Launched in 2005, WellesleyWeston Magazine is a quarterly publication tailored to Wellesley and Weston residents and edited to enrich the experience of living in two of Massachusetts' most desirable communities.
Issue link: https://wellesleywestonmagazine.epubxp.com/i/256387
20 W e l l e s l e y W e s t o n M a g a z i n e | s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 M E D I A B A K E R Y gardening in bloom greenhouse flower beds flora horticulture shrubbery Spring Scentsations R U T H F U R M A N writer the green scene spring is the season of hope – as in, "I hope those trees and shrubs survived the winter, I hope the vegetable garden is more productive, and I hope the weather improves or warms up." The early bloomers, ephemerals, and bulbs keep our hopes alive, but not until May is well underway is it safe to say: at last, spring has arrived. All the flowering heralds of spring are wonderful warm-up acts before the main attraction, but it is the warmth of late May days that carry the scents of warming earth and the true scent of spring: the lilacs! Many times over I hear the refrain "I love lilacs," and I have yet to have anyone tell me that they dislike them. There is something delightfully spring-y about the flowers and their perfume. As a child, our old house in the city had a border on one side with the most heavenly scented lilacs planted by a prior owner. They had no special names that we knew of but the colors were deep purple, brilliant white, and pale lilac in a mix of single and double flowers; all rather traditional colors but to my child's eye quite spectacular and deliciously scented. Sniffing a lilac today transports me back to that garden. We would pick a huge bouquet, the scent filled the house, and it seemed to last even after the flowers had wilted. I don't recall much maintenance on them but they bloomed profusely for years. 020-022_WWMa14_greenscene_v2_WellesleyWeston Magazine 2/1/14 3:02 PM Page 20