Sunday, May 3, 2009

Purple or White?

The heated days in April help the lilac 'kick it in gear' so we are going to enjoy our lilac blooms a few weeks early in our garden.
PURPLE OR WHITE?

Purple has always been my favorite because the lilac makes me think of the fresh scent that filled our home as a child. To this day I use the same vase my Mom bought special for her purple lilacs. It wasn't until a neighbor in town took down a row of bushes that I ended up with a white lilac in my garden. When we moved to the country I was sure to dig up an easy rooter and bring it with me. The lilac is easy to move as long as you dig a new shoot. Be sure to water them BIG TIME the first year you move them to be sure they are established. After the bush has bloomed this is the time to trim to ensure a great bloom the following year. Now that my white lilac is finally established, I am loving the White. It took about two years to get this bush to push off new sprouts. TELL ME... what is your favorite color of lilac?

DEER SIGHTING: Super excited to share this shots I took while making coffee Saturday morning in my kitchen. Two Does who appear to be pregnant. It also just happens to be the day I planted 4 new blueberry bushes. Looks like I am going to have to investigate a way to protect those berries when the bushes get established.

The seeds I started in my 'greenhouse ' are looking good. Today I am going to transplant them to bigger containers to plant the first week in June. WHY WAIT SO LONG AFTER THE FROST? Well in my neck of the woods the heat really doesn't kick in till that 2nd week in June. Tomatoes and Peppers do best in heat. TO prevent stunting their growth from taking them out of their greenhouse growing conditions and into 'cold' we wait to put them in the warm ground. This sounds like a blog for another day.....

Happy 1st weekend in May Everyone!




25 comments:

Unknown said...

I love all lilacs, especially the french varieties. there is a large white one across the street from my house and several more purple lilacs on around the block. I plan to take some pics when i get home to share. they have all been there for probably 50 plus years. I wouldn't doubt if it was closer to 100 yrs!

Sharon said...

I don't think my mom liked lilacs because we never had any in our yard. And she seemed sort of hostile to the one our neighbor planted near our house.

Yours are beautiful, enjoy!

Carol Murdock said...

There were three things I wanted to add here, a Lilac, A Camellia, and a Gray Beard Tree. We got the Gray Beard and a light pink Camellia yesterday in Mobile. All I lack is a Lilac and I'd like a purple one. Yours are lovely!

Carol

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

There is someone down the road that has a lilac that is deep dark purple-red. A color to die for!! White is ok, but a dark purple, wow!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Both colors are beautiful, Bren! I like the purple more because it brings happy childhood memories.
Would you show your Mom's vase, please, in one of your postS?

Patsy said...

I don't remember the white lilacs but I think I would like them. I can just smell them. We had deers in our back yard when we lived in Texas. They didn't cause to much trouble.lol
Patsy

Jill of All Trades said...

Purple is definitely my favorite and I prefer the old-fashioned lilacs, like were in my great-grandmothers yard many, many years ago. I'm not too much on white flowering anything as they look so tattered and nasty when they are dying off.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bren~~ I wait until June also. Here in the Pacific Northwest May nights usually drop into the 40s with a rare but possible frost. Through the years I've observed that it's better to wait, enjoy the spring garden and deal with summer crops during summer. I find it amazing how quickly the plants will catch up, basking in summer's warmth.

I too planted a white lilac slip from my previous residence. Two of them actually. They're towering now at each end of the property. Blooming profusely at present which for us is a few weeks late. Normally the pinnacle is on tax day. My neighbor grows a lovely dark purple specimen just on her side of the fence. I can pick from those as well as my white ones so it's the best of both worlds. It's cool that you have your mother's vase. What a wonderful tribute to her!

Dirt Princess said...

I am all for a purple flower!

Tessa at Blunders with shoots, blossoms 'n roots said...

Purple or white- I'll take them both, I love lilac! I have one called 'Beauty of Moscow' that I just love! Sweet pics of the deer- how lucky you are to have such wildlife right out your kitchen window!

Queen-Size funny bone said...

I have a lot of both colors so I will ha.ve to say the purple too. I'm just sad that they really don't last that long

Bren Haas said...

Jill - they do get yucky after a few days in a vase (sadly). I wanted them in my wedding so bad. I actually went with SILK flowers ( shhh.... don't tell!) in my bridal party bouquets. There weren't any flower designers who would do the lilacs in an arrangement for the wedding. I also found a very pretty flower fabric that had lilacs in it for the girls dresses. We were married in May of 1993.

Thanks for the comments everyone. It truly makes my day to come in from the garden for a rest and find so many wonderful comments. Makes the work in the garden go easier when you know you can share it with friends on the web.

SINCERELY - THANK YOU!!!

The Army of Four said...

I love ALL lilacs - all colors, all varieties! I have 4 different varieties growing here (two are up on the Ao4 Digest for Serene Scenery Sunday). I haven't had white lilacs in my own garden since I lived in Belgium MANY years ago! They were sooooo beautiful!
KZK

Thora said...

It has to be purple for me - there is a row of them up my parents driveway, in the house where I grew up - every May for weeks as I walked up to the back door I had that smell .... must get some in my garden! Thanks Bren!

Lona said...

Bren your lilacs are beautiful. Nothing smells so good as a yard with the fragrance of lilacs blowing around it. If it would hold off the rain we might enjoy them more.

Judy said...

I love lilacs too but they sure make me sneeze so I have to enjoy them from afar. Hope you blueberry bushes do well with the deer around. How lucky you are to maybe having babies running around.

Victoria Williams said...

I love lilacs, and favor the purple ones, but we have a white volunteer from the neighbor which we'll keep.

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Definitely the purple for me! I wish the cuttings lasted longer too. My neighbor across the street moved and hired my son to mow and do yard work for him. I needed to help trim some shrubs and saw that he had some lilacs. I snipped a few cuttings, but sadly they wilted very quickly. I have some small lilacs with only a few blooms this year; they are all purple!

Gail said...

I love the classic purple lilac, but am quite taken with the white ones...They add something special to the garden when you have a few purple lilacs and then that beautiful white~~ gail

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I have to say I'm also a purple lilac person. They really all are pretty and smell so good, but there's something about the purple ones. Hope the deer leave your blueberries alone :)

AJEYA RAO said...

I like the purple Lilac too, though havent found any in my part of the world. My recent post is on some of the other flowers around my house this time. Do check them out and help me with the English names for some of them.

Roses and Lilacs said...

Lilacs are my favorite no matter which color--I do have a slight preference for the very dark purple;)

I really enjoyed seeing the deer. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to get photos of the fawns.
Marnie

Sheila said...

I like purple.
when I was small my Mum used a paste wax on the furniture that had the fragrance of lilacs. Now when I smell them it takes me back to my childhood.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I love the purple lilacs..they don't bloom here till about June first. I love that you have a special vase that your Mom used to use:)

Heidi said...

I prefer the purple lilacs (but it is my favorite color anyway), but if the landscaping is done nicely, I like both colors! :)