“Being in a garden is very relaxing and peaceful
as plants are restorative to our health and emotions.”
I was sharing some images of my lilacs on my Instagram stories the other day and I learned something new. Some parts of the country don’t have lilacs! WHA? How sad to be deprived of these luscious smelling beauties? If you don’t have them where you live, if only this post could be scratch ‘n sniff so you could experience them in all their glory (actually if you scroll to the bottom of this post I’ll tell you one of my favorite ways to enjoy all kinds of plant scents!).
When we moved into this house three years ago in September, I had no idea that we had huge lilac trees in our backyard. You can imagine what a wonderful surprise it was that first spring when the scent of lilacs filled the air as they began blooming in our backyard. First the purple ones, then on the other side of the yard, the white ones. Oh, the scent is HEAVENLY!
We discovered we have a magnolia tree, camellias, hydrangeas and rhododendrons, among others! Each plant, tree and flower has a unique scent, too.
I’ve said before that I love puttering around and improving a garden almost more than I love working on my house, so that’s saying a lot. I’m not a skilled gardener at all, but I still love plants. Every day at least once I go outside and walk around the yard to breathe in the scents and just relax and enjoy the beauty. I also love bringing cut flowers and stems inside, so it’s fun for me to be able to go outside and forage around for something pretty to bring inside.
Discovering all of the blooming trees and shrubs in our yard was a dream come true.
A couple of our past houses had mature plants, trees and flowers and it was literally the best thing ever for me! Being in a garden is very relaxing and peaceful as plants are restorative to our health and emotions.
Did you see Lily’s Garden? I planted all kinds of fragrant things there like lavender, lemon verbena, and honeysuckle. It’s going to be a sweet little spot as all of the plants grow and fill in. She loves being out here, too!
I’ll show you much more of our various gardening spots in the upcoming weeks. I’m especially excited because now we have climbing white roses, several peonies in whites and pinks, and jasmine. My senses are HAPPY HAPPY! Be sure to follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, I show videos of some of the plants and flowers there, too (along with the house and pups, of course)!
Tell me about your yard or garden in the comments! I’d love to hear about your plants or plans :).
Speaking of happy senses and the therapeutic value of plants, I diffuse essential oils every single day to make my home smell amazing naturally (I’m always trying out different fun blends, I ditched most of my candles and don’t miss them one bit!). I also use oils daily to support my family’s wellness (for better sleep, supported immune systems, balanced emotions and happier hormones, natural skincare and so much more). My home would really not be the same without them.
When you get my favorite essential oils kit with my referral link, I send you a pretty welcome packet and a helpful oils book in the mail, as well as an invite to my private community called the Dwell Well Collective. My girls and I have so much fun hanging out with women in this group who are all excited about wellness, making natural changes, and using essential oils to enhance our lives.
We host free weekly classes, share our tips and favorite natural recipes, and just get to know each other! It’s become a really sweet community and we’d so love to have you a part of it.
Get your kit here.
If you have any questions I’m happy to chat, just send me an email at [email protected]!
I truly love lilacs and all the other amazing plants that can be grown in the Northwest!! You are very lucky to have mature shrubs/trees that you love ?
I live in the Southwest and we have some amazing plants and smell good ones too, just different.
One that we can both grow and enjoy are jasmines. The Arabian Jasmine is quite nice and heavenly scented along with the Angel Wing Jasmine. That could be a wonderful addition for near your patio.
Thanks for sharing those gorgeous lilacs!! I wish there was a way to share that scent?
Oh, I would love to find those! I think ours are called Star Jasmine. I’ll keep my eye out for the Arabian and the Angel Wing varieties. Thank you so much, Lynn!
I LOVE lilacs, I even carried them in my wedding bouquet!
I am a big fan of Gardenias, I had an established couple of bushes when I bought my house, and have been able to root another one from a cutting to plant closer to back porch…..they are blooming as we speak, and I have plenty to make vases for all over the house……the scent is incredible, and my 23 year old son noticed the scent in the house…..my tip, is adding compost to the root areas in early spring, it has helped a lot.
We’ve redone a Dutch colonial house that has a beautiful stone foundation, + we’ve chosen plants that complement the brick red of the stones — barberry shrubs, Japanese painted ferns + coral bells. Our new/old brick sidewalk picks up the reds + grays, too. Just this week, we planted a beautiful red Japanese maples, which will complement the stone foundation + also pop against our houses’s white siding. ;-)
My husband is our vegetable gardener, and I work on the flowers. My favorites are the ones that you plant in the ground and just ENJOY (little to no maintenance!). Our front bed has “rose campions” which are a regional flower that reseeds itself every year, so you never quite know where it will pop up. With small bright fushia flowers against a tall silvery green stem, it’s beautiful. I’ve also filled in spaces with oak leaf hydrangea and some endless summer hydrangeas. LOVE IT. I’m on the hunt for super fragrant flowers for a little courtyard nook between our house and our neighbor’s so this post was on point! (Although I live in TN, so I’m not sure about the lilacs – will need to check it out!)
LOVE your yard! I can imagine sitting out there with a glass of lemonade and a book…We moved to Portland, OR 5 years ago and one of my favorite things has been planting all kinds of flowers and herbs. We had a pretty blank slate (grass and one tree) and are blessed to live in an area surrounded by nurseries and flower farms (roses, peonies, dahlias, lilacs, etc.) I never considered myself a “rose person” but how can you not have roses living in the Rose City, right? So now we have 4 heavenly smelling roses that bloom their brains out all summer long – what a joy! Thanks for sharing pics of your lovely yard :)
Thank you, Dawn! Being from Portland myself I know exactly what you mean, you must have roses! ENJOY!
We just bought a house last October, and the only things we were left by the previous owner were some oddly placed but still beautiful irises, and a badly neglected rose bush (half of it is falling down). It is a fixer upper and we are enjoying fixing up the actual house, but landscaping is not my forte (yet!) and I’m really eager to learn more. I would LOVE hydrangea and azaleas and peonies, but we will be starting from scratch. Totally jealous of your garden space! Maybe one day we’ll get there!
I have two miniature lilac bushes – Miss Mini and Boomerang which is a repeat bloomer. I would love a mature lilac bush with those big, luscious blooms but it’s a small yard so I make do. I did recently receive some cut lilac blossoms. I found that by cutting the stem in half at the bottom, it absorb more water and lasted longer. I love your white lilac. Perfection!
I moved from Michigan to Florida, it was fun to have flowering bushes and exotic plants, but I missed my lilacs. After thirteen years there, I was able to move back to Michigan and told my realtor, I couldn’t wait to have soft grass, good dirt and my Lilacs. She gave me a purple lilac bush as a house warming present, I then added two white ones. this year I left to attend my grandson’s graduation and missed my beautiful blooms, sad but there is always next year. :) I did get to see my grandson though.