Beyond the Fence

As I was leaving the arboretum last week,

I saw something that caused me to turn around and go back.

On the arboretum's east side,

along a wide stretch of asphalt and concrete,

ran a length of pristine fence.

And through its white pickets, rose-colored heads of tall phlox had grown.
 I thought the scene was evocative
of the metaphorical poem by Helen Steiner Rice,

the inspirational one that describes a rose growing through a crevice in a garden wall

in order to bask in the warm sun on the other side. 

When I saw this next photo,
I thought the lower part of the fence was reminiscent of
 the white keys on a piano keyboard
with its interplay of light and dark.

When I arrived home I decided to find out more about tall phlox,
and I came across an interesting bit of information
about a recent cultivar ironically called the Franz Schubert phlox,
named so by the late British horticulturist Alan Bloom
 because Schubert was his favorite composer.
(This according to the Blooms of Bressington website.)

If anyone has ever taken piano lessons,
they have probably played a composition by Schubert.
His music is very melodic and hauntingly beautiful.
His version of Ave Maria is just breathtaking,
so I decided to include it here.
Once you hear it, you will never forget it.
This recording is a little over six minutes long.
While you listen to it, close your eyes and
imagine the rosey phlox growing beyond the fence
in search of the warm sun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y

 If the link doesn't work, go to http://www.youtube.com/
and type in the search words Schubert - Ave Maria (Opera);
or copy and paste the link above into your browser.
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