Ispahan is a damask rose that was introduced in 1832. It produces very full old-fashioned pink flowers with dark pink centers in clusters that are deeply fragrant with no repeat blooming. The form is upright and bushy to 4' - 5' with attractive gray-green leaves. It is very winter hardy, part shade tolerant and poor soil tolerant. Excellent as a specimen or hedge. (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rosa-ispahan/)
The first rose at Merry Mount (May 2023), not an Ispahan
May is the first month for roses at Merry Mount and our care for them (mostly Rett's care) becomes front and center in our consciousness. As I observed (through sight and smell) the first bloom this week, I was reminded of a beautiful French song by Gabriel Fauré, Les Roses d'Ispahan, a setting of a poem by Leconte de Lisle.
Les Roses d'Ispahan by Leconte de Lisle
The roses of Isfahan in their mossy sheaths,
The jasmines of Mosul, the orange blossom
Have a fragrance less fresh and a scent less sweet,
O pale Leilah, than your soft breath!
Your lips are of coral and your light laughter
Rings brighter and sweeter than running water,
Than the blithe wind rocking the orange-tree boughs,
Than the singing bird by its mossy nest …
O Leilah, ever since on light wings
All kisses have flown from your sweet lips,
The pale orange-tree fragrance is spent,
And the heavenly scent of moss-clad roses …
Oh! may your young love, that airy butterfly,
Wing swiftly and gently to my heart once more,
To scent again the orange blossom,
The roses of Isfahan in their mossy sheaths!
Translation from the original French by Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
The images invoked from Leconte de Lisle's poem remind us of the importance of "stopping to smell the roses", for fortunately, our brains can marvelously create interconnections between our senses in such a way that allows us to see, smell, hear, and feel the written words. Through his poem, we can imagine the essence of Leila (night beauty in Arabic). Can you picture her in your mind's eye?
I offer you a performance of Fauré’s exquisite song by soprano Elly Ameling and pianist Dalton Baldwin.
May the fragrance of roses fly gently into your hearts today and throughout the month of May.
CPW
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