Sunday, April 26, 2015

When Lilacs Bloom




This lilac bush has traveled far. My parents gave it to us 13 years ago when we returned to Canada. It was a small volunteer plant in their neighbourhood in the Okanagan. We brought it over the mountains and the ocean to our island. 


Several times the plant found itself dug up and transplanted as we tried to figure out what to do with our yard. From the front to the back where it languished too close to the cedar hedge. More digging two years ago and now it flourishes in a sunny spot. We're hoping it continues to grow to provide shade for our patio.
 

More blooms inside, their beauty doubled by the mirror. I sit on the couch and have only to lift my eyes to admire them. Their scent is never overwhelming - a mere hint wafts about the room unless one stands sniffs closely.


We planted two more lilac bushes this weekend - volunteers collected along a pathway. Soon a mower will be chopping the remaining volunteers down, so we feel a little like we've saved these ones. They are small, but they will grow.
 

When lilacs bloom is a lovely time. To borrow and adapt from Anne of Green Gables - "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are lilacs."

I'll be linking up to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Judith of Lavender Cottage.

42 comments:

  1. What lovely lilacs! I like the photo with the mirror reflection.

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  2. They are beautiful and have such a strong sweet scent. Lots of bees and butterflies love them too! Hugs, Diane

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  3. Wow...that must be one hardy lilac bush to sustain all that moving around! what gorgeous flowers...love that sweet, unmistakable aroma!

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  4. They are one of my favorite flowers but don't grow where we live now. I remember as a child I had my very own lilac bush. Such a wonderful scent. Yours are a lovely shade and so beautiful arranged against the mirror.

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  5. I'm using my imagination to enjoy the scent as I type. And in addition to the fragrance the color is something to behold.

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  6. Oh how I love lilacs- I have two very small white lilac bushes - can't wait for them to bloom.

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  7. I love that your lilacs have travelled around you garden until you found them a happy home.
    We have lilacs along the pathway to our lane. People stop by the gate to take huge sniffs and even pick a few branches! I find their heady scent too strong for indoors but brushing against them is divine.

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  8. Oh your lilacs look so pretty in glass on the mantle. I get a whiff already. I can't believe that yours are already blooming. Ours are a few weeks away. Can't wait for them to bloom. They really are the highlight so spring, aren't they?

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  9. Gorgeous flowers, both in the garden and inside!
    Have a lovely new week!

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  10. Just delightful, Lorrie, bringing cut branches into the home is a wonderful way to enjoy lilacs and ornamental cherry blossom. In front of a mirror on the mantlepiece is the perfect place to display them, twice the pleasure!
    Happy MM,
    Maggie

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  11. Your lilac has obviously been a faithful plant companion, and has provided such beautiful blooms hasn't it! I hope that the two new volunteers do just as well. The row of vases and blooms is stunning isn't it! xx

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  12. Oh how beautiful! I love how you have displayed them, so clever.
    The fragrance of lilac was one of my mother's favourites, and mine too.

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  13. Lovely ! I can't wait until mine blooms! I really like how you have them displayed by the mirror :)

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  14. Lovely ! I can't wait until mine blooms! I really like how you have them displayed by the mirror :)

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  15. Gorgeous lilacs, Lorrie! Kudos to you for saving the most recent ones, along with the beautiful bursts of fragrance from your parents', a while ago. Your mosaic looks like a wreath of lilac loveliness!

    Happy Monday!

    Poppy

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  16. So delicate and lovely...wonderful row of containers on the mantel. Glad they have found a happy place in the yard. Our sunlight is leaving more and more every year as the tree canopy fills in again. The hazards of living on the edge of the forest. I will be sure to document any lilacs that may bloom here...six weeks or more from now???

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    1. Yay! No problems commenting this time! Phew...

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  17. Beautiful Lilacs and beautifully photographed...so glad you saved them.

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  18. Back home again, and we loved visiting Salt Spring Island and Victoria! Oh my ,,,,the yards and all the vegetation!! How beautiful! Lilacs are one of my favorites, I am glad that there are bushes on this property as well. Have a wonderful day!!

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  19. They always remind me of my grandparents. So lovely!!!
    Enjoy!
    Lin

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  20. So so pretty! I love the ones on your mantel. When we bought our house 38 years ago there were 2 large lilac bushes out front. For some reason we moved them and then they died. I found another lilac bush on an old farm property after that and it did well for a few years but eventually died too. I am thinking of buying a new one this year for the back yard. I hope it will live and produce lots of lovely blooms. Enjoy the lovely scent in your home and have a good week. Pam

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  21. Oh what wonderful lilacs. My daughter lives in Kelowna where the most glorious lilacs grow and bloom. Here in Vancouver, I had a very young one which my children gave me for mother's day one year, but it still hasn't bloomed. I'm hopeful it will soon. :D

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  22. Anne of Green Gables got it right and yours are beautiful.

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  23. I love lilacs too, such a wonderful time of year!

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  24. Hello Lorrie, your lilacs are so pretty. Lovely blooms. I hope to see my lilac bloom this year.. Have a happy day and new week ahead!

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  25. Lilacs are so lovely. I'm beginning to wonder if I planted mine in the wrong spot. It only has produced two blooms the last two years...Maybe I'll be brave enough to transplant it after seeing how yours flourishes!

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  26. Lorrie, I love lilacs - the color and the scent. Thanks for sharing. Sylvia D.

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  27. So beautiful! I love lilacs. I am so happy mine is going to bloom again this year. It is right outside the kitchen door where we enter the house.

    Deanna

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  28. Oh, me too - glad to live in a world with lilacs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Beauty of Moscow I planted a few years ago will bloom this year. It has only been moved once but the rabbits pruned it back a couple of times and now it is too tall for them.
    My dwarf bushes are loaded.
    The display you created with the vases of lilacs in front of the mirror is charming Lorrie.
    Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.

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  29. That is a happy lilac with all those blooms...the mosaic is stunning.

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  30. Oh, I regret so much that we never planted a lilac here! I do love them and your vases of them are so lovely! I would want to sit and look at them too and smell that lovely scent.

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  31. I'm so glad to live in a world where there are lilacs too. We have a lilac bush/tree and a dwarf tree that I baby and don't let anyone else prune. The dwarf tree cuttings (of which I have some inside right now) stay nice in water, but the other ones wilt. How do you keep yours from wilting? They are gorgeous!!

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  32. So beautiful, Lorrie! I could almost smell these wonderful lilacs. My neighbor has a very large Lilac bush that falls over my fence so she lets me take c for them.uttings of the flowers when they bloom. We have a few weeks, yet, to wait

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  33. Anonymous6:36 AM

    Lorie they are so beautiful. Looks lovely where you display them and they have such a beautiful fragrants through out the rooms . Nice part about them.

    We have no more had to be pulled out they were just thin even though was pruned. Do you not get the black ants in the blooms come out in the house. We used too. That was the downfall we noticed.

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  34. Good Morning Lorri ! Thank you for showing us your lilac bush. I love your display of lilacs in front of the mirror and will remember to try this as well. I wonder now why I have been sending those crystal bud vases to the library garage sale every spring. It's at the end of May so maybe I will be able to round up a new collection before our lilacs bloom in early June! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  35. So very pretty! I like they way they look all lined up along your mantel.

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  36. Lorrie, I can smell the scent of lilacs all the way to here! What lovely photos.
    Amalia
    xo

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  37. Oh Lorrie, what glorious lilacs! Love the way you've decorated with them! My goodness, your photographs are just beautiful!
    Have a great day~
    Nancy

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  38. Oh goodness, it has been so very long since I smelled the loveliest fragrance of a Lilac! Oh, how I wish I could again. These are so beautiful and your photography is exquisite. Pinning these and thank you for sharing their beauty!
    Jemma

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  39. I just have to smile for two reasons. One, I just went outside and buried my nose in our lilacs. Two, I came inside and said I must visit Lorrie. Here we are relishing lilacs in our part of the world. Yours are
    most beautiful and I love seeing the way you displayed them. What a special story of survival. Our lilac is very old and is worn out. I was sad to think it might die, but then it sprouted a new plant nearby that is flourishing and beautiful. Happy day with lilacs!!!

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  40. The lined up lilacs on the fireplace are simply stunning. I can't wait to smell the lilacs soft scent wafting through the windows. Up here there are hedges of them...HEDGES!!! We finally have our first few lilacs gifted to us by wonderful neighbors, and I am slowly building my very own lilac hedge.

    Your collection is stunning, I can't wait to see them bloom up here.

    Jen

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  41. Your lilac blooms are so delicate. So beautiful.

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