Pictured above and below is Syringa x chinensis 'Lilac Sunday' which is named to commemorate Arnold Aboretum's annual event by the same name. Lilacs are singled out for their own special day each year for what has become a Boston tradition. This particular cultivar can reach 12 x 12 feet and is especially beautiful due to blooms from lateral buds and well as branch tips making it a fountain of color each season. This has become one of my favorite lilacs.
I used to have many more lilacs in the gardens than I now have. It's not that I lost interest, but rather, many lilacs can get extremely large over time. Additionally, they prefer full sun in order to bloom as they should. I simply don't have the space for all the lilacs I would like to have. With the exception of a couple specimens, I have banished all except the mixed lilac hedge on the west border of the gardens, seen from two different viewpoints below.
I first became aware of the amazing variety of lilacs almost 40 years ago in the garden of another of my mentors, Marjean and her husband John. Walking around the corner of their home one spring, I came face to face with the most beautiful dark purple lilac I had ever seen. Until that point, I had only been familiar with the common lilac and hadn't experienced the depth of color and form that lilacs are capable of... it wasn't long before I started planting a variety of French lilac cultivars. Years later I have been forced to remove perhaps twenty or more of these amazing shrubs simply for lack of space. I do miss them.
Pictured below is the only picoteed lilac bloom with which I am familiar... it is called Sensation.
A favorite combination in my garden is this lilac paired with the Snowdrift crab to the rear.
The darkest lilac in my collection now is Syringa vulgaris 'Andenken an Ludwig Spaethe'. This plant was cut to the ground four years ago... while not the approved method of rejuvenation, it works for me as I don't mind being without the blooms for a couple of years. Of course, the preferred method is a three stage cutback over the period of three years, which assures you of some bloom each season. Three years ago, this area included three large shrubs of Ludwig, a huge clump of President Grevy which is a blue and one of the sweetest scented lilacs I have come across, as well as a couple other varieties. It took a back-hoe to clear the area. I did have a major problem with suckering on the President Grevy and I could barely keep up with that situation, which was the reason I first decided to make a change. Perhaps one of Ludwig Spaethe's best attributes is that it shows well from a distance.
Also very high on my favorites list is Syringa vulgaris 'Krasavitsa Moskvy', also known by Beauty of Moscow. I especially appreciate the buds and the color contrast that occur in these blooms. Beauty of Moscow is pictured below.
I had to remove two of my Agincourt Beauty when I built our little barn. I am not aware of any other cultivars that have such large florets, so I am looking for a replacement... actually now that I think of it, I may have one growing in deep shade! Need to check that out...
That's pretty much what I have to say on the subject of lilacs, other than to be sure to give them a good neutral to alkaline soil... enough talk... here's the rest of the show... it should be patently obvious that we prefer the darker richer colors in lilacs... ever since that day at Marjean's! Oh... and by the way, not all lilacs hold up equally when cut for the house... one of these years we're going to actually write down the ones that work well as we never do remember!
Take care, Larry
And in closing... my Canadian Tree Lilac...
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