Those of you who have not yet read “A Touch of Promise” may not fully comprehend the fascination I have with lilacs. Inspired by the fact that they are now blooming in my neighbourhood, I thought I would write a bit about how they became a part of the novel, “A Touch of Promise”.
My grandmother, Mary Ann Parker, had a way with flowers. We lived in side-by-side homes for the first 7 years of my life…us in a house that was my grandparents before they built their new home next door. Mary Ann loved her gardens. She cultivated huge, healthy lilac bushes in both yards. I grew up loving the smell of the delicate blossoms and looked forward to the short time they were in bloom each year. In my childhood neighbourhood in London, Ontario, they sometimes bloomed in time for Canadian Mother’s Day in e
arly May, and I would give my mother a bouquet of them to enjoy on her special day. I was always disappointed when they did not bloom in time.
Lilacs came to represent the love and connection I had with these two important women in my life. To this day, I think of them when the lilacs bloom and bring fond memories to the surface.
It was only natural for me, as an author, to assign this trait to Pearl, who was missing her family in England when she came to Canada. And in particular, missing her mother. Coincidentally, it turns out that the mother of the woman who inspired Pearl also doted on lilac bushes.
When my husband and I moved to our current home, I planted a lilac bush in the hopes of producing a big, healthy bush with lots of blossoms each year. I believe I erred in choosing a French variety of lilac that is more like a tree and is not indigenous to our region of the world. In addition, our yard doesn’t have much sun, living in a district of lakes, trees and rocks as we do. So, my lilac has struggled for the 15 years we have been here. Before it produced anything, it had to stretch upward in search of the sun and now produces a few blossoms each year for my enjoyment … a very few, I am afraid. The picture is one cluster of blooms from this year’s crop.
A strange phenomenon happened this year. In addition to the normal-sized blossoms, my lilac has produced a bunch of tiny blossoms at the very top reaches of its branches. It may not be obvious from the photo, as the perspective of how high up they are may not be apparent and there is no other object for reference to indicate the size. But each blossom is incredibly tiny, a true miniature of the usual variety or those on the more mature part of the tree.
I’m not sure what to make of this … perhaps a gardener in my reading audience can explain it? It’s also interesting that it happened in a year when I just published a book that featured lilacs as a connection between a mother and daughter. Perhaps my mother and grandmother are reaching out to let me know they are there and appreciate the sentiment of lilacs in the novel?
Marie Gage
