I am delighted to have called Western Washington my home most of my 72 years.

I’m especially thankful for this area’s four distinct seasons, each offering much to enjoy primarily during those particular times of year.

Admittedly, at times there are less than pleasant seasonal features. But I’m willing to experience them too for the privilege of living where it really does not always rain, and the sun shines more than it’s given credit for.

Washingtonians on this side of the Cascades occasionally encounter some fierce weather, including wind, rain and/or snow storms. But we’re also treated to the blessings of plenty of moisture to keep the area green (at least most of the year) and our rivers flowing, along with sufficient sunshine to provide us with at least some vitamin D, along with the cheerfulness that helps makes life good.

Spring, for example, is a magnificent time to celebrate Easter. The holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is filled with reminders that no matter how dark and desperate the world can seem, there is always reason for hope.

I like the way English author and naturalist, Henry Williamson, expressed it. “Music,” he said, “comes from an icicle as it melts to live again as spring water.”

I’m especially excited as I check often to see what’s poking its head up in my flower beds. I was elated, too, when I discovered that my special lilac bush, a previous Mother’s Day gift about six years ago from my daughter, Carolyn, now has so many blossoms that I’m having trouble counting them all. It wasn’t always that way.

My lilac, “Frank,” was developed by Hulda Klager, who immigrated as a child from Germany in 1865, later marrying a man named Frank Klager. Her love for flowers eventually led her to become an expert in hybridizing lilacs, creating so many varieties at her home in Woodland that I wouldn’t be surprised if no one’s been able to count them all. Named after Hulda’s husband, my Frank is one of those varieties.

Sometime after 96-year-old Hulda, by then a widow, died in 1960, the estate became a state and national historic site, through the efforts of the Woodland Federation Garden Club.

I often passed the sign on Interstate 5 noting the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens on my way to visit Carolyn in Vancouver, Washington, during the three years she studied there for her master’s degree. Later, we decided to check out the gardens.

A half-hour this side of Portland, the gardens are truly breathtaking. Visitors also can tour Hulda’s beautiful Victorian home and more. Visitors are welcome yearround — information is available at tinyurl.com/HuldaKlagerGarden, which also includes a history and much more.

The gardens are open for Lilac Days three weeks every spring, culminating on Mother’s Day, this year April 20 to May 12. You never know, since visitors are invited to purchase lilacs during that time, others might receive a gorgeous memento from a family member like the one Carolyn presented to me.

Still in a pot then, Frank had a dark purple bloom or two. After studying how to plant him, I gave him his first home outside my dining room window. Learning later I was going to move the following October, though, I wasn’t about to leave Frank behind. I didn’t know if he’d survive another transplant so soon, but as I dug around his roots I tried to get all the good stuff, such as lime, with which I’d enriched his soil.

At my new home, I carefully replanted Frank, this time outside my bedroom window, then mulched him and hoped for the best. Though he didn’t bloom the following spring, he did survive. Several years later, I was ecstatic to see 11 tiny blossoms on the tips of his branches. His fragrance is mild but as lovely as any perfume I’ve ever smelled.

Frank is now way taller than I am (which admittedly isn’t very tall); his top branches reach my home’s roof, so I’ll probably need to research how to prune him this year.

Besides Frank, though, there are lots of other growing things spreading their beauty around. I’m not surprised – there’s no shortage of that in God’s creation. Even if we have to wait a while to see it.

Vidette columnist Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin can be reached at rhoda1946@yahoo.com.