I have a common purple lilac hedge that's at least 120' in length. It's old - ancient - and they've grown together in a solid dense mass all uniform in height, 15-16 feet. In fact, my whole block which consists of two houses is hedged with lilacs. Needless to say, in bloom, it's a show stopper.

I don't coddle them in any way, save for an arborist every ten years or so to take out any dead wood. Very salt tolerant as our roads are heavily snow treated.

Some people might think it has the potential to be boring, but I love it. In leaf, the privacy is complete.

Ditto what duluth says! Almost 50 years later, I still have vivid memories of the deep purple lilac hedge between the road and the schoolyard at the rural elementary school I attended! When I was last 'home' about 15 years ago, the hedge was still there, although the school has been converted to a house. The ditch between the road and the lilac hedge was colonized by blue-flag irises; blue-eyed grass grew in the playing fields; painted and red trilliums and dog-toothed violets grew in the scrub cedar wooded areas surrounding the playground. Thank you for bringing back fond memories... :-)

I just don't think the common purple syringa vulgaris can be beaten. Fragrance is intoxicating. These were planted in 1900 when this property was the kitchen and "strolling" gardens for the house across the avenue. Everything but the lilacs have undergone a couple of reincarnations over the decades though.

I will take a much closer look at the Lilacs. If you dont mind another question, do they require much pruning? They would definitely fit in with the age and style of the house. Thanks!

Assuming you have @ 15' of width (acounts for the mature width of the multi-trunked plant plus any arching the branches might do) they'll never need pruning.

As said, beyond occasional attention by an arborist, mine are left alone to do what lilacs do. I have plenty of space; they don't hang over the public sidewalk or eat up any substantial amount of my front yard.

Thanks Duluth! They sound perfect for what I'm after!

Duluthinbloomz4, This is the second time I've heard you mention this hedge and I hope that the next time it blooms you will post a good photo or two or three of it. To me, the hedge sounds spectacular. I wish I could have such a hedge! And if you can figure out any way to make photos be 'scratch and sniff,' it would be most welcome!