For much of the year, I fantasize about cutting down the lilac tree in our back yard. The trunk and branches are so old and gnarly and really, the leaves aren’t very interesting throughout the summer. And it casts too much shade over what would otherwise be a perfect location for a vegetable garden. I think often and out loud of replacing it with a Japanese Maple, Honey Locust or Forest Pansy Redbud. But every spring, when we enjoy two weeks of spectacular, fragrant flowers, I decide it can stay. We currently have five vases of varying sizes holding lilacs throughout our home, making every room smell so very fresh.
Lilacs are nostalgic for me too. There was a row of them in the backyard of our house when I was a kid. We had a zipline running alongside this lilac “hedge” and I remember inhaling the smell as I flew through the air from one end to the other.
And they’re so beautifully old-fashioned. They remind me of drying lines, doilies and ice tea.
It truly would be a shame to give them up.
