I think lilacs must have grown very well in Idaho. When I was a child they were in every yard and park in our town. They surrounded the playing field adjacent to my elementary school and I remember, in the spring, that I would meet my girlfriends near the lilacs at recess where we would scootch ourselves between the big bushes with fat branches of the fragrant flowers nodding overhead. We would close our eyes and inhale the perfume and giggle with the delight of it. I remember we had a way of folding one of the heart-shaped leaves around a finger in a way where you could blow into it and it made a whistling sound. I tried to conjure up how to do this awhile ago and found I no longer possess that skill.
One of my favorite things at our old house was the very old, and very large lilac bush just off the front porch. Unusually deep purple in color, the blooms were more fragrant than the lighter purple variety. (The white ones always smell the very best.) The old lilac was badly damaged in an ice storm a few years after we moved in and we were afraid it would not survive. Ray trimmed off the broken branches and it was a mutilated skeleton of its former self, but it did survive and looks better every year. I will miss that rugged old soldier that gave us such beauty every spring. I wonder how long it has been there. Perhaps since the house was built in 1914. I hope the new owners will love it as we have.
Today Ray went back to the house to mow the lawn and oversee some repairs that we are having done in anticipation of closing the sale of the house in a couple of weeks. The lilacs are blooming and he cut a bucketful to bring home, including some of my favorite deep purple blooms. The fragrance is intoxicating. Probably the last time we will enjoy these old-time treasures, at least until the lilacs we have planted here get a bit bigger. I hope we will have some of those deep purple ones.
I have wonderful memories of the huge lilac in the back yard at my childhood home. There was a little stone wall in front of the bushes and my sister and I would stand on the wall and put on little shows.
ReplyDeleteI miss the lilacs of NY.With the weather changing (it was in the 40's last night here in GA) I'm wondering if lilacs might do better here now.
ReplyDeleteTry propagating from the original plant! It takes time but it's so worthwhile. We brought grandpa's peonies down here and they are flourishing, finally. Next time I go home to visit I'll be bringing back some lilacs. I used to make crowns of blossoms and walk around intoxicated with the smell.
Deb left the comment I was intending. Have Ray look around at the base of the lilac. There will be "sports" that can be dug out and transplanted to your present home. Dig several in case. The guy across the street set several "sticks" in the ground at the end of his driveway many years ago. I asked what he was planting and he said "lilacs". Now, they reach over my head and bloom like crazy--I can smell them all the way up my driveway and into the house.
ReplyDeleteG brought me a huge armful when we had just begun dating. I lived in a dorm and had no vase or even a bucket for them so I pulled out the floor washing bucket and filled it. They were all white. I think I decided right then to marry the guy!
I can almost smell them, such a sweet memory. Some lucky souls can get them to grow here in the Sonoran Desert, but I've not tried yet.
ReplyDeleteWaiting patiently for your "SOLD" sign.
They do bring back wonderful memories. We had a yard full of them in our first house. Dreamy.
ReplyDeleteThe photo of Sofia is absolutely lovely. She's old enough now that lilacs will always be a beautiful memory for her too.
We moves onto a homestead and have a huge lilac bush near our side door- which over the decades- could be 50-70 years old- the little girls have used it for a hideaway play house- pruning the lower interior brances so there is a hidden room in the center of it and my girls have continued the maintence.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I cut lilac blooms, they don't last long at all. Droop, droop and look old very quickly. What is the secret to making them last in the vase?
ReplyDeleteI love them too, and we have a whole row along the driveway. Unfortunately, I have to keep my distance because of allergies. Lovely to look at from a distance.
ReplyDeleteLilacs did grow well in southern Idaho. One of my most vivid memories of childhood was visiting my grandmother in Paul in May. Lilacs were abundant and so, too, were peonies. We couldn't bring them in because both Grandma and my sister had allergies and now I sneeze profusely when they are indoors. However, I can still love them.
ReplyDeleteIn Spokane there is the Lilac Festival. They grow hardily there. But, here, we are not so lucky. They grow spindley and withouth the profusion of blooms. I have seen here a very interesting small lilac plant that grows to about 20 inches in height.
So happy for you that you are close to the closing on your house.
I love lilacs. I want to plant one. Not sure where.
ReplyDeleteI live in Illinois and they are in bloom here right now. What a wonderful smell. I also have bouquets of Lily of the Valley. This is a wonderful time of year with all the wonderful smells in the air. My Iris are also starting to bloom. I love Spring.
ReplyDeleteThe last picture is so beautiful. She is really growing up! There is nothing like the fragrance of lilacs.
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