Over the years, Pasty Cam has brought you U.P. lilacs in the spring, like the ones uploaded yesterday in Cam Notes. Aimee Rathbun also saw a new request for some, and - - bingo - - these beauties appear in the handy photo inbox.

If you've been following Pasty Central the last three months, you know I have covered quite a bit of ground. A lot has happened in that time. Seasons change. People change. Sometimes things happen real quick, other times it takes awhile. It's all part of our journey through life.

All I know is - - this morning I'm sleeping in my own bed.

There's no place like home. Zzzzzz

I can almost smell them ... beautiful pic...
thanks so much ..Julie B....

Toivo,
Pinch yourself to make sure it isn't all a dream!

You forgot to wish us a good night and good morning from the UP.

I have lilacs here in the desert area of Arizona. Bought them from a local nursery years ago. They are called Persian lilacs, and are not as beautiful as those back home, but have smaller flowers, with less smell. Still, they are lilacs.

mmmmm! Nice picture Aim!

Thank you, Toivo, for the beautiful bouquet of lilacs. The scent of these flowers is like a little piece of heaven on earth. And welcome back to God's country (you know -- where the area code is 906).

Who's grandmother's house didn't have a bouquet of lavender lilacs, permeating the entire room with its sweet summer fragrance. Every year someone brought my grandmother her favorite bouquet and delighted in her making her day.

To Fran in GA: Try some compost to improve
your soil conditions for your lilac "bed." Read
up on creating a compost pile using all your
green waste (yard clippings, lettuce/fruit and
other vegetable waste, egg shells, coffee
grounds — plants seem to love a jolt of java
— and all other good kitchen spoils that rot but
do not contain animal fat etc). Compost with
improve a lot of bad soil conditioning including
clay, sandy soils etc.

Thanks! I forgot how pretty they are--and I can smell them! Brings back memories!

Toivo,
How about a photo of yourself at home just to confirm that you actually made it back to the UP. ;o)

Beautiful! Beautiful!

I sure miss the lovely smell of lilacs. Growing up I had a lilac tree under my bedroom window and the scent of lilacs smelled so good drifting into my bedroom window. We don't have lilacs down here in Texas. We will just have to settle for the fragent smelling magnolia trees.

Now that we are living on our hill here in Bumbletown my wife and I have really enjoyed all the flowers on the trees. Not only are there lots of lilacs but also the apple trees have lots of flowers. Combine that with plum trees, sugarplum trees, etc. The beauty of the hill is breath taking. When we arived on May 3rd everything was still gray from winter. Now not only do we have lots of spring color but the smells that come into your windows are great. Living here on Bumbletown Hill in the UP is great.

Lilacs...their sight and smell always brings back vivid childhood memories of the May Crowning. In my mind, I can still see the flowers on the altar and smell the lilac permeating the entire church. Anybody else have the same experience?

One of my favorite memories of my maternal grandmother is how she kept a vase filled with her home grown lilacs displayed on her piano in the spring time. As others have mentioned, they filled the house with the sweet fragrance I now associate with spring. Thanks for the memory.

I am so lucky. The lilacs were out and peaked down here a couple weeks ago. Today I am heading to the Copper Country and get to enjoy them again. Our peonies are in full bloom here right now. Another great Grandma's garden favorite.

Even if you could make the lilac bushes grow in the south, they would not bloom. The lilac requires a spell of near or below freezing temperatures to set the buds. So, even if we don't get bougainvillea, redbud, camellia's and countless other southern blooming bushes and trees, we do have the lilac, and the scent of them makes up for all the others.

Lilacs are wonderful but nothing beats the smell of pine trees in the Copper Country! The combination of that with the sound of Lake Superior waves in the background is something I long for all year! I can't wait to make it back up to "God's Country" in August!

Like Amy,TX we had a lilac bush outside our bedroom window. Such a nice way to fall asleep at night when we were kids!

I think "Toivo" is tired. Maybe time to get back to the real world for a while. Away is good but home is best...

Shoot if all they need is a bit of cold weather to make them bloom, then just pack the bushes in a few bags of ice during a cold spell to push the temperatures a bit lower for several days...

GREAT PIC! Thanks!
Hi to Fran, GA., KarenP, MN says the lilacs need to be frozen. Can't imagine putting a lilac bush in the freezer to set the buds!!! What a bummer! Well, I guess that means you have to get back to the UP in the spring every year.
Oh and yes, the Gardens were fragrant. Some of the different types of lilacs were finished but many others were just popping. I have to thank the folks on this site, cause I was inspired to take a closer look at the Lilacs I had gotten used to just walking past! Now I'm thinking maybe I should plant them in my yard. Do the deer ever eat Lilacs? They had a tremendous salad of my Tulip Buds and Hostas. We had so much rain, the "Deer Off" I kept spraying on them became salad dressing!

Any body know how to keep the deer off of anything, let me know. We planted strawberries last night and they must have watched us, as soon as we were in the house they came exploring.

Beeeee-yu-tiful!!! Thank you Aimee and Toivo! I can almost smell them. Must mean school's gettin' out soon.

To EM of MI re the deer in the garden. Human hair keeps them away so the next time you're in the chair for a trim, save it and hang it in a nylon stocking in the garden. I found this to be the best remedy. If you're not real fussy, just go to the salon and get a dustpan full!

hello steve b the wine is great!

ASK any old timer, deer always taste best when the strawberries are ripe.

To EM, regarding the deer problem. Years ago a .32 Winchester Special did a fairly good job of keeping the deer off the garden. But those were tougher times and now I dont mind loosing some produce as I rather enjoy watching the little thieves! Beautiful creatures. Like having them around.

A very pretty photo of lilacs indeed!! I planted a new lilac bush that has pink blooms, pretty to look at but, not the traditional aroma of the originals. I have peonies in bloom now not only with flowers but also with ants...does anyone know why peonies attrack ants?

Janie, the peonies need ants in their pollination to bloom, so no ants means no flowers. Maybe someone with horticulture experience can explain the process better than I can. I grow flowers for a living, so have enjoyed the pictures of the rose and lilacs.

Ah yes, ants and peonies - one of the many symbiotic relationships that Mother Nature has provided us with. My lilac story - many moons ago one of my brothers was born on June 1. The lilac tree in the back yard was just starting to bloom and I remember picking a vase full for my mom when she came home from the hospital a few days later. Growing up I always associated the blooming lilacs with my brother's birthday. Now that I've lived 'further south' in Milw for years, the lilacs bloom earlier in May and still throws me off thinking it's June already. To top it off, over the past 7-8 years I have become allergic to the blooming beauties - so I can no longer have the tantalizing smell in the house. Such is growing old.......memories and the quality of life - another symbiotic relationship!

Missin' the UP in NJ... Where are you from there?

STEW BUM! Yes indeed lilacs & the May crowning! They went hand in hand down here in troll land. I always wanted to be picked to be that pretty little girl who carried the white satin pillow with the crown on it down the aisle at my church, but never was. So instead I made my own May altar at home with my glow in the dark Mary statue (REALLY!) and surrounded it with lilacs from our backyard lilac bush. To this day when I smell lilacs I remember the May Crowning.

Also for the first time in my life I am heading to Mackinaw City tomorrow for the Lilac Festival. Been to the island many times but never for this event so I am excited. Since it is just a day trip there won't be enough time to head any further North but soon enough it will be time to drive my son back up to Mi Tech for the start of his junior year there. THEN I will get my UP fix.

We don't have freezing weather here in the Phoenix area, but my lilacs bloom every year. It is necessary to get the variety that grows in warm climates. Check with your local nursery - we just happened to read about a local variety of lilacs when we had our house built, and had to drive to Mesa to get two bushes. That was over twenty years ago, and they are still blooming every spring.

Oops. Forgot to welcome Toivo back. So welcome Toivo! As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz.. "There's no place like home!"

Dave The river slave- You are right on the composting to amend the soil.We came to the conclusion that if you were ever able to get a fairly large hole dug in this hard ground it would be wise to replace all the clay with good soil and compost.

Missin the UP in NJ.--- Well I wouldn't have to worry about putting my lilac bush in the refrigerator because it gets PLENTY cold here in the winter. Actually my puny little bush did get one bloom one time before it got borers and died.

Those Aimee sent the photo of are so pretty. I can almost smell them

Have 6 or 7 of these fragrant bushes around the house here. Wow! Do they ever smell wondermous. Several Lilies of the Valley also. Mmmm. Dem Golden Dell Dwellers (dandelions) are very plentiful, too. :o(
Kiitos, Aimee and Toivo. Sleep well, Toivo. The grass will wait. How high did it get? Might as well bale it now. :>)

What a beautiful picture!! My most favorite flowering bush. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

Yesterday I went to the "Lilac Gallery" site that Kathy from Fowler posted and made one of those pictures my wallpaper. I just replaced it with this one. Lilacs are done down here, but the spirea sure is blooming nicely!

Froggy...I wouldn't mind sharing some of the produce, it's the young tender plants they go for before they even have a chance to produce.

Peg,Fair Haven,Mi. Thankyou so much on the ants-peonies connection!! I've always wondered why ants clung around these blooms so much. It has been so tempting to cut some to bring in the house, but I don't need the ant invasion. Thanks again Peg!

To EM, yea, I know about the buds. Decided to forego the garden last year and they mowed all the buds off my newly planted maple saplings.

I grew up in the UP with the aroma of lilacs at home and at Grandma's. Sure do miss them...missing the UP in FL

Froggy, I gave up on a real garden two years ago, but I still want my strawberries. This is all very emotional, my daughter in Tenn just rescued a fawn from her neighbors dogs . She used to be an Animal Tech and is now a Pediataric Nurse and I am very proud of her but I still want my strawberries,Idont like store bought jam.