Lilac Time

For me, spring months are defined by flowers. If gardens are ablaze with daffodils, it must be April, if the air is perfumed with roses, it must be June. May is all about lilacs – but you must pay attention or you’ll miss them. Compared to other flowers, they seem to have a very short shelf life.

Fans of purple disagree, but I like white ones the best. The scent is stronger, probably because the blooms waste no effort in pouring out the colour so can apply themselves to enriching their luxurious, licorice-laced perfume. A co-worker of mine has a white lilac tree in her yard and every year, she brings me bunches of blossoms the size of a Beacon Drive-In ice cream cone. My office takes on the heady sweet fragrance of a summer garden, slightly dizzying and somewhat narcotic in its allure. She hasn’t delivered them yet this year, but I bet if I ask her tomorrow, she’ll say she’s watching for the perfect time to pluck them for me. I’m hopeful that they’ll show up this week.

In the meantime, wondering where the lilacs are, I took the Canon on a floral flânerie this weekend and discovered more lilac bushes in the neighbourhood than I thought …

And after trekking through the streets for an hour, I returned home to discover the most glorious specimens are in my own back yard:

Ain’t that the way?