UP THE GARDEN PATH
Louise takes a look at one of the lesser stars of the garden
If I had to choose my absolute favourite month, I would probably say, it’s right now, which at the time of writing is May. The reason for this is the amazing abundance of colour, which seems to have just exploded onto the scene. I’ve been out and about a lot, and the plant world is certainly putting on one heck of a show. Maybe it’s because we’ve had what felt like some exceedingly dull months earlier in the year, and then BAM! We’ve abruptly gone in to spring over-drive, lots of sunshine, hardly any rain, suddenly every tree, shrub and plant has burst into its full-on summer splendour in a matter of weeks.
It’s pretty distracting, as I’m always on the look out for striking or unusual plants, I’ve had many ‘wow’ moments, courtesy of wisterias, clematis and… at this point I could go on with a long list of richly colourful, look-at-me lovelies, but that could get tedious, I’m sure you get the picture. Anyway, amongst this dazzling tableau of showyoffy plants, there’s one that’s quite understated, one that bobs along in the background, which has a calm classiness and has quietly murmured to me, ‘don’t forget me, I’m rather gorgeous too’.
It’s the effortlessly elegant Lilac, or if you’d like the Latin name, Syringa vulgaris. These lovely shrubs, or sometimes a small tree, are part of the olive family (Oleaceae), which I had no idea of until I did some research. They flower from April through to early summer, with tubular panicles made up of many tiny, delicate single flowers with four petals, or sometimes double flowers. Colours range from pure white to purple, with some dark-red purples and lighter pinks as well, and they have an unforgettable and distinctive fragrance, which makes them ideal for the garden. The leaves are smooth, heart shaped and uniformly green, which adds to the gracefulness of the overall appearance.
Lilacs tick many boxes being easy to grow and low maintenance. They like sunny positions and well drained soil. There are many different varieties to choose from, so I’d suggest checking out the description, so you can make sure you pick smaller more compact ones for gardens where space is at a premium, or growing in containers, and the taller specimens for borders.
I’ve picked one of each colour to show you; a white one, a classic Lilac shade (pale purple), a darker red-purple and one wild card, called ‘Sensation’. You’ll see from the photo why it’s called that, as after all I’ve said about Lilacs being rather understated, pure and elegant, it’s quite striking and dare I say, a bit risqué. Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’ has purple-red flowers with white trim around the edges! Steady on now.
The white one I’ve photographed, I think is Syringa vulgaris ‘Primrose’. If I had to have a slight criticism of the whites, it’s that the flowers can tend to degrade a bit quicker than the other colours and show the occasional bit of brown, or maybe it’s just more noticeable because they’re white?
The classic lilac coloured one I’ve chosen, is I think called Syringa vulgaris ‘Carpe Diem’. It is a soft and subtle pale mauve colour. My final choice is a bit of a mouthful, Syringa vulgaris ‘Andenken an Ludwig Spath’, it has dark, rosy red panicles of flowers, a very handsome specimen.
A final morsel of info about Lilac flowers to finish with. Whilst I’ve been engaged in the process of writing about this lovely plant, I’ve been bugged by a memory of a song from my childhood called Lilac Wine, that was a hit for Elkie Brooks in the late 1970s. I never liked it because as a youngster I couldn’t understand why this lady was moaning about a lost love and even more infuriating why she was getting sozzled on wine made from the lilac tree. It was very puzzling. Years later I have discovered that certain lilac flowers are in fact edible, so wine flavoured from lilac is in fact a thing! Well that’s at least made sense at last, however I’m not suggesting anyone reading this embarks on this without fully researching the subject first.
