The family Lilac

Accompanied by ‘Lilac Tree’, composed for string quartet by Grainne Brady, performed by Glisk

A local lilac tree in Glasgow, blossoming in May.

Anne-Caroline grew up with a Lilac tree in her garden – a descendant of another lilac that was originally grown by her grandfather.  It was a much loved tree, and formed a connection between Anne-Caroline and the grandmother that she did not have the chance to spend time with.  After we talked about the lilac tree, our conversation moved onto a number of environmental issues.  Hearing how passionate about trees her father was, it was no surprise that Anne-Caroline is knowledgeable and passionate about environmental issues both local and international.  Those wider conversations will be kept back for a later and broader blog post!

The first lilac tree, back in my home country of France, was actually grown by my grandfather - in the 70s if I remember correctly.  My grandmother had previously lived in the same town too with her family – though during the war she had to move around, because her father was in the French Resistance.

So, my grandmother had this lilac tree which my grandfather had planted, and which she really loved, and she brought a bit with her into our garden so that my father would have a lilac growing there too.  It was very much ‘her lilac’.  I remember after she passed my father really took lots of care of it.  I never knew my grandmother because she passed away only a few months after I was born - she had alzheimers.  My dad always took care of that lilac tree.  It died in the end because of a parasite that damaged it from the inside out – it was such a shame because we really did love it.  It was gorgeous when it bloomed during the Spring.  And when we were in the room that was facing it, we could look straight out the window at the blossom, it was really nice to be able to enjoy it like that.  Our neighbours also had quite a lovely lilac as well, on the fence, on their side but it was creeping over to ours!  I don’t see see a whole lot of lilac now here in Scotland – maybe it’s the climate? – it’s quite a fragile delicate tree, I guess it might not survive the cold hard winter of Scotland?

JK: So the lilac that you grew up with came from the lilac that your grandfather had planted all those years ago?

AC: Yes.

JK: That’s lovely – am I right that when you propagate from another tree you essentially end up with the same tree?  It really was part of the tree that your grandfather planted.  Did your grandmother and your father enjoy that connection?

AC: Yes, it was really nice in that way.  My father always loved trees – in our back yard he planted quite a lot of trees – I can’t remember all their names I’m afraid.  Big broadleaved trees that stayed in leaf right through into the autumn - I do remember that he planted some oak trees in the back garden.  There was a forest next to where we were living, but the trees kept getting cut down, not even for housing or anything like that, they were just getting cut down.  My father always hated that.  Every time we went past and we’d see a tree coming down he’d be very annoyed and frustrated at it.  He used to say that if you ever had a garden, you should try to plant as many trees as you can.  He was always taking care of the trees in the back yard.

JK: I’ve spoken to a number of people recently who have derived a lot of pleasure from planting trees themselves.

AC:Well, I think my father planted 14 trees in our garden – I’m not sure they all did well and some would likely end up being taken down at some point, but some of them grew really well.  The house and garden next to us belonged to some English people, and they really went for the nice grass – the lawn – it always looked nice and my mum liked the way it looked!  But my dad said that even if our garden didn’t look as fancy as what was on show next door, it was better to build a tiny ecosystem.  It was better to have a really lively garden and not just……..lawn!

JK: That way of gardening is being talked about more and more at the moment, the importance of biodiversity, and building habitats.  Your dad was ahead of his time!  Or maybe not ahead – I think actually we are all now behind – your dad was simply living with and passing on the knowledge of many generations of people who loved and looked after the trees around them, including the habitats they support.

AC: He was definitely interested in properly taking care of trees, and he’d get frustrated when trees weren’t properly looked after.  He was always the one who knew when there was some parasite in the area, killing all the oak trees – some sort of tiny butterfly that was getting inside the trees.  He could tell because of the discolouration of the leaf; when they could turn grey at any time of the year, he could tell the trees were sick.  My father wasn’t always sure about the advice of ‘experts’, but he had a real respect for indigenous peoples – it is part of their culture to really be in touch with nature.

JK: And how did he gain this knowledge – this wasn’t his job was it, not his profession?

No, he’d just picked up this knowledge or grown up learning it – I think he was surrounded by that sort of knowledge in his family.

JK: When we first met, we spoke briefly about access to nature for those living in cities.  Can you tell me some more about that?  You grew up with the lilac tree just outside Paris, is that right?

AC: Yes, just on the outskirts.  We were in the suburbs of Paris, on the west side.  I guess the wealthier side of the area we lived in, so lots of people had gardens.  You don’t get as many gardens in areas of social housing – I always felt that all people should have public parks accessible to them and be near green land.  I suppose we are running out of space for everyone to have a their own garden, but I think that it’s important for kids to have space – no road, no cars, just green, trees, garden, space to relax.  During the pandemic, a lot of people without gardens will have really needed that for their children, to get outside.  It’s about the quality of the area, how well taken care of the area is.  Sometimes the point of new housing is that the accommodation is built to be affordable, but there’s a lack of green spaces and it can’t be good for the kids to grow up indoors.  Green space isn’t the priority it should be.

I don’t think we realised how good we had it, until the pandemic hit.  It was such a strange time – you were not allowed into parks to sit on benches – strange to think about a time when we weren’t allowed to go anywhere, and our green space was only what we had accessible to us in the area we were already living in.  You realise that many green spaces are truly ‘gate kept’ from a majority of people – and those with nice gardens and green spaces probably had a nicer time during the pandemic.  When you think about this gate keeping, you wonder ‘when did we let this happen?’  I mean – I’m sure it has been going on for a long time, a lot of us might not be fully aware of how long it’s been going on. Everyone should be able to enjoy the green spaces.

Thank you Anne Caroline for sharing your story about the family lilac tree that was so dearly loved and branched several generations of your family. 

There is so much more to explore about access to nature and connection to nature.  Our longer conversation ranged over many topics that are connected in some way to these issues, such as cultures of respect for the natural world, inclusion and equality, fair pay for workers and how we not only bring about cultural change but communicate this change effectively to those in positions of power.