Lilac shrub

Hello KatTai

I love lilac and have it in my garden for the scent but also because it was in our garden as a child. The flowers can be a good source of pollen for insects with a long proboscis but I suppose most people would regard hawthorn as a much more wildlife friendly plant. Hawthorn is gorgeous I think and also has a lovely scent. I suppose it comes down to personal taste in the end.

Decisions, decisions....:-))

I

Hi Kat,

I have two lilacs in my garden which I too love for their scent but they are trees not hedges.  I am not sure if you can hedge with lilac so I'll leave that to the horticulturally minded on here to confirm but I have seen in a friend's garden a small version of lilac and that certainly was more bush than tree so maybe that would be an option. 

What I would say though that the birds in my garden love the lilac trees to perch in, particularly as they are near the feeding station!  The tits always seem to be poking about up there looking for grubs and all sorts of birds sit up top as it is a good vantage point.  OH wants to prune the larger of the two but I don't want to lose the branches which the birds favour so we are at an impasse! 

We also have a hawthorn tree which the birds use in the same way as the lilacs so I guess they would be happy either way. 

Have fun choosing and I look forward to seeing the results in due course.

Best wishes,

SB.

Don't think lilac would be a good hedging plant but insects seemed to like the one in my parents' garden - it also flowers at a different time to buddleia, so maybe one or two of each would be worth planting either among the hedging or in their own right. Make sure you get a lilac that is well scented to attract the insects!

You need to read the label of the Lilac to see how big it will grow.  Most will grow to 12 feet plus but there are some which only grow to about 4 feet.

Buddleia “Buzz” is a new dwarf Buddleia which would be ideal for a pot. It has been bred by Thompson and Morgan so I don’t know if you can get them from a GS yet, you might have to buy one online.

I have both Buddleia and Lilac. I prefer the Lilac because it’s a prettier looking tree/shrub. The wildlife like both but the Buddleia does flower for a lot longer and it is in full flower when most of the butterflies are about.

Hi

Lilac is a great shrub/tree but not a good hedge

one of my neighbors has a lilac hedge & as it has to be cut & kept in shape

they have had to trim off all the flowerjng  growth so they have

now got a nice green hedge with no flowers

              Val

Perhaps I should have said it isn't going to be a hedge-hedge, more like a few shrubs planted along the fence lol  I have blackcurrent and a redcurrent that seems to be a blackcurrent that are going to be planted (they've been in a pot on the patio but have outgrown it).  They're not looking very hedgy at the moment though so I think I need to trim the branches back or something.

Lilac comes as a tree and a shrub, the shurbs can be used as hedging but not the neatly kept kind with straight sides and top because I found it through looking at different hedging plants lol  The only thing is they need "care" as the dead flowers need removing before they seed to keep the flowers coming *sigh* (I'm a lazy gardener lol)

Should really identify the other shrub that is in the garden as that attracts quite a lot of insects, I plan to have the lilac next to it, its quite a big busy shrub.

I spotted the patio budleia on the Thompson & Morgan site!  I was thinking I could plant one and have two on the patio since that is looking rather bare at the moment.

Oh, and the hawthorn will probably be planted regardless it isn't as case of one or the other to be honest and both myself and the OH like hawthorn!

The J Parkers site (http://www.jparkers.co.uk/) is very good for plant information, and every plant is pictured clearly.  I always use it when looking for details about plants, just as a guide.

Though if you order from them, beware that the plants are supplied as very small, young plants (ie modules, plug plants, bare root, etc) or as bulbs, unless otherwise stated (ie in a 2 litre pot). 

I have also found that they quite often send either the wrong colour of plant, or the wrong plant altogether!  Just don't expect to receive mature plants, as illustrated!

Hi KatTai

I've just bought an American Lilac shrub (Ceanothus). The flowers are an amazing vivid blue - you always notice them if you drive past someone's garden with one in. They grow quite big and are very beautiful. Ours is still quite small, but I have seen butterfies around it already.

We also have a Hawthorn hedge round the garden which is always full of birds and nests.

Let us know how you get on with your project!

Cheers

Pipit

Ceanothus are lovely, but can be fussy aboout soil type, so always check this before buying (I know this the hard way - mine died!)