We've had Ceanothus, California's lilacs, in both front and back yard for some time. This year, with all the water, they've outdone themselves. And this year, I discovered that they have a lilac scent. I always loved the way lilacs smell, and I used to go to the international day at Claremont McKenna and buy a big armful of the back-East type lilacs. But today, I was out in the front yard, standing next to the big Ceanothus, and I smelled that distinctive lilac smell. I thought my nose was making it up at first, but when I walked right up to a bunch of blooms and sniffed it, there it was. Clean, light, subtle, but unmistakeably lilac. It's a pleasure to discover a new way to enjoy these blue flowers, which cheer me up as the camelias are almost finished blooming. The smaller bushes grow wild all along the 15 coming up from San Diego to LA. At first, I thought the gray-blue patches were shrubs that had not leafed out yet, but I looked more carefully when I got stuck in a traffic jam, and sure enough, blue of lilacs, not gray of bare woody stems. These lilacs seem to sneak up on me in various ways, but the surprise is always a good one. I hope you have some lilacs to breathe in or look at near you.
2 comments:
Oh, yes, Laura we love the Ceanothus. We have tree-sized ones and bushes, from light blue to the deepest blue, almost purple. Such a shining color! I am surprised that they looked grey driving by, maybe those were the light-colored ones. Megan
They grow wild on the mountain in some places....
During my divorce, when I could no longer stand the incessant emotional assaults, I fled to a friend's house. While I slept, exhausted, in a sun-filled room, he hiked the hills of Cherry Valley and returned with fistfuls of lilacs, which he placed in water next to where I slept so that I would see them when I woke. Now when I smell them, the scent gives me a sense of tranquility and safety.
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