Continuing a theme ...

At the risk of boring for Scotland, I'm going back to my garden today, back to the pink and blue theme in the perfectly blended colour of my lilac tree, today beginning to open out fully in the hot sunshine. (Can hardly believe I'm writing that!). It's particularly fulsome this year, with plenty of blooms, after a rather poor show last Spring - do plants have alternate years of plenty? Our gooseberry bush certainly seems to ...

The tree was here when we bought the house, all of 43 years ago. Then, it was lower and blended more into its neighbouring willow spirea bush, long demolished to make way for a garden shed; now it's somewhat cramped between shed and the privet hedge between us and our neighbour. The good news, however, is that the neighbour cut down a large pine tree that was encroaching, and not in a beautiful way, so there is now considerably more light and space for the elderly lilac. 

I associate lilac blossom with a childhood memory of playing in the allotments (we called them "the Plots") in Novar Drive, Glasgow. They weren't very enthusiastically maintained, I think - I don't ever recall anyone chasing us or tending them, and we found this bush and took some branches home because they smelled good. I have a feeling my mother said she didn't want them as they would have little beasties inside them, but I may be conflating other memories. 

Another horticultural success story that results in beauty without any effort or expertise on my part ...