Where Lilacs Still Bloom

by Jane Kirkpatrick 

Hulda Klager was a hardworking German immigrant with an eighth grade education and a burning desire to implement changes in plants. She started with wanting a crisper, easier to peel apple for her apple pies. Her father had inspired her to follow her dreams, so while taking care of a large family and garden, she began exploring plant hybridization. She was successful and expanded her efforts to other plants. Her passion was lilacs, and her goal was to develop a creamy white lilac with 12 petals. In the process she developed over 250 varieties of lilacs. Her husband supported her interest in growing hybrids even in the face of those who initially condemned her for wanting to change nature as God had created it or for overstepping bounds as a housewife.

Although Kirkpatrick did a thorough job of researching the life of Hulda Klager, she had to rely on second hand sources. Despite Kirkpatrick being a very talented writer, Hulda Klager did not emerge from the pages as someone the reader could identify with. She was strong, persistent, and resilient but not portrayed as personable. Based on the number of people that committed to helping her with her lilacs throughout her life, however, she must have been an admirable and likable woman. In her almost 97 years, she influenced a lot of people and gave away many of her lilac starts. When the house and gardens were in disrepair and the famous Lilacs Days at the house had gone by the wayside, dedicated volunteers restored it all using contributions of Klager starts donated from gardens all over the country.

Where Lilacs Still Bloom is not a page turner in the traditional sense, but it did hold my interest as I watched Hulda Klager overcome many personal tragedies and fight against the flood waters time and time again that threatened her family, her garden and farm, and her huge collection of lilac plants. Kirkpatrick fills this book with descriptive passages that help the reader visualize the setting and circumstances. There are also many selections that can be read multiple times for the sheer beauty of the writing.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Historical Fiction

Notes: 1. The book includes a Reader’s Guide of discussion questions and notes from the author.

    2. Klager kept detailed notes about her work, but most were lost in the various floods.

Publication:  2012—Waterbrook

Memorable Lines:

Melancholy seeped in like water filling footprints on a soggy lawn. It was always there beneath the surface that year but didn’t assert itself until pressure was applied…Maybe the sadness began with thinking of my parents too much. They were everywhere in that house, memories like cobwebs catching me unsuspecting.

“Beauty matters, Bertha; it does. God gave us flowers for a reason. I think so we’d pay attention to the details of creation and remember to trust Him in all things big or little, no matter what the challenge. Flowers remind us to put away fear, to stop our rushing and running and worrying about this and that, and for a moment have a piece of paradise right here on earth. God offers healing through flowers and brings us closer to Him.

“Yes, I pamper my lilacs. They remind me of the woman who kept them blooming and how she dug them up when high water came and floated them on rafts tied to trees so they weren’t ruined by standing river water. She taught me about persevering and trusting that providence would provide.”