In the Rose Garden with Ann Lloyd

Opened in 1976, the Rose Garden of the Montréal Botanical Garden stretches over 2.5 hectares, with some one hundred beds and nearly 10,000 roses from over one thousand different varieties. In 2003, it was recognized internationally with the “Award of Garden Excellence” from the World Federation of Rose Societies, making it one of the first rose gardens outside of Europe and the youngest ever to receive this highly prestigious award.

that man
thousands of miles
away
roses in bloom
at my feet

I invited my friend Ann Lloyd to meet me one morning in the rose garden. Ann is originally from Wales and the author of Lurching into the Looney Bin, her unique guide on how to prepare for dementia, stroke or other medical calamity. Her clever use of wit and humour makes it easier--and even fun--to ponder the unthinkable. Her book has been garnering a fair amount of attention from health care professionals and Ann was just back from a conference sponsored by the women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada at Laurentian University in Sudbury, where she was one of their keynote speakers.

no one promised
us a rose garden
yet here we sit
on a sunny bench
in a sea of blooms

Ann is also a talented poet and I looked forward to a morning of writing with her. And where better than the rose garden at its peak! Ann immediately gravitated to the bronze statue of The First Jewels, produced in New York in 1973 by Romanian artist and concentration camp survivor, Alice Winant.

Ideally placed among the rose beds, The First Jewels captures the whimsical mood of a young woman, but there’s an unmistakeable air of sadness too. We settled on a bench nearby and Ann later sent me this beautiful lyric poem.

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In the Rose Garden: Alice's Girl

She is here
Alice's girl
bronzed and curved
statuesque
amongst the roses.
Arms outstretched but empty.
her necklace gone,
sad past Romanian.
Someone, come
necklace her with roses!
festoon her with blossoms!
Let her hands pink with petals crushed.
Rose perfume her.
Drape her, garland her,
bring her back to summer's life.
Sad statuesque
young maiden
Alice's past
love lost amongst the roses.

by Ann Lloyd

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If you're interested in finding out more about Ann's book, you can email Ann at oldfartspublishing@hotmail.com.