May 20 Valley Life column

May 20 Valley Life column in AG Weekly

Check your lilac trees for fairies

"I am thinking of the lilac-trees,
That shook their purple plumes,
And when the sash was open,
Shed fragrance through the room."
- The Old Apple Tree by American novelist, Mrs. Anna S. Stephens

Lilacs, no other flower is as fragrant, not even a rose. Often called the poor man's flower because they are so easy to propagate, there's something nostalgic about lilacs. All I have to do is take a deep breath when they're in bloom and I'm a child again, lying under my mother's lilac bushes, sucking nectar from the purple blossoms. Back then, I didn't know lilac was considered magical, that it could be used to make cookies, cakes or cream cheese spreads, or that some people believed it had evil properties. All I knew was lilac smelled good and made me happy.

Aside from being pretty to look at and even nicer to smell, the lilac is steeped in folklore. A symbol of new love, lilacs have been used in spells, love potions and spring tonics. Some people believed its fragrance could transport them into fairyland or the supernatural world and that the lilac's irresistible scent drew fairy spirits into the garden. Others believed a bath in lilac water would enable one to get a glimpse of a future love.

Legends claim lilac was originally planted in New England to keep evil from the property and that the fresh flowers could be placed in a haunted house to clear it of evil spirits. Some English believed it was unlucky to bring the lilac flower into the house, as it was associated with death and sadness. Others believed shades of purple had a tendency to drive men mad and people were cautioned not to look too long at the purple lilac, or else they would go crazy.

Common purple lilac bushes can live for hundreds of years and it was one of the plants most commonly brought from Europe by settlers and planted around their homes in the New World. Besides being beautiful and reminiscent of home each spring, lilac was also practical. Its dense shrubbery helped shelter homes from the wind.

Out here at Pauly's Folly, the lilac are in full bloom, smelling so sweet, I'm sure if I look, I will find a whole slew of fairies sleeping in the blossoms. I'm tempted to move my computer outside so I can work under the lilac trees and enjoy the heady fragrance. Instead, I think I'll pick a bouquet and bring it indoors. That way I won't frighten away the fairies.