I’m sure most lilacs smell wonderful, but the old-fashioned lavender ones smell the best/strongest to me. We were lucky to have two of these shrubs on the property when we moved here, one right near Burke Avenue on the property line to the north, and one at the southeast corner of the house. I’ve tackled them both at various times, pruning out old stems and trying to maximize their bloom power and minimize their size. They can be overlooked, but not during those three glorious weeks in May when they sweeten the entire yard with their scent.
I don’t have a lot of photos of these shrubs. I take them for granted after all these years! They sucker freely from the base and keep new stems coming and fresh blooms every year. If I find time in 2020, I’ll cull some of the older, woodier trunks and do some top pruning just to confine the growth and maximize the blooms.