Memories of Maine’s Flowers
(All
pictures were taken by me except for the last one on the story)
 |
| A South End house with window boxes |
This blog is a revamp of
a spring flower story which appears on the “Being a Southender” CD of 2009. I
would like to include summer flowers into this current story and try to tweak
the memories of those of you who have moved away. What flowers do you remember
from your youth living in Maine?
While these flowers
could probably be found in most of the New England states, they always remind
me of the beauty and in some cases, the perfume of our most prevalent flowers
and bushes in Maine.
As the school children
up in Maine gaze out the windows of their classrooms and daydream of summer
days, they still have to keep their jackets handy, for the transition to summer
in Maine can be tricky.
A nice warm day can turn
into a cold rainy day in the blink of an eye. The old Maine adage, “If you don’t
like the weather, wait a minute,” is never truer than at this time of year in
Maine. It’s the smells wafting on the early spring air that hold the most
promise however. The smells renew our spirits and make your whole world look
better to you all of a sudden. I always got terrible “spring fever” about this
time of year when I was a kid in Maine.
 |
| The little house in the field next to Sandy Beach in the South End |
In Maine, folks look
forward to the end of “mud season” and to changes in the wind patterns from the
cold blasts of winter to the milder breezes of spring and the promise of warmer
days to come.
Finally flowers begin
appearing as if overnight: crocuses, tulips, jonquils (called daffodils here in
Georgia) and the flowering bushes of forsythia and lilac, and those white “bridal”
bushes. The spring smell I miss the most is Maine’s lilac bushes. We had one in
our yard at the Mcloud Street house along with forsythia bushes.
Along this time of year
it was dance recital time and our mother always took our pictures standing
outside by one of the bridal bushes. Except for the sunny spot by the side of
the house where the electric meter was, this was her second favorite spot in
which to take our picture.
Graduation time was
always the time for lilacs. The Community Building stage would be banked with
the fragrant bush for both Baccalaureate and Graduation ceremonies. The smell
of those lilacs remains with me to this day.
How many of you gathered
a spring or summer bouquet for your mother when you were a kid? They might be
just a bunch of dandelions but she was always appreciative. Other flowers we
might gather were wild violets, buttercups, “painted” wild flowers, black-eyed Susans,
pussy willows, or Queen Anne’s lace. My mother used to take the latter and put
them into a vase of water with food dye added to it. She usually used red or
blue which turned the lace to that color.
 |
| Queen Anne's Lace at Sandy Beach |
The fields alongside our
Maine roads often contained some of these flowers above along with beautiful
waves of lupine of different colors as well.
 |
| Black-eyed Susans growing in the South End |
This picture comes from
the pictures I have of my friend, Pat Pendleton’s garden up in Rockport. It was
taken a couple years ago.
As I come north this
year I will miss the arrival and blooming of many of the above flowers and
fauna. I do remember one trip I made up to Maine in the spring time. It was May
and I came to bury my father, Ted Sr. The first thing I smelled when I got home
was the lilacs. I like to think it was his final gift to me. Thanks, Dad.
Thanks for listening.
