Lilacs in Lilac

Yesterday Mike took me to the farm and we found our lilacs in full bloom. We brought a few armloads home with us and our whole house is filled with their fragrance. Theses lilacs are displayed in a 10" lilac Fiesta vase.

When I was a little girl, my great-grandmother (Louise) had a lilac bush outside her back bedroom window. That bedroom was quite large and had several beds. It's where my cousins and I always slept when we visited my great-grandparents. And we did that whenever possible. The lilac fragrance was enjoyed inside as well as out because the windows were always open. No air conditioning back then.

The unusual thing about Louise's lilac was that it was in Louisiana. The climate zone there is theoretically too hot and humid for lilacs to grow well. But my great-grandmother was successful. We used to make up magical stories about it. After she crossed over her son tried to dig up her bush and move it. Sadly the lilac did not survive in its new location.

Now when we bought our farm I was in the middle of my studying Feng Shui period. One of the principles of Feng Shui is that you should not have your driveway pointed directly at your house. If so, it's supposed to be a pathway for fortune to be running out. The log house is about a quarter mile from the main road and the farm road is in a straight line from the road to the house. Not a good thing.

If the driveway is situated like this, you should try to do something to block the path. Luckily between the parking area and the house, there was room to plant some bushes. The farm is on the edge of zone 6b/7a. Lilacs grow and flower in this area, so they were my choice. Originally we planted five bushes, but one of them didn't make it. The four that survived bloom beautifully every spring. They have grown quite tall and totally block the house from the driveway.

I love having this wonderful memory of Louise with us every year, and having a Feng Shui principle in balance doesn't hurt either.