The Smell of Springtime

Spring 2022 Lilac 
Elkridge, MD
May 12, 2022

The lilac bush next to my porch is in full bloom. It is a late bloomer due to our location at the bottom of the street where it stays a bit colder longer. But when it blooms, it is fabulous.

And the bush is in full bloom. I enjoy walking out the front door into the air filled with the aroma I most associate with Spring. During a brief break in the clouds yesterday, I was able to get a good image of the flowers which are producing the sweet aroma. Set against the newly mown lawn they are the image of Springtime enjoyment for me.

Growing up in Upstate New York there was a large lilac bush right outside on my second story bedroom window. It was one of those huge, unkept bushes which get larger until they begin to take over the yard. I remember enjoying the sweet smell of the lilacs during the Spring and then remembering that sweet fragrance as I mowed around the bush during the remainder of the growing season until the winter. I lamented that the two weeks or so of enjoyment were so short in comparison to the remainder of the year. I believe that in why I have grown to enjoy Crepe Myrtle. Although Crepe Myrtle does not have the fragrance of lilac, its flowers remind me of lilac flowers and their fragrance. Of course, I say that now until I have to skim the Crepe Myrtle flowers out of the pool once they bloom.

Springtime! Something new to enjoy every day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD