lilac time!

Gosh, yours are well ahead. Bluebells are well out in my garden and my fritillaries have been best ever, having been underwater for weeks, but my lilac is nowhere near flowering yet. For white, what about Madame Lemoine? It's double with a really good scent.

Both my ancient lilac trees gave up the ghost a few years ago so I bought a little one last year and it's got flowers - lots. I am so surprised. Very small, only about 3' high and a lovely deep purple. I always used to park the pram under the old trees and it reminds me of my youngest 'baby' gurgling away to herself.

Both my lilacs and bluebells are flowering away merrily, they are a joy to behold!

Oh how I wish I had a lilac!

I'm in the north west. The bluebells appeared a couple of days ago. My lilac tree is no where near blooming - I shall feed it tomorrow!

I've got hundreds of bluebells out in my front garden that came out a fortnight ago, much earlier than other years. There's a white lilac tucked away in the wrong place that needs to go in the slight shade. It's flowering, but not abundantly. I love lilacs, of any colour.

Bluebells are taking over my garden, but they're Spanish bluebells, not the more delicate English ones. How can I get rid of them? The bulbs lie very deep down and are hard to dig out. I've tried weedkiller, but they seem to thrive on it!

Lilac, bluebells, tulips, cherry blossom, choisya all out. Hawthorn in bud ready to pop. Summer curtains put up today.

You have 'summer' curtains, Aka...?

My mother used to change ours! Velvet in the winter and floral cotton in the summer and lots of huffing and puffing as ours were all huge and floor-length.

Yes, lilacs. I love them and have several, but DBH is threatening to get rid of one because it sends suckers into his bed of black plants, and my neighbour is doing his best to kill another. He puts weedkiller on the suckers on his side, and it stops the tree from flowering or coming into leaf at the back against the fence. It does look very odd, but I'm not going to cut it down. It was there long before he was.

I have a beautiful little miniature lilac in a pot too. It's only 2' high.

I have a big vase full of bluebells on my mantelpiece.

Roses

So much pleasure looking out today at the lilacs and eventually going outside to plant up hanging baskets. The smell was so fragrant throughout the day.

I have got carried away I know but I have planted hanging baskets and will take my chances. The garden is quite ridiculous at the moment with last years geraniums in bloom and nemisia and petunias showing good growth.

What has surprised me is the fact I live in the Midlands not south of the country. Jack Frost might 'nab me' but I will take my chances.

Doesn't everyone Ana?

I have a large old lilac tree in my garden that is only just beginning to bud, long way off for flowering I think. As for bluebells they are only just poking their greenery through the ground, they probably wont flower until late May. Its amazing how far behind we are here in the north of Scotland. My daffodils are still blooming although I noticed a few were beginning to wilt slightly yesterday.

I gave up changing the curtains years ago. Always glad to be able to pull the heavy ones when watching tv.

My lilac tree uprooted when we had heavy snow a couple of years back. (it was on a slope) Must get another one and find a better place for it.

Thistle - here in the north west of England the bluebells are much earlier than they have been in the last couple of years. The hawthorn is also earlier, but the lilacs are way behind. My tree has been glorious the last couple of years, but currently barely a bud in sight. this thread has prompted me to think about putting awhile lilac tree in the back garden

whoops, a white lilac tree

icyalittle thanks for the white lilac that you mention, I will look it up.
The South of England is always going to be ahead [blooming wise] with the garden, but this year all looks so amazing, we are in a dry bit of the country here, and our usual problem is all the watering that has to be done but of course this year, water has been in abundance [raining heavily here today as I write] and all the shrubs/plants/trees seem to be loving it.It's sandy free draining soil, so won't be waterlogged.The only downside to lilacs is that pigeons love the young leaves, when it has finished flowering, and new growth is put on , that's the moment that they strike and can do so much damage you wouldn't believe it! Thankfully the red kites seem to be picking them off in the last couple of years we haven't had as many. We generally hang shiny cd's in the lilacs for a while, the pigeons don't like them.
I like the Spanish bluebells as they are stronger and more vigorous than our native type.The smell of lilacs in the sun after rain is the most wonderful scent ever.Closely followed by roses and honeysuckle .

I didn't realise white lilacs were unusual, that is the colour of mine !

Not quite in flower up in t'mountains yet. We have 3 'bog' standard lilacs here, two we pruned very heavily after flowering last year, and one we will prune this year. I do miss the maginificent specimens we had in our UK garden, 1 double white, 1 deep mauve, and 1 deep purple. I think will purchase a double white when I go to garden centre this week-end.

I've just checked, and the tiny blooms are starting to show. What a relief. It is raining buckets here right now, I keep telling myself "it's good for the garden, especially the trees"

Everone should have at least one lilac in the garden. There are ones that get huge and ones that stay manageable. I know the flowers don't last all that long, but all the more glorious for that really. The heart shaped leaves are rather nice anyway.A jug of lilac blooms indoors is wonderful.

Ooh, no! Supposed to be unlucky (so I've heard)

mere superstition Ana though the lilac may consider itself unlucky I suppose.