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The article offers information on a garden which was once used to be a hayfield. Topics discussed includes its history of inhabitants including famed general, a president of a national arboretum society and an actor who played a judge on Perry Mason; planting of multi-stemmed Japanese tree lilacs (Syringa reticulata) on each side of the entry steps; and gardening Astilbe in early summers.

The article features the garden owned by George Holmes located in Northport, Maine. Holmes inherited the property from a great-uncle in 1959 which he planted with a rose collection consisting of about 400 plants and numerous varieties of lilacs, hostas, azaleas and rhododendrons. Holmes credits the design of his garden to Marie Keller, his gardener for 27 years and Stephen El-Hajj who designed and built the arbors, trellises, stonewall and benches. INSET: Advice for Aspiring Collectors.

The article presents questions and answers related to gardening, including when to prune the lilac plants, the difference between organic seeds and plain old seeds, and when and why plants should be side-dressed with fertilizer.

The article presents questions and answers related to gardening including the gardening tasks associated with the growth and blooming of various indicator plants like lilac, tips on succession planting, and the Latin names of vegetables.

The article describes some lilac varieties. The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, has graced the corners of New England and Midwestern farmhouses for more than two centuries. Today there are a number of other species and hybrids that offer not only sweet-smelling blooms but splendid habit and leaves that stay fresh and healthy all summer. These include the so-called Chinese lilac, Syringa xchinensis; the littleleaf lilac, S. pubescens subsp. microphylla 'Superba'; the dwarf Korean lilac, S. meyeri 'Palibin'; and the S. pubescens subsp, patula 'Miss Kim'. INSET: Pruning Lilacs.

The article focuses on trees that bloom during the summer season. Among the first trees to greet summer with its flowers is Japanese tree lilac. With July come the blooms of a rock-hardy northeast-Asian native, Amur maackia. Flowering at much the same season as golden rain tree, Japanese stewartia is a plant of more subtle charms. INSET: Pruning summer bloomers.

Informs on growing lilacs, adaptable shrubs that produce an abundance of graceful, fragrant panicles. Number of species and cultivars; Colors; Ease of growth; Pruning; Recommended varieties, including the Meyer lilac (Syringa merei); Forcing and arranging. INSET: Cutting & conditioning, by M.D.E..

Provides answers to questions about horticulture. Ways to obtain a division among hostas; Weather needed in growing lilac cultivars; Information on the flowering vine, Antigonon leptopus. INSET: Pest Watch.

The article describes the snowberry clearwing moth and hummingbird clearwing moth, which are among the smallest in the family Sphingidae. Topics discussed include the wing spans of these day-flying species, as well as their physical descriptions. Also mentioned are most members of the family as nocturnal flyers, and plants that attract clearwing moths, such as milkweeds, beebalm, lilacs, petunias and phlox.

The article suggests dusky purple-gray plum for a more elegant appeal in the garden. It discusses the visual effect of planting dusky plum and the different results that can be achieved depending on the colors that surround the plant. Also provided are tips on designing with plum including the combination of colors purple and yellow, the use of succulents and the creation of complex color. Other suggested plum plants are Arabian lilac, Japanese painted fern and New Zealand burr.

The article provides information on the flowering shrub Bloomerang lilac. It discusses the characteristics of the shrub including its ability to flower on new wood, its size that depends on pruning and its ability to thrive in full sun. Also highlighted are the description of the shrub including its leaves and flowers as well as the other plants that can be planted along with Bloomerang lilac.

The article offers information on California lilacs. These plants are best suited to Zones 6b to 12. Puget Blue has small rounded leaves of dark green which are deeply and texturally impressed with veins. Ceanothus 'Victoria' is regarded as a hybrid or selection of C. thyrsiflorus, one of the hardiest of the evergreen species.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues, including one on composting that included a recommendation to add lime to the pile, "The Next Classic Lilacs," by Paul Dickey in the April 2008 issue, "The Invasive Problem," by Colston Burrell in the January 2008 and April 2008 issues.

The article offers information on Lilac Time, an annual festival held every first two weeks of May in Lombard, Illinois.

Discusses the characteristics of the flower lilacs. Ability to grow in sunny places; Need for lime application to be healthy; Factors that affect the blooming of lilacs; Transplantation; Winter pruning; Tips on how to conduct winter pruning properly.

Presents steps in pruning a lilac. Includes the removal of the dead stems; Selecting wood for framework; Cutting back the tagged stems. INSET: The installment plan..

Although lilacs are hearty, long-lived shrubs, without regular attention they become scraggly and overgrown. Almost all lilacs can be renovated by bold pruning. Steps to take in pruning overgrown lilacs.

Presents photographs of several garden elements. Advantage of a running brook in the garden; Feeling evoked by grasses; Scent of lilac.

Presents news briefs on gardening in the U.S. as of May 2005. Information on the International Lilac Convention in Boston, Massachusetts; Rare plants that were planted by gardener Ed Bowen in his garden in Rhode Island; Development of a trial and display garden led by the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.