In late spring and early summer, the Lilac flowers bloom in Airdrie, well not only Airdrie but all over Alberta and Canada in general. This sweet-smelling flower has a special meaning for me as they were in full bloom in Edmonton the day I got married. We didn't have that much money for our wedding and chose to forgo some things like decorations for the church. The father of the bride Gerald is a very resourceful man and noticed that there were a large number of lilacs overhanging the alleyway of the church and had the idea to use them as decor. He took it upon himself to ask the property owners if we could snip some of the flowers to use to decorate the aisle where we would get married. They kindly obliged and we had vibrant violet flowers for our ceremony. It was quite stunning, as was the bride if I do say so myself!
When writing this description I chose to look up the history of this beautiful flower and it surprised me. While being extremely common in these parts, the lilac is not a native plant to Canada. It originates from eastern Europe and parts of Asia. The variety we have today was created at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa and was hybridized to be able to survive our harsh winters. It seems like these flowers have been in the prairies forever but they only were introduced to this land in the 20th century. The testament to the popularity of Lilacs can be seen in Nose Creek Park as many are planted there. This cache resides right in the middle of a lilac bush!
Congrats to YYCDadPlus3NgBoys for the FTF!