Lilac Days and Festivals in the USA and Canada

For two weeks in late May and early June gardens everywhere are a mass of billowy purple, pink, white and wine-colored blooms, filling the air with scent on warm sunny days. Homeowners fill their vases. Pedestrians stop to sniff an overhanging shrub and children carry bouquets to Granny. This is lilac time.

Even though they bloom for a short time, they offer abundance and a pungent welcome for spring. Lilacs are a favorite for gardeners all over the United States, Canada and elsewhere. It’s a great time to visit a botanical garden that specializes in lilacs, go to a lilac festival, or visit a town filled with lilacs.

The Lilac’s Wild Roots

While the species lilac, syringia vulgaris, does grow wild in North America, it isn’t a native shrub. It has it roots in Asia Minor, made its way to Turkey where it was cultivated, on to Austria, then France, and finally the early French settlers who loved the plant so much, brought seedlings with them to the New World. And lilac lovers in the New World are grateful to them for it.

Botanical Gardens in Canada

In Canada, visit the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. It holds the world’s largest collection of lilacs, offering a stunning display and a very pleasant stroll through the Lilac Dell. Visit in late May during the lilac festival.

Also in Canada, is the Montreal Botanical Gardens with close to 1000 cultivars and several species varieties. Visit the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa to see 700 varieties.

Botanical Gardens in the United States

In the northeastern United States visit the Louisa Clark Spencer Lilac Collection in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. There are over 150 cultivars here, including several species varieties. The New Jersey Botanical Garden also has a collection of lilacs. Visit on their special Lilac Weekend.

The Arnold Aboretum in Boston, has a lovely annual May tradition known as Lilac Sunday. Visitors arrive for the lilac tours, the concerts and picnics which is only allowed on this special day.

In Washington State, take a drive out the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens Woodland. These were originally private gardens begun in 1905. They are now open to the public. There are over 90 different varieties here and these gardens are a National Historic Site.

Lilac Festivals and Special Days

In the United States, visit the Highland Park Lilac Festival in Rochester and view the more than 1200 lilacs. This lilac garden was started by Frederick Law Olmsted, the co-designer of Central Park, New York City in the latter half of the 19th century. The Highland Park Lilac Festival has been an annual event for over 100 years.

Enjoy Lilac Day at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University. The grounds are filled with scent and color, drawing huge crowds. Bring a picnic and enjoy a pleasant day amidst the lilacs.

Also in Washington, Spokane has a lilac festival each spring. Lilacs grow en masse throughout the town. They have a Lilac Festival Parade and visitors can enjoy a stroll around the lilac gardens in Manito Park.

Mackinac Island may be the most famous lilac spot in North America. This historic island is a car-free zone on Lake Huron. Bicycles and horse-drawn carriages are the fastest way around the island. Private gardens are pink with lilacs in late May and early June and it’s a popular day trip during Lilac Day and the ten day Lilac Festival.

A Lilac for Every Garden

There are well over 1000 cultivated named varieties of lilacs – a lilac for every garden. Gardeners will find them in a variety of colors, heights, as well as flowering attributes. Some flower a little later, and some a little early. Some are dwarf varieties and others grow like small trees.

If the gardener can make a visit to a botanical garden close to home in May, she will most certainly see lilacs in their full abundant glory, and leave inspired, knowing what varieties she wants to find for her own garden.

References

• International Lilac Society
• Royal Botanical Gardnes