Phyllis McGinley: Pulitzer-Winning Poet and Ode to Garden Obsession
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
March 21, 1905
Dearest reader,
On this day, Phyllis McGinley was born—an American poet and children’s book author who would win acclaim as the first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for light verse in 1961 for her collection Times Three.
Known for her witty, gentle pokes at suburban life, Phyllis was also a gardener with a keen understanding of the slippery slope from pastime to obsession.
As she herself penned in The Province of the Heart (1959),
The trouble with gardening is that it does not remain an avocation.
It becomes an obsession.
That obsession is charmingly captured in her whimsical poem, Daylight Savings Time, which neatly ties together nature, time, and modern life:
In spring when maple buds are red,
We turn the clock an hour ahead;
Which means each April that arrives,
We lose an hour out of our lives.Who cares? When autumn birds in flocks
Fly southward, back we turn the clocks,
And so regain a lovely thing
That missing hour we lost in spring.
Phyllis’ light verse dances on the line between reflection and cheerfulness, turning the abstract concept of time into a delightful seasonal ritual, much like tending a well-loved garden changes with the months.
In Phyllis McGinley’s poetry, daily life and garden obsessions bloom side by side, reminding us of both the small quirks and enduring joys found in simple things—be it the ticking clock or a patch of carefully tended soil.
