4 THE GREEN THUMB 
nent and picturesque in its old age, it 
seems to typify that domestic dignity 
we associate with those lovely old 
homes of our ancestors,—an inheritance 
of today from generations of the past. 
Then it was universally used, whether 
it was about the small simple cottage of 
the peasant or the mansion of the 
nobleman,—we were assured always of 
its presence. 
‘***And close beside the gateway, 
Tall, upon either hand, 
Their green robes shot with sunlight 
Like queens the lilacs stand.’ ”’ 
“Now, the common lilac,” says 
Ernest H. Wilson, (5) former keeper of 
the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard, 
who had such a contagious enthusiasm 
for horticulture, “is a native of the 
mountains of Bulgaria and was sent 
from Constantinople to Vienna about 
1560. From there it soon reached 
Western Europe and both purple and 
white kinds were cultivated in London 
in 1597 by Gerard. It is not known 
with certainty when or by whom the 
lilac was introduced to North America, 
but Washington (6) wrote about it in 
his diary and planted it at Mount 
Vernon where his plants or their 
descendants are growing this day.” 
EK. A. Upton reports that “in 1771 
William Prince, American Nursery- 
man, offered blue lilacs at one shilling 
and white lilacs at two shillings.”’ 
In spite of the fact that the “old- 
fashioned” lilac (Syringa vulgaris) has 
been cultivated in Europe for five cen- 
turies, in America since Colonial times, 
and in Colorado since the “Pikes Peak 
or Bust’’ Gold Rush days of 1859, the 
greatest Improvement in general qual- 
ity, size, substance and range of color 
has been made in the present century 
and more particularly during the last 
twenty-five years. The Lemoine varie- 
ties introduced since 1910 particularly 
stand out. (7) The best modern varie- 
ties have foot-long panicles with large 
nickel- to dollar-size florets. The new 
varieties come with single florets up to 
1% inches across and with double 
flowers like small roses—and_ they 
especially recommend themselves by 
the richness of their coloring which 
ranges from snow-white to lilac, to 
mauve, to purple and almost to blue 
and red. 
A famous English gardener once 
said: “The ideal size garden is one that 
(5) Ernest H. Wilson, ‘“‘Aristocrats of the Garden” 1:213—4. The Stratford Company, Boston: 
1926-1932; 
(6) It is not known whether any direct descendants of George Washington’s “‘Lylacks’’ are 
growing in Colorado. However Eva Bird Bosworth “Trees and Peaks” (1911) quoted from 
W. G. M. Stone, the president of the State Forestry Association, ‘‘The New Trees for Colo- 
rado” in part: “On the Capitol grounds... 
are . . . black walnuts grown from seed 
personally gathered by Governor Routt from a tree planted by Abraham Lincoln at his 
home in Springfield, Hlinois. The Governor planted the nuts in his yard at the corner of 
14th and Welton, and when large enough to transplant they were set by him where they 
now stand. They are a memorial of the immortal Lincoln and the first Governor of the 
State of Colorado.”’ 
(7) “Lilacs for America” a Report of 1941 Survey conducted by the Committee on Horticultural 
Varieties of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboretums, published by 
The Arthur Hoyt Scott Horticultural Foundation, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. 
1942 Revised and Corrected 1943, price $1.00 per copy. 
