Lombard and Lilacia Park

Violets and lilies of the valley were planted in the yard at 1040. Every Mother's Day my dad would wake me up very early so we could go out in the yard and pick bouquets of flowers. Mom would laugh and say it looked like funeral parlor and she was not dead yet, but seacretly she loved having flowers in the house.

Masses of tulips were planted at Lilacia Park in all thier varieties. My dad would check out the newest varieties and buy some when they dug up the beds after the leaves had browned. Parrot tulips were some of his favorites, but he also loved the ones that were two toned.

This is a sensation lilac. I saw it in the yard of one of my student's and new it would be perfect in our yard when we landscaped the back yard. The two or three weeks of bloom each May is well worth the space. The flowers are so full.

Phil's sister, Marla, did not know what a French lilac looked like so I took this picture to show how full the blossoms were. We have two bushes of them at the east corners of our house.

This purple lilac is actually a deeper purple than the picture shows. It started out being a pink one until we transplanted it. It reminds me of the deep purple lilac bush we had outside my bedroom window when I was growing up. I loved the fragrance that would come in my window.

Lilacs remind me of Lombard and Lilacia Park. Every May we would go through the park at least once or twice when the lilacs were in bloom. I loved the smell and all the variety of colors and shapes. The tulips were planted so carefully to make huge masses of color. The spring flowers in my yard bring back wonderful memories of quieter times.