Lead Kindly Light: Duniway Lilac Garden

Portland is known as the "City of Roses", however; at this time of the year, before the roses begin to appear in earnest at the public rose gardens, there is another, lesser know garden just reaching its peak beauty. The Duniway Lilac Garden has been at the bottom of Marquam Hill since the 1930s. The original collection was the work of a Mr. Case, who's specimens were given as a gift to the city when he passed away. A lilac specialist was called in to arrange and place the plants and there they have remained for 70 years. There garden is named after Abigail Duniway, the first registered woman voter in our county and an early feminist, who as far as I can tell, had no interest in lilacs or gardening in general.

I find this rather unfair, considering it was Mr. Case who lavished his love and care on the collection and without whom there would be no garden in the first place. However, Portland is a city where one would never dream of naming a thing after a dead white man, no matter how much he may have actually contributed to bringing said thing to pass, and this is especially true when there perfectly good dead feminists lying about, who have had nothing named after them. I suspect Mrs. Duniway did not take much time to enjoy lilacs.

Be that as it may, the garden sits just down the road from where I work, so earlier this week I took the opportunity to stroll down the hill one evening and enjoy them to the fullest. In many ways Portland is a lovely city and perfectly suited for walking. This is the path I take from work down to the garden. Believe it or not, this is in the middle of the largest city in Oregon.

After a nice stroll down the shady path you will come out on a large, well cared for green, with a liberal sprinkling of lawn daises. The garden lies at the far west end of the park. I contains over 125 varieties of lilac, including a rare Japanese breed that blooms in June. There are also many willows, dogwood, Douglas fir and some truly huge old cedars surrounding the garden.

Lilacs are, hands down, my favorite flower. When I see them I know spring has well and truly arrived. Unlike crocuses, snow drops or even daffodils, lilacs are not a flower to give one a false impression about the way things really are. They do not lull you into a misguided sense of security. When you see lilacs then you know, without a doubt the spring has sprung, so to speak, and there will be no more sneaky snowstorms waiting to wreck havoc on the morning traffic. It may still rain, this being Oregon after all, but at least now the rain will be fairly warm, the sun will shine and summer is only a little ways off.

The perfume of over 100 lilacs blooming at once can not be described. It is a heady mingling of dozens of scents, all different and yet strangely the same.

And the variety of colors and subtle shades is amazing. Many of them I have never seen anywhere else.