their fragrance saturate the air. But the longer days, bright rays of the spring sun and the snow melting off the trees only brings the desire closer. The 2011 season is shaping up to be a good one, with many events and visits already reserved, a good deal of media interest and many projects coming to an end in time for their inauguration this summer. The season’s passes are being prepared to be sent out in early May in time for the opening of the gardens on Saturday, June 4th.
On a sad note, one of the great supporters of the gardens over the past decade, Stephanie McCandless Reford, died on March 9. She was a frequent visitor with her husband Robert W. Reford since 1995. Since his death in 2006 she came every year and was anticipating a return visit this summer. She made several substantial donations to the gardens, notably the fountain sculpture Rapture by Kosso Eloul (on display in the garden behind the garden café) as well as many items of furniture and objets d’art that are on display in the museum in Estevan Lodge. Generous to the end, Les Amis des Jardins de Métis is one of the charities that are accepting donations in her memory. Those wanting to learn more about her life and career can follow this link to her obituary notice that appeared in the Globe and Mail.
T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
