It’s much earlier than usual for the second blooming of our Korean lilac, but everything has been early this year. Good gardeners feel the shift and know that climate change is real and happening right now. The reblooming of the Korean lilac is not a guaranteed event, though in the past several years it has produced at least one or two bloom clusters later in the summer. Often it comes when the nights cool down nearer the end of the season, when conditions mirror the late spring atmosphere of their first blooming period. One of the happier tricks of the garden.
This is actually a rather robust collection of blooms for a reprise, and their perfume has brought back the earlier flush of spring, while reminding of how far along we already are in this summer. Time plays its tricks like the garden hides its scented secrets.
In a way, these little blooms remind me that there’s always a chance to start over again, to find another season of flowers even if it’s a little different than what’s expected. They’re also a little gift, a reprieve before the sadness of summer returns.
