1.   In San Francisco, lilacs are a sure-fire conversation stopper.

2.   In their hundreds of forms, lilacs are now well-established in American and European gardens.

3.   Lilacs are in flower, the pink blossoms so profuse that leaves are barely visible.

4.   Lilac is a family enterprise.

5.   Lilacs are easy to propagate by scoring the underside of a low branch in several places, bending it to the ground and covering it with soil.

6.   Lilacs are extremely resilient, hardy and long-lived.

7.   That initial display was set when the lilac was still comfortably at home in the nursery.

8.   That one, I hope, will return when the lilacs are next in bloom.

9.   The lilacs are in bloom, the peas are planted.