Lilac Collection
In April and May, the heady perfume of blooming lilacs fills the air and lures visitors to the Louisa Clark Spencer Lilac Collection, just northeast of the Cranford Rose Garden. The collection features 150 specimens of these much-loved shrubs, including over 20 of the known lilac species and subspecies, and 130 cultivars. Their fragrant flowers range in seven colors: white, violet, bluish, lilac, pinkish, magenta, and purple as well as bi-color “sensations”, and they come in single and double forms.
When Dr. C. Stuart Gager, BBG's first director, noted in the annual report for 1917 that World War I was "disrupting the Garden's acquisition of choice varieties," the collection already included more than 100 varieties of common lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Clearly, the wartime interruption was only temporary as the collection continued to grow. In 1981 and 1982 the collection underwent a major reorganization to highlight the plant’s contrasting color and species varieties. Today, the collection is called The Louisa Clark Spencer Lilac Collection in honor of the chairman of the board of the garden from 1977–1982.
Daniel Ryniec
Born in Boston and raised in Buffalo, Daniel has been with BBG since 1977 when he was hired as a Garden Aide. In 1981 he began his stewardship of the Lilac Collection as well as the Osborne Garden where he is still curator today. He has served as President of the International Lilac Society as well as written several articles on plants and gardening for publications including The New York Times. Daniel also spends time as a garden consultant and enjoys sharing his knowledge and expertise with other botanic institutions, especially Skylands, the New Jersey Botanical Garden.
Early lilacs, such as Syringa x hyacinthiflora 'Annabel', begin blooming in late April. Soon after, around the first week in May and peaking on Mother's Day, come the flowers of the common lilac, S. vulgaris. By Memorial Day, late-blooming lilacs such as S. reflexa, S. villosa, and S. x prestoniae are at their peak. The last to bloom, in the second week in June, are the spicy-scented tree lilacs S. reticulata and S. pekinensis, both with single white flowers and attractive cherrylike bark.
