-LIIE old-fashioned purple lilac 
has won the love and admiration of everyone. 
It is one of the most decorative flowering 
shrubs, greatly treasured for its large, showy, 
purple flowers. The lilac blooms early and 
profusely. When massed in groups, the grace¬ 
ful purple clusters that load the bushes of 
bright green, medium-sized foliage present a 
veritable wonderland.. For what is more beau¬ 
tiful in the month of May than a path bor¬ 
dered with lilacs whose graceful, heavy purple 
blooms bend as they emit a fragrant perfume? 
. . . Many poets have sung of the charm and 
beauty of the purple lilac; among them is 
Alfred Noyes, who writes: 
“Go down to Kew in lilac time 
(it isn’t far from London) 
And you shall wander hand in hand 
With love in summer’s wonderland.” 
And again there is mention of the purple lilac 
by Mrs. Anna S. Stephens when she writes: 
“I am thinking of the lilac trees, 
That shook their purple plumes, 
And when the sash was open, 
Shed fragrance through the room.” 
The purple color of the lilac has been so 
closely associated with the color of mourning 
that many looked upon it as a flower of bad 
luck. In keeping with this belief, there is an 
old maxim stating that the maiden who wears 
lilacs will never wear a wedding ring, and 
that lilacs sent to a fiance expressed a desire 
to break the engagement. . . . There are single 
and double-flowered purple lilacs; the double- 
flowered varieties do not bloom as profusely 
as the single, but keep their blooms much 
longer. . . . Purple lilac is the state flower 
of New Hampshire. 
