‘Tis the season! I walked out my home office door and was greeted by a sweet perfume. The familiar aroma of blossoms on the old, large lilac bush, now as large as a tree. It is heavily laden with flower clusters, the branches arching down from the weight. The heat of the day releases fragrance all around.
Every year—without fail, as soon as the lilacs bloom, I am transported- the memory power behind the sense of smell will do that. I think the memories are more intense for lilacs because we cannot have them at any other time of year. Once the blooms fade, the scent is gone.
For centuries, perfumers and alchemists have tried to capture and bottle the essence. I once purchased a Lilac perfume that reminded me of the scent, and I loved it, but all too soon, the chemical smell of the artificial ingredients took over as it interacted with my skin. It’s just not the same as the garden air on an early summer day. No known lilac essential oil exists because lilac cannot be distilled like other flowers. There are very few oil glands in the petals- which seems contrary to how intense the fragrance can be. But alas, the oils made up of chemical compounds are very delicate. Steam distillation and solvents destroy some of the oils that make up the aroma, so no oil or perfume can be attributed to the actual essential oil of Lilac (Syringa sp.)
Perhaps that is why we treasure every moment of the fragrance when the lilacs bloom; we know it will soon be gone.
The Herb Lover's Garden 