the times Saturday April 9 202216
W
e’ve already had
some wonderful
spring blossom
this year, with the
warm weather in
March bringing
out a combined
crescendo in a fine seasonal celebration.
Some gardens go through a short lull now.
It’s way too early for tender annuals to go
outdoors and most perennials are putting
on strong foliage growth before flowering,
so it’s the early-flowering shrubs, wood-
landers and spring bulbs that are the ones
doing the business.
Lilacs are well worth considering to link
spring and summer. They are undeniably
fleeting, but a visual and fragrant delight
for about a couple of weeks and not every
Syringa vulgaris
copes with
extremes of
temperatures
and lives for
about 100 years
veloping many more compact varieties for
the smaller garden that will also do well in
a large container or half barrel (use a peat-
free, loam-based compost).
I prefer the more simple flowers that dis-
play plenty of depth and colour (bud,Outside
Lovely lilacs! Fill
your garden with
spring scent
They are easy to grow, provide a
burst of colour and there is a size
for every garden, says Joe Swift
plant you grow has to deliver for months
on end. With lilacs, it’s the short, intense
season that makes them so special. They
are still hugely popular garden plants and
a traditional cottage garden has to have at
least one.The easiest lilacs to grow
The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris (native
to the Balkan peninsula) is tough, coping
well with extremes of temperatures and
lives for about 100 years. They are easy to
grow and not fussy about soil (avoid strong
acidic) and cope with pollution so thrive in
town and city front gardens too.
Their popularity has led to many thou-
sands of cultivars being available world-
wide and even a fraction of that number
found in the UK can make for a bafflingchoice. A sensible approach is to consider
its ultimate size first. The largest grow to
about 4m tall and 3m in spread (the ideal
size for creating privacy in a part of the gar-
den when in leaf in summer) and over
recent years breeders have focused on de-Syringa standards (S. x microphylla ‘Superba’) planted with alliums