Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers, even if, from a landscape standpoint, they aren't always at the top of my list. Their colorful and abundant blossoms and sweet fragrance inspire poets to rhapsodize about them—although Whitman's famous poem is not, as many think, an ode to the spring flower but rather an elegy to Abraham Lincoln.
From Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed":
"In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,
With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard, with delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green, A sprig with its flower I break."
Lilacs are one of the better known flowers, but they like a cold winter so most don't do well in the South. "Lilac" means common or French lilac to most people: Syringa vulgaris. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of hybrids and cultivars of common lilac. In addition, there are Persian lilacs, littleleaf lilacs, "Miss Kim" lilacs, and the Japanese tree lilac, Syringa reticulata, which is one of the few lilacs that works further south.
In my own yard, I have several Miss Kim lilacs, which smell wonderful but stay more compact than the tall, leggy common lilacs. If you want the luscious fragrance of Syringa vulgaris, plant low-growing shrubs in front of them to disguise the base of the lilacs, which thins out as the plants age. Don't plant them right up against the house; powdery mildew is a frequent problem when lilacs don't get good air circulation.
Rather than write a tome on how to select and care for lilacs, I'll recommend some books that cover this topic very well.
Lilacs: A Gardener's Encyclopedia
The Homeowner's Complete Tree & Shrub Handbook
Trees and Shrubs for Fragrance
I must admit I have a soft spot for the deep purple lilacs. Do you have a favorite?
Becke Davis is the senior writer for The Landscape Contractor magazine, a member of Garden Writers of America and the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association. She has written well over 1,000 published articles and is the author of five garden-related books in addition to being the moderator of B&N's Mystery book club.
