Monday, May 17, 2010

Blooming Lilacs



I've been waiting patiently for our lilac bush to blossom. Here is the first bouquet I've made.


I filled an old milk glass vase of my Grandmother's with them, using florist foam to secure the lilacs in place.


The lilacs are very special to me as the bush is quite old, and I know that the women who have lived on this farm before me have gathered around her, awaiting her blossoms as anxiously as I, breathing in their sweet fragrance.



Here is the old lilac bush.


Amazingly, this is what that same bush looked like when we bought the place. The blossoms were very sparse.


Now you can smell them from the porch there are so many. When the blossoms fade, I'll again clip as many as the expired blossoms as I can reach to encourage a more prolific bloom next year. From what I've read, lilacs prefer to be pruned immediately after their blossoms have faded.

75 comments :

  1. Hi Trina - these are beautiful. Perfect shots for a Monday morning...before taking the kids to school and going for a much-needed run! Louise x

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  2. gorgeous! I love lilacs and they look especially beautiful in the setting you have created! Blessings, Katy

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  3. mmmm...wish I could smell them too :-) It looks like your lilac bush is responding to TLC just like your beautiful home has, you have a way of making things come alive and bringing out the best in them whether it be lilacs, furniture or floors and walls. Have a lovely week, Julia.

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  4. They look stunning! Thanks for the tip about pruning. I just have a very small (tiny) bush but am looking foward to it growing.

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  5. Stunning!!!! And love the fact that you are keeping it out on the porch....Lovely! Really enjoy your pictures and your words!

    Have a great day!

    Kind regards

    Nicola

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  6. Lucky you! I grew up in the northwest and lilacs remain one of my all-time favorites. I buy the few that make it to our farmers markets here in So. California, but it's not quite the same as living near them in full bloom like that. --Such abundance! ~LeAnn (l&l)

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  7. So THAT is the SECRET! I have always wondered. Our neighbors across the street have a huge lilac hedge, yet our pictures would be opposite yours; abundance when we first moved in and less and less blossoms as the years have passed. They are an older couple and no trimming takes place at all, that I've seen. Guess it's time for us to get the ladder out and pitch in, because even though there aren't as many blossoms as previous years, the lilacs are still fragrant and WONDERFUL and I'd love to restore them to their former glory as you have. Thank you!
    xx P&H

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  8. I love Lilac's. They remind me of my grandmother's home growing up. I actually picked some yesterday to put in my kitchen after my neighbor gave me the okay to do so from her Lilac bush. Beautiful bouquet!

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  9. This is beautiful...I'm sure it smells lovely!

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  10. Those are most beautiful lilacs.
    http://caribbeaneco-living.blogspot.com/

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  11. How delightful it is to see those beautiful blossoms from your lilac bush on this rainy Monday morning. The arrangement is perfect!

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  12. Your photos are always simple and gorgeous. These lilacs look incredibly pretty set again that wooden table and white house.

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  13. Hi Trina,

    Ooohhh the lilac perfume is one of my favourites! I have lilacs down one side of my house, but sadly they have expired : ( Your porch looks beautiful!

    ~Stacey

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  14. Love lilacs -- our lilacs were amazing this year -- so full of bloom. The only difference I can tell is that we had lots of snow last winter which meant lots of moisture -- not just the lilacs but all the garden flowers seem to be more prolific this year.

    Love your lilac bush!

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  15. beautiful...always inspired by your blooms!

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  16. Absolutely beautiful! I need to plant a lilac before next spring. I love the vase. Carla

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  17. Wow Trina, how lucky you are to have such a healthy shrub!! I can imagine the gorgoeus smell, and your arrangement is so pretty. Spring is looking great at the farm, glad you're enjoying it! jxoxox

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  18. I have about 7 lilac bushes that are pretty old (we live in an 1845 cobblestonestone farmhouse) and I never knew that they needed to be pruned after blooming. Some of the bushes look great and some are a bit sparse, so I am going to get the pruners out in a couple of weeks here! Thanks for the tip...

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  19. Your lilac blossoms, as well as your grandmother's vase, are exquisite and your placement of them at your entryway so enticing I can almost smell them. Cooler weather here in the midwest has allowed our to linger awhile longer, though they, too, will need to be snipped soon.

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  20. Gorgeous arrangement! Love the milk glass. So clean and fresh on the porch too!

    xo
    Eddie + Jaithan

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  21. Thank you so much for this! My lilac bush has been putting out less and less blooms each year. This'll encourage me to bring more in the house!

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  22. i have a big lilac tree in my yard and have treasured every bloom... we then went to maine and they were blooming there so i feel fortunate i was able to experience it twice as we know they don't last (so sad...)
    xx pam

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  23. Aren't lilacs the happiest flower! They smell like clean breezes and sunshine. I miss them. I don't see many in AZ. Do you think there is some way to amp up the aging bush so it doesn't loose its oomph?

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  24. Oh how I love lilacs, they smell so fragrant. I love to gut them and place them in glass bowls around the house. I love your milk glass vase. Have a great week!

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  25. Trina- what a gorgeous arrangement. I used to have a lilac bush in Colorado and I just loved it every spring. I can smell your blooms all the way here in Houston!
    Happy Monday.
    T

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  26. ... beautiful lilac and more beautiful porch!! :-) I love it!
    kisses
    Etta

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  27. Trina,
    I am so glad to see the comment from Eddie here, because it reminded me of him - your lilacs are stunning and I love that they are blooming all because of you. You have such a way of breathing new life into things that just need a little pruning, preening and primping!
    pve

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  28. Very good blog with quality photos. Keep Sharing. I would like to hear more from you.

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  29. Trina there is nothing more beautiful and you have put your blooms in the perfect container. Love it, so beautiful, Happy Monday,Kathysue

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  30. Hi Trina,
    Just wanted you to know I posted two of your beautiful images on my blog today (with a link back to you, of couse!), and a little write up as well.....

    I look forward to visiting A Country Farmhouse!
    Northern Light

    (http://so-much-more-than-nl.blogspot.com/2010/05/two-for-two.html)

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  31. I love lilacs, and they look perfect on your beautiful porch!

    Kat :)

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  32. my dearest trina,

    if i didn't love you so much i'd hate you!

    your lilacs, vase, composition & photography is amazing & getting better and better, if that's even possible. you inspire me with each new post.

    ~janet

    ps ~ between you and kelley at polished pebble i'm a bit envious this week!

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  33. How beautiful. We don't have lilacs in Texas (too hot here I guess)...but I do enjoy seeing what different kinds of flowers you Northerners have. Such beautiful blossoms. :) Love that milk glass, too!

    -Gail

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  34. Gorgeous! I'm awaiting blooms from my itty-bitty shrub - - Not long now. Have a great day.

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  35. Trina, I have no lilacs...yet! I will enjoy yours today. Amazing photography as usual and I love your new "summer" look

    xo kelley

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  36. I love lilacs and grew up with huge bushes in our yard and also at my grandmother's house. We also have a big row of bushes here and last year the blooms stayed FOREVER. I was actually tired of them after 3 weeks!
    But now I cannot wait again. I even bring them to the office...

    Lovely post and also so nice that the tree is blooming profusely again - it must be all the love from your new home.

    Some pruning in spring does help too!
    Hope you are well Trina!
    xo Terri

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  37. Trina...I'm so happy that you finally have your beautiful lilacs to enjoy, you have tended and cared for them lovingly and now they are saying 'thank you'...their appreciation is so very obvious!

    Thank you for sharing them...their sweetness perfectly matches yours.
    xo Jessica

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  38. So beautiful .... I'm sure I can smell the wonderful perfume all the way over here! Love the vase and your fabulous arrangement. Leigh

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  39. Your Grandmother's vase was a perfect choice for your old lilacs...beautiful!
    We have a big old bush in our backyard that we inherited when we bought our house. I too wait and watch for the pretty blooms.
    Londen

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  40. Beautiful! I love the smell of lilacs, and they are gorgeous too!

    I love that rocking chair. I'd love to be sitting there at dusk with a cup of tea.

    The blog is outstanding. I am so glad I found it.

    :) Marcie

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  41. Hi Trina,

    Thank you for that wonderful tidbit of gardening knowledge. Just like my roses, I need to cut. Lilacs are my favorite ... I only wished they were in bloom from spring to fall.

    Deborah

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  42. PS Stop by and enter my giveaway:

    http://fairfieldhousenj.com/2010/05/01/may-days-and-giveaways/

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  43. How lucky you are to have such a large old lilac bush! I love old homes with big old lilac bushes and fruit trees in the yard. Your arrangement is beautiful! I can't wait for my own lilacs to be ready...any day now!

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  44. I am jealous! They are beautiful and I love the milk glass.

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  45. one of my favourite flowers, they look perfect in that vase.
    alicia

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  46. I remember these beautiful blooms from this time last year Trina. Oh how much has happened at The Farmhouse since then - & the lilac is even more stunning.
    Millie ^_^

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  47. You must be such a lovely person, as everything you do is full of grace and beauty. Lilacs are my favorite. Thanks for adding beauty to my days...

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  48. Beautiful pictures Trina! All of our flowers are in full swing here and I am loving it! I just posted some pictures today...check it out.

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  49. Lilacs one of the most wonderful Spring scents!
    I too have a few bushes and mine have NOT yet blossomed however I did manage to pick a few bouquets elewhere for the pleasure of the scent in my home!

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  50. Lilacs are my favorite bloom. The smell is the best aromatherapy there is. I even look for soaps in that scent to start my mornings off right. When I moved to North Carolina 12 yrs ago, I was crushed that I couldn't find very many lilacs. I vowed that if I ever moved back north I would have them everywhere. I am back north now, in upstate NY. And I do have lilacs. Sadly, they are only 2 feet high right now, but I did get 4 blooms. It is so hard to be patient, but all good things come to those who wait. And one day I will be surrounded by that glorious lilac scent.
    Becky
    Simply Rebecca Studios

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  51. The lilacs are so pretty in your grandmother's vase.

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  52. Magazine worthy... beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. A-M xx

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  53. Fabulous! I can smell them from here.
    YVonne

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  54. Trina,

    If ever the a magazine needed a cover, this milk glass and lilac arragement would be it!

    So beautiful!!!

    ~Rebecca

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  55. So beautiful! Any other hints? I can;'t get our lilacs to blossom at all!! So can't prune.... Any fertilizer?

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  56. I too love lilacs. I have a very old lilac bush that I thought would be covered with lilacs this year, however many of the flower buds were frozen in a late, hard frost. Your blog and home have been such an inspiration... we even changed to butcher block counters in our kitchen after seeing yours.

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  57. Hi Tricia,
    This is the article I read on pruning lilac bushes: http://www.gardenersnet.com/lilac/lilac02.htm
    Hope that helps!
    ; ) Trina

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  58. Trina - How happy I was to find your blog! What an inspiration to all us bloggers out here! My hubby & I also recently moved to a renovated farmhouse in the country and just love the peace and quiet out here. Your porch is gorgeous and I love the shiny white floor and 'openness' of it all. It certainly motivates me to powerwash our front porch and repaint --- and soon! :) We have a few lilac bushes, too, that always remind me of my backyard when I was a little girl...

    Thanks for your beautiful photos, and I look forward to following your blog!

    Hugs ~

    Laurie

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  59. My lilac bush didn't survive the winter and I am left with a big hole where it once stood. Your images convince me that a replacement is needed!!

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  60. I just found your blog through the nester, and your home is absolutely beautiful! I have never liked white so much in my life ;)

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  61. I can just smell their lovely fragrance as I gaze upon their beauty.
    I love, love, love their scent...
    nothing quite like it...
    Beautiful vessel for them as well

    Deborah :)

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  62. Ahhh, lilacs. Aren't they the best... not only beautiful, but what a sweet smell. Love the vase you have them in. Gorgeous!

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  63. The lilacs are beautifully arranged, perfect formal setting will a casual feel to your outdoor living :)
    It has been awhile since my last visit and now I know why I should visit more often :)

    You have a peaceful home.
    xx Dore

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  64. I love the smell of lilacs - so fresh and relaxing.
    I grew up with a bush in our backyard and even today, the scent will evoke sweet memories of summer days gone by.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  65. this is an amazing bush - you are so blessed to have it in your garden :) le

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  66. those are so stunning. i want a bouquet!

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  67. We are cutting our old lilac bushes down next year, we have a small forest of them in between our neighbours and our house that has been really badly damaged during winter storms and is in need of a rejuvination. Each spring, however, we say to wait...your bushes are just amazing, and seeing them, I just can't pull myself together and cut ours down because then next spring there will only be leaves.

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  68. OMG!!! I found your blog today and your pictures are amazing. love this lilacs. BEAUTIFUL!

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Thank you for leaving your thoughts. Kind regards, Catherine

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