Several days ago I spied my grandson murmuring in delight and inhaling deeply while his nose was buried in a large lilac flower. My daughter was cutting a few stems to take to her grandmother from the yard of the house they recently purchased from her.

My mother is now in assisted living and my daughter, son-in-law and grandson have moved into the house my parents built nearly forty years ago. My daughter's goal is to take blooms from the yard to my mother on a regular basis. That won't be hard, as mother planted a wide array of bushes and perennials in the years she lived there.

The lilacs were some of the first additions to the yard and have now offered pleasure to four generations and are still going strong. That is a tract record of merit for any plant.

Mom's plants came from suckers of an old white and an old purple plant that grew on the bank near the old farmhouse. Those dated at least to my grandmother who moved here almost one hundred years ago. Those plants have fallen victim to progress after the barn burned, the township relocated the road and the meadow fence got relocated.

Today, lilacs come in a large array of colors and are still fragrant. They are still generally shrubs that are taller than we are. There are some shorter in height, which generally have smaller leaves. All are best grown as multi-stemmed shrubs and can be pruned to maintain vigor and control size. It is best to remove an occasional aging stem at the ground level. The ones in mom's yard will improve with the removal of a few ancient stems and a rescue from a set of hedge trimmers that weren't mine.

The rap on lilacs is that they bloom and have no other interest in the garden. My solution is to plant something else, too. I have nearly a dozen scattered through in large mixed shrub border. This week they are the highlight of the bed.

Secondly, they are prone to mildew. In a sunny, airy spot in an average season this generally isnšt too big a problem. The goal is to locate them so that you can enjoy their flowers and wonderful fragrance without having to stare at them every day of the year.

I'm not sure that the old lilacs are readily available unless you poach them from a friend with an old house. I'm also not sure that the new additions can completely match the fragrance of the old ones.

I am sure that lilacs will bring joy to our lives for a few weeks each spring. Just ask my grandson. Well, maybe wait till next year, as he still isn't much of a conversationalist.