Lilac Season

  Every so often we catch the scent of this lilac bush on the breeze when we are in the kitchen with the windows open in the spring time.  I bought this plant in 1997, the last time I was at Rochester’s Lilac Festival, and it was about 3 inches tall.  Now it is much taller than me.  This is Rick’s favorite smelling Lilac.  I smiled because I smelled dozens of types of Lilacs before settling on this kind.  I believe it is called a “Nadeshda” but I could be off on the spelling.  Here, Lilacs reach their peak around this time each year.

 

I think I need another visit to the Lilac Festival!!!  Spring is my favorite season and it would be nice to experience 2 springs in one year.  It’s been way too long and most of my children have never visited Rochester in May.  Hmmmmmm… baby shower, baby blessing, graduation, another graduation… Hmmmmm.  Why do I not live closer???

This type of lilac is called “Sensation”.  It is a unique striped lilac, created in Rochester; the Lilac Capital.  I purchased it at the same time as the above lilac.  It may have been 9 inches tall at the time and it too is much taller than me now.  It has grown with Haley.

Side note; Martha Stewart bought her “Sensation” lilacs at the Lilac Festival also.  They are beautiful as well as unusual.  I’m sure I’ve got the only “Sensation” around here.  Many babies are growing from it this year so I may do some propagating.  I think I gave Rachael one of it’s babies 3 years ago.

 

 

These beautiful white lilacs are babies from one of my Mom’s bushes.  I dug several tiny babies out from next to her driveway many springs ago and one of them took.  It is a pretty large bush now.  They, too, are lovely to smell and I try to enjoy them as much as I can each year.  All of these Lilac bushes were reduced to nearly nothing 6 years ago when we had a month of HORRIBLE horrible horrible 17 year cicadas which damaged my bushes to the extreme.  Did I mention how horrible those bugs were???  Cincinnati seems to be good for bad bugs... cicadas, termites, bed bugs, (don’t want to know about any more).  After I trimmed the damaged bushes as much as I could over 2 years to help them, they have finally made a good comeback last year and this year.

 

 

Tulips are past their peak now, but still pretty along with a few narcissus left.

 

 

 

 

Violets carpet the area under the Lilac and Rose bushes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nathan and Kaitlyn played outside this morning under the Lilac bushes in their “tree house”.  Nathan picked up any leaves he saw in the grass and threw them through the fence into my neighbors yard.  She needs a little more work to do in her yard, right?

 

 

 

Kaitlyn enjoys smelling the “roof” of her tree house.  She says, “It smells like Heavenly Father”.

The bushes make a great hideaway now that they are a little bit bigger.   The children enjoyed the cool of the morning and the beautiful sweet scented Lilacs.  Some of these beauties will grace my Primary Room tomorrow night for Recognition Night.

Nathan likes dandelions.  Tristan used to pick them and present Mommy with the “beautiful roses”.

 

Sticks are great too, but don’t taste so good.