After my husband and I bought our first home, one of the first things I did was plant a lilac bush on the southwest corner of our house, right outside our bedroom window. When it came into bloom, I would lie in bed and smell the heavenly fragrance. When we looked at our second home, I was pleased to notice a large bush in the backyard and a smaller one on the east side of the house that I could see and smell from our prospective bedroom. I later planted a third, and all three miraculously survived our fire.Last April a writer I know was leaving for a conference and bemoaned on Facebook that her lilac was just blooming and would finish before her return. I knew she was coming to a conference in my town several weeks after that and thought it just might line up with our bloom time. I didn't know her all that well but impulsively promised to bring her some because the thought of someone missing lilacs altogether was an unthinkable thought. The night before the conference, my lilacs were at their peak, and I dropped off a beautiful bouquet at her hotel.In Michigan spring can be so capricious. You never know what you're going to get weather wise in April, but by early to mid-May, when the lilacs are blooming, you can be assured it's finally spring. Ironically, the hard winters and long dormancy provide what lilacs need. It's commonly thought that lilacs can't survive in warmer climates because of the heat, but it's the prolonged heat in combination with a mild winter. I was happy to learn there are now a few varieties known as "Southern bloomers" (though many of them were developed in California) that do quite well in warmer climates.