Anchorage Daily News

It's a statement of the obvious to say that lilacs are in full bloom all over town.

But it's interesting to look at the different shapes of the shrubs and the colors of the blooms. I wish I knew the names of the cultivars.

The lilac that came with the house has grown from a shrub to a full-fledged tree. I figure it was planted by the original owners of the house in the late 1950s.

It may be Canadian in origin, perhaps one of the few hardy lilacs available in those days. It was bigger when I moved in but it was also way out of control and had branches and trunks that were splitting from age and weight.

Still, it towers above the house even though it was pruned hard last year like it has been every few years or so.

I'm hoping to keep it healthy so it will be around for a while, yet I have a feeling it's living on borrowed time.

The blooms of my lilac are hardly anything to speak of: pink, thin and pointy, with no noticeable scent.

They make a lousy cut flower, so I don't. It's in bloom right now but not as big a display as I've previously seen.

I don't think it has fully recovered from last year's hacking.

The trunk of this tree is the real star -- it's like a huge bonsai, twisty and gnarly and beautiful to look at all year round and from the different perspectives of each of the windows on that side of the house.

In the winter, snow gently covers the tops of the trunks and branches adding another dimension to this living sculpture. From fall through spring feeders hang in it, and the birds congregate noisily and greedily among the branches. It's a selfish gesture; I love hearing them while I'm at home.

Somehow, I hope that when this tree's time has finally come, I'll have been the first to leave.

Talk Dirt is a garden blog for the Alaska community hosted by Fran Durner of the Daily News. Join the conversation at adn.com/talkdirt.

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