Lilacs have always had special meaning for me. I was born in the late spring and my birthday coincides with the lilac blooming season. Besides making me a birthday cake as a child each year, I recall my mom cutting a lovely bouquet of lilacs for me — just for me! It made me feel like royalty! For this reason, and because of how wonderfully fragrant their scent is, and how striking beautiful a bush of lilacs is when in bloom, these have always been among my favorite flowering plants.
Spokane, Washington, my former home city, has held an annual Lilac Festival for over 75 years and bears the nickname, “Lilac City”. Within the city’s Manito Park, there’s a lovely Lilac Garden where these accompanying photos were taken. This garden is over 100 years old and has more than 100 lilac plants of 23 different species.
Lilacs only bloom for a few weeks, but the different species don’t bloom at exactly the same time so you can enjoy this garden for most of a month. It’s one of my favorite places to go for a walk in May. I hope you enjoy this stroll through the Lilac Garden!
(note the bee)
(note the camouflaged dragonfly)
Beautiful, and a wonderful story to go with it. We have a lilac in our back yard . . . waiting for it to bloom.
Thanks for the kind comment! And welcome to TravelGumbo.
Needlessly said, I also have lilacs in my yard and enjoy watching them come to life each spring. Their perfume is, perhaps second only to jasmine, my favorite floral scent.
Agreed, Judy. A scent that rivals that of jasmine.
I have two Lilac trees in my garden, the fragrance is wonderful.