Lovely Lilacs

Last year when I arrived home from Friquet Garden Centre with what appeared to be two sticks in pots Mr Bee was more than a little unimpressed. When I told him that they cost £20 each his general demeanour was, well lets just say, it has taken him two years to really warm to the lilacs. He still refers to them as the dead sticks but he claims to like the flowers.

In their first year they produced a few leaves but no flowers. Gardening with English plants has been an incredibly steep learning curve for me; so I assumed that this was normal and that they would flower next year. Fortunately I was correct otherwise I would never be allowed to forget the non-flowering £40 worth of dead sticks; they would haunt me for the rest of my days - Mr Bee would see to it ;)

I have waited with baited breath for the two flower stems to start to open; when they finally did I was in for a little bit of a surprise. This is not the colour I was expecting. I chose a colour that was very light lilac, almost blue not a mid-purple with a white edge. It is planted in my pink, white and blue bed. It doesn't really matter I suppose as their flowering period is not that long so by the time all the rest of the pink, white and pale blue in this bed burst on to the scene the purple of my lilacs will have faded. Despite it being the wrong colour for my floral extravaganza I really do like it so it will not be removed (as I am prone to do on a whim). Alas my white lilac is yet to flower - let us hope it is not red and yellow polka dots!