Thanks C.

The first year I gardened in the Fenway, my friend C. gave me this lilac. C. has no personal interest in gardening. He claims to have a black thumb and kill all plants with the exception of the orchids he has in his condo. He does however seem to enjoy seeing what I get up to and willingly trots me around to garden centers to buy plant, peat moss, fertilizer and being a true friend even lets me haul bags of cow manure in his car.

The lilac was all of 12 inches high and most closely resembled a twig when I planted it 5 years ago. Lilac takes a few years to mature to bloom, so there were a few years where is was a foliage shrub. Last year it bloomed for the first time and this year it is really lovely. It is a syringa arnoldia from the arboretum and unlike the Persian lilacs one sees most often is a looser form and somehow more airy looking. At this very moment it is easing the pain of weeding by wafting a heady perfume through the garden. A gift that keeps on giving.