Common Lilac Buds - April 2020

I planted a pair of common lilac shrubs in our yard back in Spring of 2018 on the fence line of the southside of our property.  Back when we lived in Elmhurst, our neighbor Greg had a hedge of lilac that bordered our property that produced some big, fragrant flowers.  Nat always liked them and said that we should be growing some lilac.  Although they weren't called for in our plan, I found a couple of small lilacs at Home Depot and stuck them in the ground.   They were small, but I planted them fairly close together.  And didn't really think much about them since then.

You can see where these are planted in this look at priority area #1.

Last year, they didn't do much.

This year, they're set to be in year three of their cycle:  sleep, creep and leap.  This year could be the leap.

The tips of the very ends of the tallest limbs are in the photo at the top of this post.  They're beautifully tight, two-toned buds of green and purple.

Below, you'll see these two lilacs planted a little too tightly together (on purpose in this instance) in their Winter slumber.  I haven't removed the leaf mulch that surrounds the base of these shrubs nor have I mulched over them quite yet.  The goal will be to have these two grow together to form a dense shrub

Also, note (for the [garden diary]), that both hoses are present and currently above the mulch.  The hose that runs from left to right is the hose for my yard hydrant.  The other one is a soaker hose.  I'll be burying these (again) under the mulch layer this year.