A Visit to the Annual Lilac Festival in Rochester
68Nature in all its Glory
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The Park's Lilac Collection Began Over a Century Ago
Four years after the original gift of 20 acres by Ellwanger and Barry, the first lilac bushes were added to the park's collection of shrubs by John Dunbar who had been hired in 1890 as the park's first horticulturist. Dunbar, a native Rafford in Elginshire, Scotland, had learned his trade working and managing the formal gardens of large estates in England before migrating to America. Upon taking the job, Dunbar ordered 1,500 different plants and shrubs from all over the world for the park. Among them were the first 100 lilac bushes which were planted in what became the lilac section. During Dunbar's tenure from 1891 to 1926 he continued to not only add to the lilac collection but to also begin the parks tradition of developing new varieties of lilacs. A total of 31 named varieties of lilacs were developed under Dunbar's tutelage and a small memorial to him and his efforts stands at the front of the pansy bed at the entrance to the lilac section of the park (see photo at the right).
Lilacs are a Part of America's Heritage
Lilacs were among the plants brought to North America by early settlers. Thomas Jefferson, in a 1767 entry in his garden journal, recorded his method for planting lilacs. A few years later in 1785, George Washington noted in his journal for March 3rd of that year that he had been transplanting the lilacs in his garden.
Because lilacs are a hardy plant that produces an abundance of very fragrant flowers each spring, it was common for families moving west to take some lilac shoots with them to plant in their new homes on the frontier. As a child growing up in Rochester, I remember my grandmother and great aunts always noting that the lilac bushes in their yards were originally taken from my great-grandparents little farm at 3131 St. Paul St. in Rochester (that little farm has been a parking lot for a neighboring factory since before I was born). We had a couple of descendants of those bushes (taken from one of the bushes my grandmother had earlier taken from her family's home to her home) in our first house and a shoot from that was taken to our next house which is now owned by my younger brother and his wife. Lilacs have been closely associated with American history and have been one of the few constants in our otherwise mobile culture.
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Flower Garden
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Disney's Tinker Bell Flower Garden Rolling Backpack#37148
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A Gift from a Flower to a Garden
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Lilacs in the News
- A new beginningOwen Sound Sun Times5 hours ago
Dear Mom, How are you and Dad? I guess spring has arrived at home. In my mind's eye I can see the lilacs out on the fencerow and dandelions everywhere on the lawn.[...]
- Bedford High School sets stage for âOklahoma!âThe Bedford Bulletin3 hours ago
BY HOLLY DAVIS The stage at Bedford High School will soon be transformed to the Oklahoma territory of the early 1900s when the schoolâs Theatre Club presents Rodgers and Hammersteinâs âOklahoma!â Performances are set for Nov. 19 to 22. The play centers on the hearty pioneers of the Oklahoma territory as they struggle to create a brand new state. It features a love story between a feisty farm ...
- Gordon R. GeorgiusThe Wenatchee World6 hours ago
Gordon passed away at home on November 8, 2009, at the age of 92. He was born August 6, 1917, in Wabasso, MN. He came to Washington from Minnesota, riding on a boxcar, in 1939.
- Iroquois Prepares for "Oklahoma!"East Aurora Advertiser15 hours ago
The Iroquois High School Drama Club has announced that Rodgers and Hammersteinâs landmark musical, "Oklahoma!" will be presented onstage in the high school auditorium on Fri., Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., and Sat., Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Earth to Alice: Some Flowers, Pretty Daisies, Might Relieve the GloomSFist29 hours ago
We want to prompt our new "Earth to Alice" feature by saying this: we love Waters. We love her hat. We love Chez Panisse . We love Waters as a revolutionary icon. We love the way she uses the tines of a fork to carefully mince garlic so as not to bruise the oil. We love her breathy voice. We love her as one of the most important philosophers of our time. We just love her for being her. ( Anthony ...
- Police in Woodland, which is known for lilacs, dispose of suspicious box of, well, not lilacsThe Oregonian5 days ago
The prank was "just an absolutely monumental waste of time and resources," said Woodland's police chief.
- Landmark for sale â to preservationists onlyThe State7 days ago
One of Columbia's oldest homes, a downtown landmark owned by the same family for 130 years and largely unchanged, has gone on the market.
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Sending Flowers online says:
2 years ago
I can see that you didn't go to the festival just for going sake. Nice pictures too.