It’s not really spring until the lilacs are in bloom. Well, here, the lilacs are blooming, but the temps a few days ago were in the 80s. Springtime, where are you?
My grandmother used to have a lilac bush in the corner of the front yard of her house—the same house my father grew up in and as a kid helped rebuild after a devastating fire, the same house where my parents and I lived for a short time when I was six and the same house that stayed in the family until a few years ago. Just a mile down the road from where I now live, it was the home of my grandmother whom I mentioned briefly here. I don’t remember if her lilac bush was the first I ever saw, but I always think of her when I smell its sweet, mild fragrance, and I always look forward to the lilac’s first blooms. And that has been my memory of lilacs until…
Our friend K, who, after having had a whiff of the lilacs I brought in from the yard one afternoon, announced, “Hmmm, smells like my girlfriend’s underwear…” AYE YAYE YAYE. Although not too embarrassed to blurt out that bit of freakish nostalgia, he was too embarrassed to explain any further. Thank goodness.
Now, I’m not blaming anyone, but that was the last summer my lilac bloomed. It died that winter. Died of humiliation, I’m sure.
(This is one of the first lilacs that I found this spring at Green Spring Gardens park.)
Twitter: junkdrawer
Thank you for not asking him for more information and publishing it here. I’ll continue to love lilacs despite that! These are very pretty and purple is my new favorite color. Lovely!
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Ha, ha! funny story. I’d much rather have the grandmother memory… but the underwear is just too funny.
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Lilacs…Walt Whitman’s favorite flower…or at least the one he wrote famous poems about…like “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed” about the death of President Lincoln…yeah, I know more about poems than flowers…does that make me a bad hippie, or just a pretentious one? Anyway…purple…my favorite color…love it….
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Wrote an almost identical post last week. Something so nostalgic about that smell. I hope my son never pulls one of those though, I don’t know if I could handle that!
I adore purple in nature (but also in general). In Australia, we have these fantastic trees called Jacarandas. Check out a pic of one here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jnconradie/278501333/
I suspect they also exist elsewhere in the world!! Anyway, the Jacaranda trees blossoming in spring cause me to become very excited! Too bad its autumn here now, and you don’t see as many Jacarandas in Melbourne as you do in Sydney, where they tend to dot the landscape very prettily!
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the flower is very soothing to the eye. It is nice to see a flower every once in a while. It makes me feel at peace for a moment.
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Why in the heck do some men blurt stuff like that out?!! Anyway..I really enjoyed this-
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Gads, how I miss lilacs. It’s funny what you miss when you leave a place. They don’t grow down here, in the sub-tropics. <:(
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Twitter: earthtoholly
Thanks Kathy. Yeah, I think our reaction was, “What the…?!” and then he turned red. Such are my friends…argh! Glad you like the lilacs :o)
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Hi Janie. I agree, the grandmother story is a much nicer memory…but I just had to let you all in on the freaky side of it. Full disclosure here!
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Hi drjay. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a bad hippie. Neither do I think you’re pretentious. You’re just a groovy guy, drjay—accept it! :o) Now, seein’ how purple is your favorite color, I have some wisteria you might like…
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Hi Michelle and thanks for coming by. I’ll have to go check out your lilac story. You can never have enough of ‘em!
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Hi Svasti and oh my! Those trees are gorgeous! I think they’re even prettier than the cherry blossoms that are so popular here. Are they fragrant? If so, the air must be filled with it. Wow. Really amazing. Thanks for sharing those pics!
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Hi Palabuzz. Yes, there are plenty of flowers posted here, especially at this time of year, so if you need some peace you know where to visit…please come back! :o)
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Hi Kilauea Poetry. Yeah, it was a funny thing to say. I think you’d have to know him to understand…but, wait, I know him and I don’t totally understand! Waaah!
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Hi Lana. Yeah, since I don’t have my own I have to traipse into other people’s yards to smell them—providing I don’t have to trespass too badly! Every now and then I’ll find one in a public area and I’ll swipe a branch… :o|
Heya Holly, nope, I don’t think they are fragrant, but they are an orgy of visual bliss, for sure!
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