Clematis and Lilac Blooms In the Neighborhood

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Found these climbing up a neighbor's fence. I'm assuming its clematis. 

Mark's front yard lilac bush is soooo fragrant. Although the flowers are getting past their peak the smell is still very pungent. 

Many different varieties of lilac have been developed. They are very popular shrubs in parks and gardens throughout the world in the temperate zone.

When Dale and I moved into the house on Tenth there was a lilac tree in the area where our grill is now. It was nice having it outside the bedroom window. The first couple of years we were here it produced flowers but after that it didn't leaf very well and the blooms were rather shriveled looking. Some people I've mentioned it to have said that it may have been the soil. Personally, I think it was just old. 

Lilacs

Photo of a neighbors lilac tree taken just a few days ago. According to Wikipedia, Lilacs "...produce more flowers if left unpruned. If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers in an attempt to restore the removed branches."

We had a beautiful lilac tree at the house on Stevens. I remember Mom pointing it out to me when we moved there when I was three years old. After some years it stopped flowering. We didn't realize that pruning the flowers was detrimental to producing more. I pulled off way too many. It remained for many years but Dad eventually had it removed. It was probably more a lilac bush than a tree but we called it that anyway. 

"In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings, 

Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green, 

With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love, 

With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard, 

With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, 

A sprig with its flower I break."

  -From When Lilacs Last In the Dooryard Bloom'd by Walt Whitman

Signs of Spring - Two Toned Lilacs

I love these two toned lilacs of a neighbor across the street.

May Has Been Lovely, So Far

Took this photo about a week and a half ago on my morning walk to school. The air has smelled so sweet lately but the lilacs are starting to fade.

Did you know lilac wood is often used for engraving, musical instruments, and knife handles? If not, you do now!

White Lilacs

Our neighbors across the alley, Steve and Mary, have some beautiful lilacs just off their driveway.

Lilacs

Between the lilacs and the flowering crabapple trees, the air in the neighborhood is smelling pretty sweet.

To many, lilacs are considered a symbol of love. In the countries of Greece, Cyprus, and Lebanon the lilac is associated with Easter time since that is around the time when its flowers appear.

Lilacs

Steve and Mary are our neigh-

bors from across the alley. Their backyard lilac trees are looking beautiful.