One of my most favorite flowers, and scent, is the Lilac. Unfortunately, these beauties bloom for only a very brief time in the Spring. I love when that time of year comes to me... I like searching for the most magnificent bush and then sneaking back when I think no one can see me, and burying my face in the cool blossoms... their undeniable aromatic scent filling my soul and lingering all around me. It is my belief that there will be Lilacs in Heaven.
My birthday happens to fall during the peak blooming time for Lilacs. Though we never had a bush of our own, somehow my sweet Mom found a way to have a bunch of them tucked into one of her big old vases for me to wake up to on the big day. It just did not get much better than that.
I've read that there are over 1,000 varieties of Lilacs, including a wide range of colors, sizes and types of blooms. The most common Lilac colors are "Lilac", lavender, white, pink, blue, and purple. There is single and double petal varieties. And bushes can grow between 2 and 30 feet high.
There are two poems left to us in history that speak of Lilacs.
The Waste LandBy T.S. Eliot ~ 1922
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land
The entire poem can be found here
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard BloomedBy Walt Whitman
In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-washed palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,
With every leaf a miracle -and from this bush in the dooryard,
With delicate-coloured blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
A sprig with its flower I break.
The entire poem can be found here
I hope you've enjoyed seeing a few examples of how artists have paid honor to the Lilac in their works. If I close my eyes and slip back into my memories, I can still smell their sweet perfume all around me. ~Until another time~ Pearl
5 comments:
Pearl i am sooo loving your blog. I was reading this and could almost smell the lilacs too...they are gorgeous, i agree with you there.
Ahhhhh, see the Lilacs tie you to your mum and the violets tie me to my mum.
Now thats sweet!
Hugs,
Shann
Lilacs are my favorite too. I have always had a lilac bush. If we moved to a house without one the first thing I planted would be a new lilac. I love to open a window while they are blooming and smell that wonderful aroma. It just smells like Spring, so fresh. I try to duplicate that smell with lilac candles and air freshener, but it is not the same. And, I must admit as soon as my lilac blooms I run outside and bury my face in the blooms (well, first, I make sure there are no bees there)
Wonderful post Pearl :)
rue
I adore lilacs! Don't you wish they'd bloom all summer? That would be awesome! I recently blogged that my favorite flowers were pansies and roses, and I totally forgot about lilacs!!!! Shame on me! They're my favorite, I've done several watercolor paintings of lilacs! :) Marva
Jaderocks had her tribute lilacs
up so I thought I'd stop by and say
how much I love lilacs also! I
love your postcards!
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