Monday, May 12, 2008

garden prowler



as a gesture of cheer i took some roses to my friend h. i mentioned before that she has twisted her ankle and she is on the mend. that afternoon the scent of the roses mingled with the incoming sunlight as we munched and chatted the afternoon away. i mentioned to her that whenever i smell roses it takes me back to being a little girl. i used to visit my grandmother every weekend. the lady who lived in the house next door kept a beautiful rose garden. i would wander over and literally sit in her garden and break off her roses. i was in heaven in the midst of the beautiful smells and the soft velvety touch of the petals. i would separate the petals and allow them to fall all over my legs and bare feet. the next door lady would catch me in her garden, scream at me and chase me out. i had no idea why, it was such a pleasure to be in such a special space...

it wasn't until i was older that i realised what i had done. can you imagine the work and care and commitment that goes into growing a rose garden only to have your flowers plucked up by some strange wandering little girl...

i've read that the part of our brain that is for scent is right next to the part for memories. the scent of roses always plops me right back to when i used to sneak into that rose garden...
the fragrance always stays in the hand
of the one who gives the rose.
~george william curtis

4 comments:

Lavinia said...

What a cute story. That poor lady and her beautiful rose bushes, devoting so much effort to them only to have them played with by a curious little girl....brought a smile to my face.

You are right about scent triggering memory. I've heard that scent is the fastest trigger of memory, even faster than the senses of sight or sound. Isn't it funny what certain scents can do. The smell of steamy ironing always takes me back to childhood and my mother ironing away. The same with old style wall paint...my dad used to paint every summer and that smell takes me back there in an instant.

It's nice that roses remind you of a special person, your grandmother.

Anonymous said...

I lova the quote! It's like we give something but have the trace of it, the trace of the person we cared so much that we wanted to offer them something, within in us.

My Castle in Spain said...

Dear Audrey,
you are so poetic!!!
I love this image of you letting the rose petals fall down on your legs and feet...

mm..ok..might have been a little bit rude for the roses and the neighbor lady to pluck her roses that way!

the quote is beautiful too...and so true

Have a lovely day, sweetie
Lala

l'air du temps said...

hi Lavinia, i know it was so bad of me to pluck up those roses. i owe an apology to that lady gardner. i do hope that she eventually forgot all about my mischievousness. i like very much as well your memories of the smell of steamy ironing and old style wall paint that you connect with your mom and dad...

Susu, the quote is lovely isn't it. we gain so much when we share. it's so wonderful that our intention is to do something kind for someone else and to our surprise we are gifted with a special feeling...

Lala, it's as if i can still feel those soft rose petals on my bare legs and feet. i loved that feeling. it was bad of me to sneak into that garden, i suppose my desire for those gorgeous flowers overwhelmed me... i try to be a good girl these days;)