Lilac time

Going to see the river man/ Going tell him all I can/ About the plan for lilac-time,’ sang Nick Drake in his song ‘River Man’. The Lilac Time (also the name of a British folk-rock band inspired by Drake) will soon be upon us. The sweetly fragranced flowers of Syringa vulgaris do not stick around for long, so enjoy them while you can. Their hues range from purest white, through delicate violet to deepest purple. Sometimes two different colours can appear on the same shrub if a cultivar reverts to its root stock. One of the most beautiful varieties is the pristine white ‘Madame Lemoine’, although I think the real pleasure is in the contrast of shades on show around town. If you plant one in your own garden, be warned they sometimes take a year off, only to return with added splendour the following year. They fall into that category of shrubs with a short flowering season which some people feel are not worth the space they take up for the return, along with Magnolias and Forsythia. For me the arrival of lilacs signifies that we are coming into that magical time of year when the hawthorns in the hedgerows put on their frothy white bridal array, while cow parsley bridesmaids fill the verges with foamy umbels.
As the weather grows warmer, shady areas of our garden where we can seek relief from the midday sun become more important and the green fronds of ferns unfurl from their winter brown. This year alongside our shuttlecock ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) I am planning to plant the Hart’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) for its distinctive long points. Hostas are another great plant for shade that are prized more for their wide, ridged leaves than for their flowers, although they are a favourite with slugs and may fare better in pots ringed with copper bands. Alchemilla mollis or Lady’s Mantle is long-lived and easy to grow in shade, with attractive fan-shaped leaves and yellow flowers in early summer, while shade-loving heucheras can provide interesting contrasts of red, orange and lime foliage.
Forget-me-nots or Myosotis sylvatica are woodland flowers which are quite happy in partial shade. I managed to inadvertently transport some seedlings from the garden at Charleston farmhouse where I volunteer and this year they have spread like crazy. Bees and butterflies love their pretty tiny blue flowers with distinctive yellow centres. Blue is the colour of the season. If you go for a woodland walk, you will see carpets of bluebells. In the garden they can become a weed, particularly the Spanish bluebells or English/ Spanish hybrids, which have wider petals than the native flowers and spread easily. Personally, I don’t mind them and just pull them out when they become too plentiful.
May is the month when the garden comes alive, brimming over with new growth, casting its spell on us as the nights grow longer and midsummer approaches. Enjoy the lilac time.