THE LILAC ZONE

I feel it important to mention again that I have been so blessed to meet people that share the same affinity for lilacs that I do and have really gone out of their way to help me obtain some of the more rare lilac varieties. This has really spoken to my heart and when the bloom season occurs, I am reminded of two things:

1. the generosity that still exists out there in a culture that seems to focus on the individual more and more every year

2. how fortunate I am to be able to experience (what are in my opinion) some of the most beautiful lilacs in existence, right in my own back yard

These 2 points have really inspired me. While this collection originally was created simply so that my family and I could enjoy the incredible variety of lilac blooms,  the reason for my collection has since transformed into something more serious. I want to be able to do whatever I can to ensure that some of these beautiful creations of God and man continue to exist, by paying it forward and allowing other private collectors, as well as parks and arboretums the opportunity to be able to obtain some of the harder-to-find varieties, like others have been so kind to do for me. Once the lilacs in my collection grow large enough (which will still take quite a few years, especially thanks to the winter of 2015) I plan to pay it forward by enabling arboretums, parks and other collectors like myself to have the same opportunity to enjoy some of the more rare cultivars that exist, in thanks for being fortunate enough to have been the recipient of some incredible acts of kindness and generosity from others. In fact, I am happy to say that I was able to actually do that for the first time during the fall of 2015, when I donated a sucker of 'Silver King' to the International Lilac Society to auction off. I have since donated 5 additional cultivars. Some of these lilacs are far too incredible to allow them to go extinct and as it is, too many of the lilac collections of the past (such as Margaretten Park, Grape Hill Gardens, Falconskeape Gardens, Butternut Hill Farm and LilacLand [in NY]) have disappeared. I would hate to see all of the beautiful workmanship of the lilac hybridizers of the past go the way of the dodo. It would be such a shame! Helping to prevent that is now my mission. I hope that each year I am able to do more and that my mission will be a successful one!