The Lilac Presence

The Lilac Presence

Purple is a color that cannot be ignored. At least not in nature. I see purple tulips in people’s yards, purple buds on flowering plum trees, purple outlining pansies. It is a dramatic color. And nothing is more dramatic in my Spring garden than the lilac bush. It insists I pay attention to it. It has an intense presence that calls me to come and admire it. And admire it I do, knowing that this will only last two to three weeks before the blossoms fall and all I will see will be green leaves.

But lilacs are just as famous for their scent as their color. The early buds are tight, withholding their smell until the flowers open. Then they release their heady fragrance, filling the air like the perfume sprayers at department stores. It is an imitated scent in perfumes, candles, oils.

Yet, as with most things, lilacs vary. The deep purple is only one of its shades. They can be lighter purple, pinkish, sky blue, sometimes yellow or white. And the scent varies depending upon the stage of blossoming, the time of day, and the kind of lilac; there are dozens of varieties that can smell sweet or spicy, cloying or calming. The lilac is a harbinger of Spring and also symbolizes first love.

It isn’t necessary to analyze the lilac to value it though. Each type can be appreciated for its own individuality. It kind of reminds me of babies; they all belong to a specific category, that of baby, but each one immediately exhibits its own personality, preferences, and energy, and every child has a presence from the moment of her/his birth. I find it refreshing that no two of anything is exactly alike – not people, not birds, not animals, not flowers, not even lilacs.

What to know if you want to plant lilacs:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8713963_lilac-smell-like.html

And more about lilacs:

http://flowerstracy.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-common-knowledge-about-beautiful.html

A Gift of Diamonds

A Gift of Diamonds

Sometimes it is easy to take my backyard for granted. I can see the same things, in the same way. I appreciate it all as it is – the bushes, the flowers, the wildlife, the birds - but nature is always changing and without looking for the newness of things, it is possible to miss the subtleties. So every now and then, I make it a point to observe the usual as if I’m seeing it for the first time and I am often surprised by what I see – like on one wet afternoon…

Heavy rain alternated throughout the day with drizzles and hints of sunshine. When the sky finally cleared in the late afternoon, everything was more bedraggled than beautiful. Then I noticed the Hosta on the patio. Its leaves were heavy with raindrops after the downpour. But as the sun peeked out, the drops took on a shine and POW! Those ordinary drops sparkled like diamonds, brilliant and startling.

I looked around at the backyard differently then, seeing the plants as jewels that dotted the garden with color. The rain made it all glitter. The scene went from damp to delightful. My spirits, too, rose from humdrum to radiant. And all it took to make the shift was my letting go of what I expected so that I could see a gift of diamonds.

For a look at what creates raindrops, it’s back to school to check out the water cycle:

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html