Lilac Time

Day 190: With almost all sunlight blocked by an enormous branch of the big Doug fir at the end of my carport, my lilac had gone leggy and seldom produced more than a few weak blooms. I'd read in a gardening book that lilacs could be brought back to their former vigour by drastic pruning, but the article also counselled patience, saying that it would take at least four years for a plant to "bush out" again. I enlisted a neighbour's help to shorten the fir branch, and then with some trepidation, hacked the lilac back to a two-foot high stump. That was about ten years ago, and for at least the first two years, I considered digging it out and starting over in a new location. I resisted the temptation, and at last my patience has been rewarded. The lilac has thirteen lovely lavender flower clusters this year. That said, I will never prune it again!