Lilacs Doomed, Lupines Bloom
I spent some time in the garden yesterday — another unbelievably gorgeous day — snipping all the dead blossoms off the lilacs. They were pretty spectacular this year, so that was a job. But, as sad as I was to see them go, I was happy to see the lupines in bloom...
I didn't get the bumper crop I got last year. The pink ones didn't come back. But I've got a couple of nice, big purple ones going great guns. The bumble bees were going to town on them yesterday...
Lupines may not seem the most discreet of flowers, but the little blossoms open up for the whom they please...
...and zip up for the rest...
I tried not to take it too personal. (I didn't want your old pollen anyway, biyotch.)
Siberian irises are also popping out...
As are the orange poppies...
I can get my pollen where I'm appreciated.
I was acquainted, albeit distantly, with you by means of Mia K. at Collins.
I have been following the garden bits on your blog, as we have a surprisingly extensive garden for the inner city; what has become a minor obsession. A swathe of Eden forgotten in the middle of the Pentapolis.
I have a question about the lilac... I have a few Miss Kim Lilacs (Lil' Kim 'round here) that are begrudgingly blooming now, after a November-like spring in Chicago. I am at odds with how to handle spent blooms. I am loathe to deadhead -- who am I deform the plants? -- but you mention snipping off the dead blooms on your lilac. Does this promote increased blooms next season? Do you only snip the blooms, or do you do more extensive pruning?
Vita Sackville-West advises brutal pruning... but she had her own issues. Your advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
- Robie
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Hi Robie!
There seem to be a couple of issues here. One is, what would you like the lilac to do for you? And the other is what would the lilac like you to do for it? Happily, pruning is something you can both agree on!
Lilacs do respond well to pruning, even “brutal pruning” although there’s no need to be brutal about it. Some more fussy gardeners will tell you that there is an “ideal shape” for a lilac bush, and that may be, but I’ve disguised mine as little shade trees, and they don’t seem to know the difference.
But here again, if someone wanted to reshape them into "ideal lilac bushes" over the course of a couple of seasons, it wouldn’t be too much trouble. Fact is, lilacs are very hardy and very vigorous, and won’t have any trouble coming right back after a good pruning. The way they react, you might even say they “like” it.
If you want your lilac to bloom, you should know that it will put out more blooms next year if you snip off the blooms soon after they fade this year. You want to do your additional pruning now, as well.
People have a lot of different ideas about what gardening is, which is part of what makes community gardens so interesting. But I think most people agree that the gardener plays an active role in the equation, no matter what his or her vision of a garden is. Even more naturalistic gardens are very actively maintained.
I make this point because in reference to deadheading you ask “who am I to deform the plant?” Don’t forget that most, if not all, of the species in your garden have been manipulated over generations. Agriculture and gardening -- neither is wholly "natural," is it? Even organic produce is not just found lying around. All of the species you encounter in your garden have a history inseperable from humankind's.
My theory is you can tell when your plants are "happy". They'll let you know. Listen and respond, and you can't go wrong!
Mike
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Mike:
Thanks. Well put.
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