Thursday, April 14, 2011

L.....is for Lilacs

Its nearly Lilac time again. How I love love love their sweet fragrance! On the farm where I grew up we had some massive lilac bushes.....it would be more appropriate to call them trees, they were so tall. My mother, who loved bouquets of fresh flowers, would have several vases filled and displayed in different parts of the house.

My taste in flowers is actually quite simple. I love daisies for their endurance, lilacs for their fragrance and zinnias because they give out happy vibes. Who can look at a brightly colored flower and not smile. The fragrance of lilacs brings back a wealth of memories, all of them fond.

Where I live now there are some massive lilac bushes. I have one next to my driveway and since I live in a heavily wooded area it has struggled for years to produce a bloom. Finally, about five years ago, the very top of the bush was tall enough and received enough sunlight that it bloomed, to my delight. It has bloomed ever since.

Further down from me to the west, there is a row of huge lilac bushes along the sidewalk. The sidewalk that mysteriously is only one block long and has been that way for over 40 years. When the west wind blows, the fragrance comes with it and it is intoxicating. Always a reminder that warmer weather is very close at hand. To the east of me, about a quarter of a mile, there is another huge stretch of lilac bushes that run alongside the road. This is where my daughter always stops and picks me gigantic bouquets of lilacs. These bushes must be at least 25 feet tall.

At my daughter's house, she planted a row of lilac bushes as a natural barrier between her house and the neighbor's. The bushes have grown to a great height and are filled with luscious blooms, whose fragrance drifts into her kitchen window and doubles nicely as a privacy fence.

My only regret is that the blooming phase does not last very long and we have to wait an entire year to enjoy them again. When you see the bushes in bloom, close your eyes and inhale deeply. Savor the sweet fragrance for its nature's introduction to summer and a wake-up call to the other flowers. Summer, as you know, is the time for Mother Nature to show off all her colors.

8 comments:

Jamie said...

Since I moved to the concrete city, I had forgotten how much I love these beautiful bushes. Thanks for the reminder. Hugs. :)

Cathy said...

I love my lilacs. Every morning I go out and check the progress of the buds waiting for the moment when those first hints of purple peak through ... then I know it's really spring.

Kee Kee said...

I remember being a grade school kid in Palmdale ,calif. Every year they had the lilac festival. Lilacs everywhere!

happyone said...

I too love lilacs. My grandma had a whole row of them outside her living room windows. The house would smell of them. Lilacs always remind me of her. : )

ILoveMyDogandMy Music said...

I have a beautiful lilac bush in my front yard, but I think yours is bigger and many more blossoms. I love the smell of them. I just walk by on my way into the house and the aroma is magnificent.

Joy Des Jardins said...

I love, love, love lilacs Val. You are so lucky to have a lot of them around you....oh, that aroma. When I finally replace the dead bushes I have in the front of my house, I want to put several lilac bushes there. Their color and fragrance have always been one of my favorite things. ~Joy

Margaret Hall said...

You know, that is the sad thing about lilacs that they don't stay very long..darn! They are so fragrant and lovely, tiny, intricate petals and parts..I love them when they grow wild, and love the white lilacs as well...Thanks for visiting the blog, I truly appreciate it...I am trying to play catch up today on the blogs that I love...
See you at M...

Anonymous said...

I love lilacs! I have three bushes and wish I'd bought one every year since I moved back home, how wonderful that would have been! I read recently there are varieties that re-bloom in summer. I'd like to see that!