Romantic Lilac Gardens to Stroll Through

Singers may extoll the romance of tiptoeing through the tulips, but for the ultimate springtime floral experience, nothing beats family travel or a romantic trip strolling amid mounds of lilacs in full bloom.

Their fragrance in the air is a sure sign of spring. In northern regions, you may find them in yards and along the roadsides where they have escaped from long abandoned farms, but these fragrant favorites bloom in gardens as far south as the mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest.

One of the nation’s most extensive collections is at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum in Boston, where you can walk among 399 lilac plants representing 177 kinds. Ever since 1908, the arboretum celebrates Lilac Sunday, this year on May 8, with tours led by Arboretum experts, hands-on children’s programs and picnicking in the Arboretum landscape (only permitted on Lilac Sunday).

The Burn Family Lilac Collection at New York Botanical Garden blooms from late March through May. The collection, began in 1896, includes antique varieties, tall tree lilacs, dwarf lilacs and even those that rebloom later in the season.

The Lilac Collection at Brooklyn Botanic Garden recently relocated and was redesigned along a gentle path, allowing access to people of all abilities. Pre-1880 species and modern cultivars reach peak around Mother’s Day, blooming in colors ranging from white and pink to magenta and deep purple.

The East Lawn of New Jersey State Botanical Garden at Ringwood State Park, boasts a collection of more than 100 varieties that reach peak in mid-May, but continue to bloom into June. At Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, you’ll find more than two dozen lilac varieties blooming near the Conservatory and elsewhere throughout the gardens. Wolcott Lilac Gardens, in Kent, Ohio, began in 1920 with 100 lilacs; the collection now numbers more than 250.

On the West Coast, Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens are a National Historic Site in Woodland, Washington, honoring the work of lilac developer Hulda Klager. The gardens celebrate Lilac Days April 16 through Mother’s Day, May 8. In Portland, Oregon, The Lilac Garden at Duniway Park began in 1938 with the collection of a nursery donated to the city in the name of Portland Garden Club. The original collection included 243 different varieties, and another collection has added even more.