(Lilac, My Favorite Lilac)

The name Hulda Klager will forever be connected with the breeding of lilacs in the Northwest United States. Bearing deep purple, very double flowers, this cultivar of common lilac was her personal favorite of all her hybrids, and is named accordingly. Opening from grape-like buds, the intensely fragrant blooms cluster at the tips of stout upright branches. This is a robust lilac with a rounded, open form. Densely clad in dark-green, heart-shaped foliage, it makes a fine informal hedge or background...

(Miss Canada Lilac, Preston's Lilac)

This large, deciduous shrub is distinguished by its prolific and beautiful blooms. In late spring to early summer, ‘Miss Canada’ produces many clusters of subtly sweet smelling, deep pink flowers that are rose-red in bud. These bloom later than the common lilac and prefer full sun and well drained, neutral to slightly acidic soil. Be sure to prune them in summer after they flower. Incorporate them into the landscape as feature plants, in mixed borders or as hedges.

(Common Yarrow, Lilac Beauty Yarrow)

‘Lilac Beauty’ softens the summer garden with its pastel plates of tiny, misty lavender flowers. The blossoms hover on slender stems atop low, rhizomatous clumps of fine, ferny foliage from early through midsummer. They are attractive to butterflies, and also make lovely cut flowers. Common yarrow is a carefree, drought-tolerant species native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Easily grown in full to part sun and average, well-drained soil, it spreads enthusiastically and may...

(Joystick Lilac Sea Thrift, Sea Pink, Sea Thrift)

This long-blooming perennial, ‘Joystick Lilac.’ is a bluish-pink flowered selection of a woody or semi-woody species native to the coast of Portugal. The plant is a much-branched clump with lance-shaped green leaves. It blooms in summer with round clusters of small flowers atop leafless upright stems. It is a charming, extravagant show for a small plant and can be prolonged into autumn by deadheading.

In its native region, sea thrift is often found in full sun on very well-drained soil. In wet...

(Astilbe, False Spirea, Younique™ Lilac Astilbe)

Middle-sized and free-flowering, the hybrid astilbe ‘Verslilac’ is an herbaceous perennial grown for its tolerance of shade, dependable bloom, plush spikes of flowers, and toothy, uniform leaves. It blooms in summer at the top of tall, slender upright stems with spikes that have a branching habit a bit like a Christmas tree. Tiny, closely packed, violet flowers clothe the spikes, transforming them into plush, billowing, plumes. One plant may produce several stems, making a dense cloud of bloom above...

(Madagascar Periwinkle, Titan Lilac Vinca, Vinca)

The pretty 'Titan Lilac’ has large rich lilac-pink blooms, a neat mounding habit and flowers profusely. Members of the Titan Series are offered by the Ball Horticultural Company and can easily be grown from seed.

Vinca, or Madagascar periwinkle, is a tropical evergreen shrub that is grown as a tender bedding plant in temperate climates. It is a highly heat and drought tolerant ornamental that blooms continuously and bears showy radial five-petaled lilac-pink blooms throughout the growing season....

(California Lilac, Concha Wild Lilac, Wild Lilac)

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(Santa Barbara Ceanothus, Santa Barbara Mountain Lilac, Tickbush)

Santa Barbara mountain lilac is a fantastic spreading broadleaf evergreen shrub native only to California. It bears prolific dark blue flower clusters in mid to late spring. Leaves are very small, wrinkled and dark green.

Santa Barbara mountain lilac grows nicely in sheltered areas in full sun with fertile, well drained soil. Best practices would include reducing water to the plant in the summer months. Use as a groundcover or slope stabilizer. A few choice cultivars are the compact 'Vandenberg'...

(California Lilac, Joyce Coulter Wild Lilac, Wild Lilac)

Intense cobalt blue color and evergreen compact form make this shrub one of the finest varieties of California lilac for gardens. ‘Concha’ may indeed be the most heavily flowered hybrids. It was discovered among seedlings of coastal Santa Barbara lilac, Ceanothus impressus crossed with Ceanothus papillosus var. roweanus. Wider than it is tall, this low branching shrub produces small dark glossy green leaves with a unique wrinkled surface.

‘Concha’ blooms heavily mid to late...

(Ceanothus, Marie Simon Pale Wild Lilac, Pale Wild Lilac)

Dark glossy leaves are found on this small deciduous shrub. The open, loose branch tips are are topped with fluffy barely pale pink flower panicles for many weeks in summer. The flower tubes carry a medium pink hue while the small petals are a very pale pink.

Marie Simon pale wild lilac likes a full sun exposure in a light, well draining soil. It will tolerate warm dry sites. It seems unaffected by and tolerant of summer waterings, which is not typical of most ceanothus. Since flowering occurs...