Nature finds a way - sometimes . . .

My MIL gave me a lilac bush last year. It had been in her yard for a few years and now she was moving to a new place, but the bush was a gift from her sister, and so she wanted to give it to someone instead of just leaving it at her old place.

I've grown a lot of plants in my yard over the past 8 years. And almost all of them have been successful. So I just sort of assumed that I'd plant it and it would grow.

But it didn't. The leaves just got drier and drier and they all fell off. Then the branches started to look all brittle. It looked pretty dead.

This fall, my MIL asked me about the lilac bush. I reluctantly told her that I thought that it had died. But I had left it in ground. I figured I'd leave it in until Spring. And maybe, just maybe, it wasn't dead. Maybe it just needed some time to adjust to its new home. It looked pretty dead though.

Spring began. The tulips bloomed. The roses started to grow again. The grass turned green. The birds came back. And yet, the lilac bush was still bare. I had hoped, but it looked like my hope was in vain.

I kept meaning to dig it up. One weekend passed. Then another. And another. And then, one day, I was over by the lilac bush and looked over. And what did I see, but little green leaves!! It was coming back! Then there was more leaves. It was alive.

And what do you think I saw this weekend??? Lilacs! Just a few little blossoms. But they were definitely lilac blossoms.

I had given up on the lilac bush. But there was life still in it. Way down there. Sometimes I give up too soon. And not just on lilac bushes.

Post Script - Things don't always work out for me though - with plants or otherwise. I pruned my hydrangea bushes after the first year. I read after I pruned that you shouldn't prune them. Oops. But it said that the blooms should come back the 2nd year after you prune. This year will be the 3rd year, and it isn't looking promising. SIGH.