A few weekends ago I drove up to Minnesota to surprise my mom for her birthday weekend. The surprise was a big success (the look on her face was priceless), and it ended up being a perfect, albeit short, weekend with my family. That Sunday, her actual birthday, we went on the St. Croix Garden Tour. My family generally goes every year, though it has been a while since I was able to join. We saw some beautiful gardens, and it was fun seeing my nephew enjoying it all as well.

This first garden was my favorite from the tour. It was located on a plot of land that used to be a dairy farm, and had massive gardens that sprawled through the woods, and included a perfect little creek, the old dairy barns, and a tennis court tucked in the back. It was stunningly beautiful.

The gardens after that were a bit smaller, but each had their own charm. My family got lots of ideas for their own gardens from the tour, and I kept on dreaming about the home I will have someday.

New posts over the next few weeks may be a bit sporadic, as I get ready to help Scott move to Colorado next week, and then move myself a few weeks after that. I will try to keep things up here, but if it go quiet, trust that I will get caught up again after I am settled in somewhat.

I know, more flowers on the blog. It's spring though, so everything is bursting with life and I can't get enough. I photographed these lilacs that are in Scott's yard with my phone a few weeks ago, and then posted it on Instagram with a story behind it. I decided I needed to also document them with my good camera, and am now getting around to sharing them here, along with the words that went with them.

Lilacs are some of my absolute favorite flowers. Besides being beautiful and smelling amazing, they bring me right back to childhood.
My parents have always had HUGE lilac bushes in our yard for as long as I can remember. So every spring, no matter where you were in our yard, it would smell amazing. With the windows open the scent would even waft into the house, and my mom would cut some stems to fill the house with beautiful purple and that amazing scent as well. Spring for me smells like lilacs.

My elementary school also had a massive grouping of lilac bushes next to the playground. They had been hollowed out in the middle so it acted as a cave of sorts. It was by far my favorite spot to play during those years, and though I don't remember specific stories, I do remember spending nearly all of recess each day inside the lilac cave. It was an absolute highlight from elementary school.

No matter where I am, when I smell lilacs in the spring it instantly makes me a bit nostalgic and more than a bit homesick. It is amazing how something so simple can bring back such strong memories and feelings.

Does anyone else out there have strong memories associated with flowers? Or even with a particular season? I would love to hear your stories as well!

Happy Monday!