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The second half of April brings two joyous events: swallows arrive for the summer and lilacs begin to flower — their fragrance and pastel colours make them deeply romantic.
Being hardy and unfussy, they are among our most loved garden shrubs.
But before we go overboard on its virtues, let's run through the shortcomings. Lilac blossom is shortlived — three weeks if you're lucky. And for 11 months each year, the bushes are hardly conversation- stoppers.
Purple power: Lilac is in bloom now, so plant one for a profusion of bright spring colour
The leaves have little autumn value and there are no berries or pretty seed heads. Bear this in mind if you have a small garden where every plant matters.
Lilacs also have an identity crisis — they can't decide whether to be trees or shrubs. Left unmanaged, they develop into large, sprawling thickets. But if pruned and disciplined, they can become modest-sized trees.
Bare-rooted shrubs can't be planted until autumn, but you can buy containerised plants whenever you like and put them in straight away. And if you buy now, you can enjoy this year's beautiful blossoms.
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ShareThere are a hundred varieties to choose from, but it's difficult to know how each will develop when you view them on sale as plants in pots.
So get out and about now to see as many mature lilacs as you can find. Parks and big gardens often have them in spades.
MINIATURE MARVELS
For small gardens, you'll probably want a single specimen, perhaps grown as a small tree.
Varieties of Syringa x hyacinthiflora do not grow as tall as common lilac, but have bigger, fuller blossoms. Try gentle lilacmauve Esther Staley or the slightly pinker Maiden's Blush. Common lilac S. vulgaris grows big and may produce suckers. If you want to achieve a tree shape, remove those and gradually trim away lower branches to develop a trunk.
Better still, retain three or five main stems for a multi-trunked effect. Don't have even numbers, though. Twos or fours never look quite right and the disjointed symmetry will drive you mad.
Korean lilacs are perfect for small spaces. Seldom more than 2m high, Miss Kim is the prettiest, having dark buds opening to fragrant lavender-pink panicles, or flower spikes.
Miss Kim would thrive in a big container, as would the smallest lilac, Syringa meyeri Palibin. It's richly fragrant, but the panicles are a washed-out pink.
GLORIOUS BACKDROPS
Lilacs work brilliantly as large informal screens. The blossom looks glorious from afar and will fragrance an entire garden.
They also attract the beautiful holly blue butterfly.
If you have room for several plants, include at least one good white plus a contrasting mix of dark and pale hues.
The best and most long-lasting white is the double-flowered Madame Lemoine — a beauty for mixing with sumptuous bluishmauve Katherine Havemeyer. You can extend your colour range with red-purple Souvenir de Louis Spath or the magenta double-flowered Charles Joly.
If there isn't space for more than one big lilac, choose a variety that will dazzle viewed up close and at a distance.
The deep purple blossoms of Syringa Sensation, have startling white margins, which is unique to lilacs.
My favourite, Firmament, bears huge panicles of single flowers in warm violet with a dab of pearly blue-grey — just like an April storm cloud.
Lilacs are remarkably easy to please. They're not fussy about soil types, given reasonable drainage, and are tough enough for the hardest of winters.
If you sprinkle bone meal into the planting hole, they'll need no further feeding. But water newly planted shrubs regularly during their first summer.
And be cautious about suckers. Some varieties are grafted on to wild lilac rootstocks or even to privet, to which it is closely related. So if odd-looking shoots sprout from the base of your plant, remove them immediately.
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