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.
