Lilacs and Bleeding Hearts

Joanne and I have been very lucky over the last few years. Our previous residence and where we are living now both have lilac bushes in the yard. Lilacs are one of my favourite flowering bushes/trees. It is so wonderful to go into my back garden to play in the dirt with the smell of lilac filling my nose and head. This smell always reminds me of our stay in Nelson, British Columbia, in 2001-02.


We enjoyed two springs in Nelson and during these times the alleyways between the houses were filled with lilacs. There were so many different varieties and each one showcased its unique colours and scents. The entire town was filled with these fragrances and it really made me feel alive.


All of these photos were taken just last week, in my back garden. Man oh man! I love spring!!!

Last year was the time when I decided to expand the flower gardens around this property. Since the squirrels eat and destroy any vegetable plant, I thought that this would be a good idea. I’ve learned so much about flowers, in just the last two years. When Joanne and I finally get a place of our own, I’ll be able to use this knowledge to quickly build some amazing gardens!!! I can’t wait.


These plants are called Bleeding Hearts (because of their shape and colour) and this is the patch that I planted last spring. Last year these plants flowered a little bit but they didn’t grow as high as they could. I have found that plants spend their first year healing and reestablishing their roots systems. This is their second year and they are coming in very strong, filling in with many flowers.


It’s important to think about the spacing of the plants when you are creating a garden. If the plants are placed too close together, then they spend too much time competing for the light and some will be overpowered. If they are placed too far apart the weeds will thrive in the spaces between to choke out the plants.

You can also notice that I try to plant different generations of plants. In the above photo we can see a very large and older plant surrounded by smaller plants of the same species. Over the years to come, this patch should fill in very nicely with different levels of flowers to amaze the eyes!!!

I hope that this blog entry has inspired you to now turn off your computer so that you can spend the remainder of the day in your own back garden – or a neighbours (LOL) – to enjoy the gifts that Nature has blessed us with.

Wishing you a heart filled with sunshine on all your rainy days!

Jim