Sugar Flower Research: Descanso Garden Lilacs

An unusual variety of bright purple lilac with white-edged blooms.

I didn't grow up with lilacs. My childhood sense-memory of these beauties was trained by cheap lilac soaps from the local grocery store and perfumes from Avon. So on my visit to Descanso Gardens in Montrose yesterday, I was overwhelmed by the beauty and variations on the looks and scents of these April/May stunners.

Click for a larger image of this blue-purple beauty.

Looking up through a deep purple lilac tree.

I think these deep purple lilacs mixed with the pale lavender ones at the end of this post are my favorite look. Contrast of two or more colors, even if they're close to each other, seems to energize the whole look of an arrangement or cake for me. That also applies to flavors -- I wouldn't do a chocolate cake with chocolate icing: Your palate will numb to the flavor too fast. Instead, contrast it with mint, coffee, orange, raspberry, or something light like vanilla.

There were so many varieties of lilacs that I wanted to capture some of the most striking and unusual. This lilac is bright pink, and features uncharacteristically tiny flowers (usually each bloom is about the size of a nickel -- these are the size of a pencil eraser).

A cascade of pale lavender lilacs.

Today the focus was lilacs. In my next post we'll have the rest of the flowers: Poppies (the opium variety with extraordinary blossoms), tulips, bearded irises in impossible colors, and more. There is just too much beauty to post it all here. I need to give you a breather.

Have a great weekend!