This Miss Kim lilac is about 4 or 5 years old. I picked it up at a Kroger and left it in its 3 gallon pot for the first year. The following spring it went into this half barrel and has lived on the back porch ever since. Last year the flowers were all but killed off by the hard freeze we had in April. As with pretty much everything else this season, the blooms are better than they have ever been. Yesterday morning we drug the dolly out of the basement and moved Kim to the front yard near the door. I love the fragrance and you can smell it from about 10-15 feet away as you are entering the house.

Today is our garden shindig at work. Eric and I are giving short talks, on roses and pruning (Eric), and herbs (me). I loaded up the truck last night as it is supposed to rain on and off today. I am hoping to pick up some stevia and dill on the way in this morning. Perhaps I can find home for all of the blackberry plants I loaded up last night. I would really like to lose or plant most of the containers on the back patio. They end up taking more water than I want to fool with by August.

Speaking of water… On Saturday (a day after I put the new water pump in but before the brakes went out on Sunday) I picked up another $7.50 60 gallon black barrel from the local farm supply store. It previously held what appears to be peas. I decided not to put a faucet or overflow in this one. I am only using it as a backup and I will keep a short piece of hose available to siphon the water out into 5 gallon buckets as needed. It won’t take much more work that way and I will end up with a solid barrel should I ever need one. The way the down spout is situated it is easy to move it to the new barrel once the existing barrel fills. I put it up on several layers of bricks that I had laying around to ease the siphoning. Currently is is filled and undergoing the ‘leak test’.