Stevie Smith’s Garden Wisdom: The Dual Nature of Lilacs

On This Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:

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September 20, 1902

My dearest garden enthusiasts, on this day we find ourselves contemplating the fascinating intersection of poetry and horticulture through the lens of one of England's most distinctive voices.

Today marks the birth of Florence Margaret Smith, though you may know her better by her pen name, Stevie Smith.

While many would come to celebrate her contributions to poetry and prose, we gardeners hold a special appreciation for her acute observations of the natural world.

Consider, if you will, her most illuminating reflection on one of spring's most beloved offerings:

Nothing is more wistful than the scent of lilac, nor more robust than its woody stalk, for we must remember that it is a tree as well as a flower; we must try not to forget this.

How marvelously she captures what we, as cultivators of beauty, understand intrinsically - that our garden companions are complex beings, simultaneously delicate and sturdy.

Smith's observation about the lilac serves as a gentle reminder of what we too often overlook in our gardens.

How many times have you, dear reader, found yourself captivated by the ethereal beauty of lilac blooms, only to forget the strength of the very framework that supports them?

The lilac, with its intricate duality, mirrors Smith's own literary career. Just as this woody plant presents its delicate blooms to the world while maintaining its sturdy core, Smith would present her whimsical verses while tackling life's weightiest themes.

Her work would earn her the Cholmondeley Award for Poets and the Queen's Gold Medal for poetry, accolades that, like the lilac's spring display, crowned years of quiet, steady growth.

Let us take a moment to imagine our own gardens through Smith's discerning eyes. What overlooked strength might we find in the delicate cosmos? What hidden fragility lies within the sturdy oak?

Smith's legacy would bloom beyond her lifetime, much like a well-tended perennial garden. Her life story later inspired the play Stevie by Hugh Whitemore, which, like a successful grafting, took new form as a film featuring the remarkable Glenda Jackson.

As we tend to our autumn gardens today, let Smith's perspective remind us to observe both the delicate and the robust, the fleeting and the enduring.

After all, isn't that the very essence of gardening - this dance between transient beauty and lasting strength?

Stevie Smith at her desk
Stevie Smith at her desk
Stevie Smith in winter
Stevie Smith in winter

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