Myndi's Corner

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Hulda Klager Lilac Garden

It's the beginning of the summer season so I thought this would be a perfect post to feature this national historic site.

I've always wanted to go to this place, so last Mother's Day, my daughter granted my wish, and drove me there as my present.

Each year thousands of visitors step back in time to discover the 1880's Victorian farmhouse and country garden. The garden has been maintained by Hulda Klager Garden Society, a non-profit volunteer organization.

History

Hulda Klager came to this country from Germany. With her family in 1865, when she was two. Her family moved to Woodland, Washington in 1877 when Hulda was 13 years old. In 1903 she read a book about Luther Burbank, a renowned hybridizer at the time.

In 1905 she began hybridizing lilacs and by 1910 she had created 14 new varieties. By 1920 she decided to hold an open house each spring when lilacs were in full bloom. The practice caused her to become known as "The Lilac Lady."

In 1922 her husband Frank Klager died. She wanted to abandon her work, but her son, Fred, insisted in continuing to nurture the plants. The spring of 1948 brought another adversity when the Columbia River swept the property and wiped out her lilac garden. Many people helped her, and it took two years to open the garden again. They continued until her death in 1960.

After Hulda's death at the age of 96, Mr. and Mrs. Van Eaton cared for the estate but sold it eventually. When the Washington Federation Garden Club heard that it was going to be bulldozed to to make way for an industrial site, they decided to save it and declared as a national historic site.

The novel, "Where Lilacs Still Bloom," written by Jane Kirkpatrick, was inspired by Hulda's lilac garden.

I already read this book, and it's a true story of a nature loving wife and mother who devoted her life to breeding lilacs. I highly recommend this book for those who have a passion in gardening and for nature lovers. I'm planning to go there again next year, because we missed the blooming season of the lilacs which happened mid-April. I hope to witness the beauty of the lilacs when they are in full bloom.

Let's have a tour of Hulda's house and garden.