Winter’s Whisper: Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Poetic Gardens of Snow and Light

February 14, 2020

Lucy Maud Montgomery, beloved author of the Anne of Green Gables series, captures the hushed beauty and quiet promise of winter gardens in these timeless poems.

Her words invite us to see beneath the snowy veil—the sleep beneath the frost and the vibrant awakening soon to come.

Frosty-white and cold it lies
Underneath the fretful skies;
Snowflakes flutter where the red
Banners of the poppies spread,
And the drifts are wide and deep
Where the lilies fell asleep.
—
But the sunsets o'er it throw
Flame-like splendor, lucent glow,
And the moonshine makes it gleam
Like a wonderland of dream,
And the sharp winds all the day
Pipe and whistle shrilly gay.
—
Safe beneath the snowdrifts lie
Rainbow buds of by-and-by;
In the long, sweet days of spring
Music of bluebells shall ring,
And its faintly golden cup
Many a primrose will hold up.
Though the winds are keen and chill
Roses' hearts are beating still,
And the garden tranquility
In the summer days of blue
All its dreamings will come true.

In “The Garden in Winter,” Montgomery beautifully renders winter as a serene dreamland, where the buds rest safely beneath the snow, holding the promise of spring's vibrant melodies and blooms.

Above the marge of night, a star still shines,
And on the frosty hills the somber pines
Harbor an eerie wind that crooneth low
Over the glimmering wastes of virgin snow.
Through the pale arch of orient the morn
Comes in a milk-white splendor newly-born,
A sword of crimson cuts in twain the gray
Banners of shadow hosts, and lo, the day!

In “A Winter Dawn,” Montgomery paints the awakening of day over a snowy landscape with vivid imagery—where morning’s light cleaves the shadows and announces the arrival of a new day full of quiet strength.

Through these poems, Lucy Maud Montgomery reminds us that beneath stark winter silence lies a world of subtle magic, patiently waiting for its time to bloom.