I like lilac!

When we were getting a house, I knew I was going to have to have lilacs somewhere in the yard. Well, over the years I've gotten more than a few - three "standard" sized ones, plus a couple dwarf Miss Kim lilacs. The two Miss Kims aren't blooming yet - but they don't get sun til a little after noon, so I figure that sets them back a bit - it also helps stretch out the show! One of the first lilacs I put in wasn't a fancy named variety - I think the tag said something like "old fashioned lilac". Now I'd read at some point that lilacs were often planted around the outhouses of old farm homes to help, um, "over power" the scents that would normally be there. Nice theory, but lilacs don't really bloom for very long. Still, I thought the idea was amusing, so the first lilac I put in about 5 years ago went outside the window of our master bathroom! Unfortunately - it's taken FOREVER to start blooming! This year? NICE!

Yup, that's the view from inside the bathroom - I think I targeted that just about right, don't you? And here it is again from the outside.  What's interesting is I'm finding SOME of the blooms from one of the exterior "base sprouts" are considerably more white.  I'll have to watch and see if they darken up over a few days, or who knows, maybe there's something different going on here?

 

Another lilac - just visible from the street as the weeping cherry in front of it starts to fade out (although this view is from the sideyard).  This one we can sort of smell from the bedroom, which is really nice.

 

And perhaps my favorite lilac? This one, which is named "Sensation" - it sure is! I think it's known as a picotee when there's a trim of a different color on each petal, as these have the white edging.  In addition to the colors, I also like that these have a darker purple than the other lilacs.

You've got to admit, this is a great time of year to enjoy blossoms in the garden!  And a great SMELLING time of year too!