Lilac Legacy
Submitted by High Altitude Gardening Blog
Devote 3 years to establishing Lilacs and they’ll outlive your great, great grandchildren.
Been running around like that proverbial farm animal with her head lopped off.
Test driving horses, hardening off the seedlings, making up all sorts of excuses not to do any weeding.
Sweet reason to keep a fragrant bouquet of Lilacs by your bedside: Cutting off ALL the blossoms EVERY year improves next year’s flower production.
I’m quite delighted that is finally and officially Memorial weekend.
While Mother Nature undoubtedly has another trick up her sleeve, I can start digging in the dirt and celebrating this most wonderful time of year.
When everything is a distinct possibility.
Passion can only take you so far. At some point, the giddy excitement that comes with big landscaping ideas must turn into the harsh reality of back-breaking labor.
And, THAT is why neighbors were invented.
You see, I happen to own a very big rototiller and it works a lot like a ‘Free Beer!’ sign. All I have to do is park that magic machine in the yard and some unsuspecting neighbor says, Hey! What are you doing? Need some help?
Too tall? Prune them back. Removing the oldest stems ~ down to ground level ~ encourages new stem growth and more flowers blooming at optimum (i.e nose) level.
Because hard work hardly ever wears me out. Provided I’ve suckered someone else into doing most of that manual labor. 
* Here’s a list of Lilacs for mountain gardens.
