I'm not sure if all the flowers dancing at Grandeville's Le Bal are May flowers but I think its a lovely illustration for Aubade*, Taxile Delorde's invocation to the first flowers of the spring as translated by Jeremiah Cleaveland.
 |
| This coterie of flowers has all the style and grace - and the tantalizingly exposed limbs - of the coryphées from Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris who so enchanted the wealthy gentlemen of the period. |
 |
| We had several stalks of Campanule or Canterbury Bells in our first small garden - they were always a favourite. That dancer with the slightly manic look may have just found out that her common English name is Lady's Ear Drop (Fuschia). |
 |
| I love the French common name for Delphinium (Larkspur) - Pied d'alouette - which literally translates as "the Lark's Foot". The French has a very dance-like sound to it - perhaps it's the term used in ballet for the dancing movement made by a stand of delphs. |
 |
| Joining in the dance perhaps celebrating May and Mother's Day are the Muguet (Lily of the Valley), the Pyramidale (Bell Flower) and the Liseron (Morning Glory). All those bell like flowers dancing with such abandon must sound like a joyous carillon welcoming the warm weather and sun. |
 |
| Overseeing the festivities is the regal Reine Marguerite- a little bit of serendipity as my mother-in-law's favourite flower has always been the stately China Aster. I only wish that she were able to once again enjoy their beauty. |
So here's my Mother's Day bouquet and my wish that it may - like that first flower of the spring - indeed bring "good fortune for the rest of the year."
* This very old French word can mean a song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or evoking daybreak or a poem or song about lovers separating at dawn.
13 May - 1995: 33-year-old British mother Alison Hargreaves became the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
2 comments:
I came to visit your Flower-show yesterday. It was worth waiting a bit for it ! Mother's day is later here. (perhaps it is last Sunday in May or first one in June, I hesitate!). It is a nice ritual among schoolchildren, they usually do some artistic celebrations for their Mums, all made by them at school.(Poems with drawings are favourite)
If Daisy is Marguerite, the English does not sound as 'Royal' as the French to me! probably because I know funny songs about' Daisy... "Daisy daisy give me your answer do...'." But on the French side there are also lots of funny rimes with Marguerite and there is also the game youngsters always try, plucking the petals and testing where it ends, on 'je t'aime, un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, and the worst 'pas du tout'...
This is lovely. When my sister and I were young, we gathered flowers and made May Baskets for all of our neighbors. Left them hanging on the front door late the night before so there would be a pretty surprise the next morning. Sweet times. Miss them. Best not to look back, I think.
Post a Comment