June Letter

lavender memory, flower photography, and The Scent of Water

Welcome to June, L. M. Montgomery’s favorite month.

The air was sweet with the breath of many apple orchards and the meadows sloped away in the distance to horizon mists of pearl and purple; while

“The little birds sang as if it were

The one day of summer in all the year.”

~L.M. Montgomery

I often find inspiration in paint names. I came across “Lavender Memory” a year or so ago and have had fun playing around with it in my poetry.

“Lavender Memory” 

by Stephanie Nygaard

Fog was brooding over 
the field last night,
a misty reminder of the
treasured triune presence.
Heaven feels closer 
on evenings like this,
when clouds tickle our skin
with a gentle hazy kiss.

Once morning sun
splashes down,
the fog is a lavender memory,
but the hovering presence
of the Holy Spirit 
still clings in the air.

I know we are headed into summer, but are there any winter lovers out there? I love summer with all its life, color, and light. But sometimes when sadness comes, the world can feel a bit too bright and cheerful. Here is a poem I wrote early in May imagining lavender being the color of winter.

“Lavender is a Memory”

by Stephanie Nygaard

Lavender is a memory,
and green is the center
of my vision, burgeoning
beauty forth in a world
that is sometimes
too bright.

Somedays I long
for lavender, the soft
days of winter when
the world isn’t such a
riotous joy of new life
but is content to hold
sadness in a 
room warm with the
glow of firelight.

What secret purple wisdom tells the iris edges

to unfold in frills?

~From What secret purple wisdom by Luci Shaw found in her book The Green Earth: Poems of Creation

Here is a song I’m currently loving called Purple Irises by Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton.

The photo below is the inside of a purple iris. I love impressionism, so this photo (with all its blurred lines) spoke to me.

(Photo below is a coral bell plant.)

(Photo below is the inside of a yellow iris.)

Because I love photography, especially nature photography, all photos are my own.

All the flowers that I photographed reside in our yard and are from the garden of my husband’s late grandmother. :) I wrote a poem inspired by her that can be found in my poetry book, Beautiful Glimpse.

“Grandmother’s Garden” 
by Stephanie Nygaard

Grandmother is Miss Rumphius.
She gathers a handful of seeds 
and scatters them
on the ground 
until they germinate 
into an abundance of beauty.
In the height of summer,
when color is bursting,
she’ll walk me around
her garden.
I will listen as she introduces me 
to her flowers by name.
The ‘Star Gazer’ lilies’ sickly-sweet fragrance 
will intoxicate me.
The ‘Purple Serenade’ irises
will sing a song of fairies.
The ‘Black Knight’ butterfly bush
will draw me in,
just as it does the butterflies.
I will store them up 
in the treasure chest of my memory
and turn them into a poem
when she is gone. 

The photo below is a picture of her backyard after she passed. I think it is still lovely, even if it is overgrown.

From Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

“The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea. In between the rocks and around her house grow blue and purple and rose-colored flowers. The Lupine Lady is little and old. But she has not always been that way.”

I recently enjoyed a reread of The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge. This story is a favorite for many Goudge fans. When I first read it, I was a bit lost, but upon a second reading, I have fallen in love with the characters and their stories.

From The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge:

These songs woven together were an almost visible web of music lifting the earth from darkness to light.

“A cup of tea is what you need, dear.”

There are three necessary prayers and they have three words each. They are these, ‘Lord have mercy. Thee I adore. Into thy hands.’

The scent of water, of the rain and of the dew. It was difficult to separate it from the grateful fragrance of the life it renewed, but it had its scent; the faint exhalation of its goodness.

“What is the scent of water? “

“Renewal. The goodness of God coming down like dew.”

(Photo below is dew-covered mullein.)

I have decided to ask a specific question at the end of each monthly letter. I would love to connect with you in the comments. If you are reading this as an email, feel free to reply! I will read it and respond. Here is June’s question:

Mine is the Stargazer Lily because of its pink and white outstretched arms and perfumy scent. I had them as part of my “wildflower” wedding bouquet.

I look forward to receiving your answers!

Wishing you a warm June,

Stephanie