GL Discussion Group -- My Mother's Lilacs

GL Discussion Group

Topic: My Mother's Lilacs

Topic Posted by: Bauer
Date Posted: Tue May 6 15:20:06 2008
Additional Comments:

My mom died many years ago, but in honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, I wanted to share something very special that I have in rememberance of her...

her lilacs

They bloom each and every May, reminding me of her - and how much she loved gardening :)

Posted by: Sandigal
Date posted: Wed May 7 11:43:57 2008
Message:
Beautiful! Mine aren't blooming yet, but they're close! They never look that pretty though. :)

Posted by: suziQ
Date posted: Tue May 6 22:38:58 2008
Message:

Lilacs are so redolent. My grandparents had a tree in their back yard and she'd come in the house with bunches of them. They smelled great for about 2 days and then they'd smell funny from then on...kind of "green" or something. Mr.Q gave me a lilac bush in her memory in my old house. I've planted two of them here in NC, but they are still teeny tiny and probably won't bloom for another 5 years.

Another tree my grandparents had in their back yard was a huge, perfectly shaped pink dogwood.

And they also had a Rose of Sharon tree/bush. That tree spawned dozens of seedlings every year and my grandfather gave me some 6 inch roots whenever we moved into a new house. We planted a "Pop Pop Rose of Sharon" in every house we lived in; 3 in NJ, 2 in NC and 1 in PA. The little one I planted here in NC when we moved 2 years ago is doing well but hasn't produced new little ones yet. I don't think the seeds can get through all the pine needles we use as mulch down here. My sister wanted one for her house at the shore so we went for a walk to our old house here in NC. It's about 3 blocks away and is for sale. The owners are gone. I went to the end of the driveway where we planted our "Pop Pop Rose of Sharon" in 1989 and there it was, in full glory with lots of seedlings and even bigger offshoots. I looked around me,,....nobody there, and pulled 2 right out of the ground by the roots. I planted one in our yard here and put the other one in a pot and brought it up to Jersey last Thanksgiving. My sister now has the rose of sharon at her house at the Jersey shore. I feel like Johnny Appleseed with this Rose of Sharon bush!

Replies: (list all replies)

(Sam) Our Rose of Sharon died a few years ago and my sister's died too! I really like them. She also has a small lilac bush and the scent is so strong we can't eat in her yard when it's in full bloom because the food tastes like lilacs!

Posted by: Judles
Date posted: Tue May 6 17:49:41 2008
Message:

Beautiful! I love lilacs...when I own my own home I am going to plant some.

That reminds me, now that I have a garden to plant, I have to go get some Lily of the Valley to plant from my Aunt. Her lily of the valley was started from a few sprigs of my mothers plant over 30 years ago.

Posted by: sam
Date posted: Tue May 6 15:24:13 2008
Message:
I swear I can smell them! Are these from this year or last? Ours aren't blooming yet, I think they're a couple of weeks away.

Replies: (list all replies)

Bauer) This year! I took the photos last night! They just bloomed over the weekend!

Judles) Hey Sam...I am going to be going out sometime in the next month to Scarberia (Kingston Rd. and Brimley area). If our schedules co-ordinate, maybe we can get together for coffee or lunch or something?

(Sam) Hey Judles, let me know! I'm usually in that very area between Mon-Fri for dog walks but if it's the weekend, that should work too!

(Sam) I want lilacs! Our tulips are mostly blooming now although there is a group of them that hasn't opened yet. I don't even know where they came from, we had yellow/orange striped tulips with a few purple ones and these look pink. I bought 6 Hyacinths and planted them last week to fill in some bare spots and they smell so nice!

Hyacinths are great too! My grandmother's church gave out hyacinths to each child on Easter Sunday. Strange how all my plant smells are related to my grandmother!