Weekly Photo Challenge: Purple

KatharineJuly 27, 2012Believe it or not!, Photosgarden, lilac, patience, photos, postaday, postaday2012, purple, Syringa vulgaris

My husband and I have been married 42 years. Since we both grew up with lilacs in our mothers’ yards, we wanted them in our yard for our children.

Almost every place we lived, I tried to grow us a lilac bush.

I had little success, which surprises most people, since they are an easy-going plant. We’ve moved about 15 times, so we left a wide wake of surprised friends.

We’ve settled in, where we now live. On this property, which has amazingly elevated, rocky soil, are four lilac bushes: a pink, a French blue, a white, and a wild purple. They bloom. They grow. They survive drought. We can hardly believe it!

The fragrance is the stuff of dreams.

Published by Katharine

Katharine is a writer, speaker, women's counselor, and professional mom. Happily married over 50 years to the same gorgeous guy. She loves cooking amazing homegrown food, celebrating grandbabies, her golden-egg-laying hennies, and watching old movies with popcorn. Her writing appears at Medium, Arkansas Women Bloggers, Contently, The Testimony Train, Taste Arkansas, Only in Arkansas, and in several professional magazines and one anthology. View more posts

14 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Purple”

campanulladellaanna says:

July 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

Beautiful capture 😛

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1. katharinetrauger says:
  
  July 28, 2012 at 12:51 am
  
  Thanks so much, Campanulla, and WELCOME to Home’s Cool! Hope you visit again! 🙂
  
  Reply
vastlycurious says:

July 27, 2012 at 3:47 pm

I can smell them!

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1. katharinetrauger says:
  
  July 27, 2012 at 3:49 pm
  
  Thanks for this great comment, VC, and wecome to Home’s Cool! They actually are blooming a second time! We had SUCH drought, and then 4″ of rain, making them break dormancy. Hmm. Hope they survive the winter. But the fragrance! . . . 🙂
  
  Reply
Ruth Bailey says:

July 27, 2012 at 3:58 pm

I love hearing about people who have been married for a long time! And isn’t it amazing how God fulfills our dreams – here you are settled (or is there a smaller house after the children are gone?) and now you have an abundance of lilacs!

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1. katharinetrauger says:
  
  July 28, 2012 at 12:47 am
  
  Hello, Ruth!
  I love BEING people who have been married for a long time! 🙂
  And I find it totally amazing that after planting all the lilacs I planted, I finally get to harvest some!
  My husband says we will move someday, but I’m not so sure. We shall see . . .
  
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Michelle Fitzurka says:

July 27, 2012 at 4:48 pm

See, you were meant to be surrounded by lilacs after all! Wonderful story…

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1. katharinetrauger says:
  
  July 28, 2012 at 12:49 am
  
  Thanks so much, Michelle, and WELCOME to Home’s Cool!
  I do love them and find their presence, here, almost ironic, but so desired. 🙂
  Hope you visit again, soon!
  
  Reply
Karen says:

July 27, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Beautiful but I love your lavender too.

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1. katharinetrauger says:
  
  July 28, 2012 at 12:47 am
  
  I’m thinking of posting some of it, too. 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Karen. 🙂
  
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Tilly Bud - The Laughing Housewife says:

July 28, 2012 at 8:45 am

How beautiful!

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1. katharinetrauger says:
  
  July 28, 2012 at 8:47 am
  
  Thanks, Tilly! 😉 Do folks grow lilacs in Europe?
  
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  1. Tilly Bud - The Laughing Housewife says:
    
    July 28, 2012 at 8:50 am
    
    I’m sure they do but I’ve never tried. We do get it in this country so somebody must grow it!
    
    Reply
    1. katharinetrauger says:
      
      July 28, 2012 at 8:54 am
      
      I’d think the weather would be perfect, somewhere, along with soil conditions. The lilac is so vigorous when it is happy. And fragrant. Mmm .. .
      
      Reply