Why I Oughta...

In our old house in Elmhurst, our neighbor to the South had a massive hedge of mature Lilac shrubs.  They provided plenty of screening, but they also threw off a profusion of blooms each Spring.  When we moved, having Lilacs were on Nat's wish list.  Over the years, I've ended up planting four (two 'common' and two 'Nocture' ) and transplanting them, too.   The Common ones went in the ground in 2018 .  The Nocturne variety went in the ground in Summer of 2019 - a year later .    They never bloomed.  Too much shade, I suspected.  In the Spring of 2022, I opted to replace them with something that can tolerate the shade a bit more - and is evergreen .   That meant that I dug-up and moved all four Lilac across the yard to an area that gets more sun.   Their first year (in their new location), the Common Lilacs threw off blooms .  Surprisingly.  That was 2022.  Last year, I don't seem to have posted about th...

Last Spring, I dug out two pairs of Lilac flowering shrubs and moved them from a shady, understory spot along the south fence (under a Walnut tree, too) to the north side fenceline - in a a more open, and sunny location.   The two 'common' Lilac shrubs have responded and are flush with green leaves and new growth at the tips.  These were planted as small, 2 gallon shrubs in 2018 .  And they struggled.  Too much shade.  Too much Walnut (probably).   That's why I moved them out.  I planted them along with some Thujas.  Those...didn't work.  More on losing two of those soon .  But, the Lilacs?  The common ones, at least.  They're seemingly thriving.   They are thickening up and growing.  See below for first a photo of the pair of them and then the new growth on the tips. Would love to see these get over the top of the fence height this growing season.