EASTER AND LILACS are intertwined in my mind. This year, with a mild spring and Easter falling late in April, lilac flowering may well coincide with the bunny's visit. With the array of newer hybrids it is possible to have lilacs in bloom for six fragrant weeks, bracketing the Easter holiday in cones of sweet, old-fashioned flowers.

Is there any single plant, with the possible exception of the rose, so beloved and instantly recognizable ? The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) came to North America with the pilgrims and followed westward expansion, proving a sturdy traveler able to withstand the worst cold and fend for itself once planted. In 1753, botanist John Bartram complained, "Lilacs are already too numerous, as roots brought by the early settlers have spread enormously." The oldest living lilacs in the New World are on Mackinac Island in Michigan, an ancient, gnarled clump believed to have been planted in the mid-17th century by French Jesuit missionaries. They still bloom every spring.

Lilacs have seized the imagination of authors and poets, who have used them to symbolize the essence of spring, the color of clouds, the scent of romance. In the novel "Silas Marner," weddings are planned to coincide with lilac bloom. Robert Burns wrote, "Oh, were my love yon lilac fair." That oft-quoted line by T.S. Eliot, "April is the cruelest month," is followed by "breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain."

For modern gardeners, the lesson may be that it is worth waiting for lilacs to bloom (sometimes as long as five years after planting), and that it pays to site lilacs thoughtfully, as they will no doubt outlive us all. Give lilacs lots of sun, good drainage, manure in springtime and a dose of bone meal every three years. Lilacs will bloom for close to forever without any pruning, but flower more abundantly if pruned right after flowering each year. Cut out dead, diseased or crossing branches, along with one-fourth of the oldest wood and suckers.

Since lilac bloom is unfortunately brief and the plants themselves no beauties, surround them with companions whose charms are longer lived. Peonies with their lasting foliage and similar cultural requirements are ideal companions, hostas plump up the scene and daylilies add color in summer.

We grow lilacs for their exquisite color and heady perfume, so concentrate on these when choosing which of the many to give garden room. For health, vigor and less suckering, always buy lilacs grown on their own root stock. `Ellen Wilmott' is one of the best whites, with large double, fragrant, snowy flowers. `President Lincoln' is the bluest lilac; `Edith Cavell' has flowers of warm cream, nearly lacy and sweetly scented. `Primrose' has flowers of pale yellow; `Sensation' has dark purple flowers trimmed in white. For small gardens there is the lavender Syringa meyeri `Palibin,' which grows slowly to 4 feet, used in pots by the ancient Chinese in their walled patio gardens. The Korean lilac, S. patula `Miss Kim,' stays under 5 feet and has spicy-scented, blue-lavender flowers.

To walk through acres of lilacs in bloom (more than 70 different cultivars), visit the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland (20 miles north of Vancouver in Cowlitz County) during their Lilac Days Festival, continuing through May 7. The Victorian home and gardens of Hulda Klager, a lilac fancier and hybridizer who died in 1960 at age 96, are open to the public during these weeks of peak bloom, with a variety of plants for sale. Look especially for Klager's most famous lilac, `My Favorite,' a dark purple, very fragrant triple.

Valerie Easton is a horticultural librarian and writes about plants and gardens for Pacific Northwest magazine. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com

Now In Bloom: Parrot tulips add an exotic touch to the spring garden, with single cups striped, fringed and flared like feathers. `Bird of Paradise' mixes orange and scarlet with purple anthers; `Flaming Parrot' is striped in primrose yellow and flame red.<>