Today the sun is shining, the birds are singing & everything is bursting forth with new life. So much beauty everywhere I look. This is the season of hope, magic & beauty to me. An awakening from a long winter slumber. On a day like today, I just feel filled with the magic of Spring! It is the perfect kind of day for a Spring Treat...a blackberry lemonade infused with lilac syrup. OMG!!!! Talk about delicious!!!
Each spring, I sit in my yard to pick countless violet blooms. I then use them to make violet syrup by the jar full to save for the whole year. This spring I discovered that lilacs can be used to make a similar syrup. LIFE CHANGING stuff here!!!!! This is the elixir of the fairies for sure! There are lilac trees here at the Ivy Cottage garden which were heavier with flowers than any year since living here. Instead of just cutting them for bouquets, I harvested the tiny fragrant blossoms for syrup.
It is so easy to do. Just boil 2 cups water with 2 cups sugar. While working up to a boil, pick the greens & stems off about 2 cups of lilac flowers or violets. Wash them well. Take the pot off the stove & add the flowers. Put the lid on & let sit for 24 hours. Use a strainer to drain your flower syrup into a mason jar. Your floral syrup will keep in the fridge for about 2-4 weeks. I make a lot of it so I freeze it in smaller jars to use all year long. My favorite way to use it is to add to fresh squeezed lemonade with a few smashed blackberries. You can also just infuse your water with lilacs or violets. Drizzle the sweet syrup over pancakes or stir into some yogurt. Just be sure you know the plants haven't been sprayed with chemicals.
There is just something so very extraordinary about sipping a fresh lemonade & drinking in the scent & flavor of the lilacs. Pure magic really. It makes me feel like a little girl. Connects me deeply to the maiden that lives on in my heart & soul. Nudges me in the direction of imagination & play. Reminds me that beauty is essential & found in the most simple of things. I hope you take time this spring to slow down long enough to catch a glimpse of a fairy, to put your nose in a bunch of lilac blossoms letting yourself be intoxicated by their fragrance, to make time for play, to be a beauty hunter & to believe anything is possible.
