In this week’s Plant Talk
with Stretch I’m discussing the lilac plant. But before I get into my topic, I have
a message to my friend Mitzi—one of your rabbits has gotten into one of my
flower gardens and is munching on my plants. Come get it!
Now on to the Plant Talk: The
lilac seemed like a good choice this week because it’s a beautiful plant that’s
blooming now. I checked its history and heard that it came from Eastern Europe
where my Human Sidekick’s ancestors supposedly lived. (I have this theory about
her family actually arriving on spaceships, but that’s another topic I won’t go
into today.)
And this plant didn’t have anyone killed to get its name. Of course its botanical name comes from
those Greeks again—syringa from the Greek word for pipe “syrinx.” They gave it
that name because the stem can be hollowed out to make a pipe. In fact, the
Turks used to do exactly that, make pipes out of lilac plants. I don’t smoke,
so I won’t try that.
The name “lilac” is
actually from the Arabic word laylak that means blue. But mine are purple, so I think the Arab who
named this flower must have been color-blind.
My friend the artist
Rosieangelo’s mother loved lilacs and considered it her special flower since
she was born in May. She was a gentle, sweet soul so I think the lilac fit
her. This made me feel poetic, so I
looked for references to lilacs in poems but all I found was Walt Whitman’s ode
to Lincoln, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed.” DEPRESSING! I didn’t
get past the first verse:
When lilacs last in the
door-yard bloom’d,
And the great star early
droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d—and yet shall
mourn with ever-returning spring.
Get that guy some Prozac.
And what’s with the apostrophes? Was the “e’ key broken on his typewriter?
Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed
this week’s Plant Talk. Now go enjoy the beauty and aroma of the lilac flowers that
are in bloom. I put mine on my desk where I can enjoy them while playing “Spider
Solitaire” on my computer now that I finished this blog post.
Hiya Stretch... ahem, I mean,
ReplyDeleteDear Emperor Stretch,
You realize your title and about 5-bucks will get you on a NY subway ... perhaps with enough left over for a cup of coffee. I was going to say a cup of Joe, but I don't think your human sidekick's significant other would fit in a cup.
Lilacs are our favorite plant too. Mitzi and I planted several of them 29 years ago, and more about 20 years ago. But this year we had very few flowers (boo-hoo). Maybe because we trimmed them a lot last year, and they say that only "old" wood will promote blooms. Or it could be that we didn't water enough last summer, or even the cold snap we had. In any case it's another year with no lilacs.
Lilacs are like rabbits! They multiply. We literally have hundreds that we have to cut down. It's a shame, but too much of a good thing isn't good ... except for possibly you.
Well, on that happy note, I will leave you to smell the lilacs ... enjoy,
your some-what obedient servant,
Paul
Hi Paul! It's okay if you call me by my first name without my formal title since you're one of my "inner circle" as my professional photog.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you don't have many lilacs again this year. If I had a tree, I would send you some but I just bought a vase of fresh blooms for my desk.
I'm glad you recognize that too much of me is a good thing. You're a smart fellow!
But your wife still needs to come get her rabbit out of my garden!!!!