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Lilac

Lilac Close-up

Lilac

Syringa vulgaris

Common Lilac – Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. 

When I was younger there was a house that we lived in for a few years in Utah. There was a towering lilac bush on the south side of the yard next to the fence. I hated the smell of it, I also hated the color purple. But I was 11 – and that might have been just to rebel. After all, my mom’s favorite color was purple and lilac was her favorite flower. She loved the smell of those purple tubular flowers. 

Turns out that the lilac is pretty neat once I was able to get over my inexorable fear of purple.

Lilacs are in the olive family. I really had no idea. They originated in the Balkan peninsula and found their way in Europe in the 16th century Ottoman gardens. They made their way to American gardens in the 18th century.

Lilacs can grow as large shrubs or deciduous trees and can be 20+ feet tall. Their flowering patterns tend to alternate year of year with some years producing plentiful blooms and others falling short. To regulate blooms and even them out a tad it is recommend that you snip the blooms once they start to wilt but before the seed pods begin to form.

These hardy plants can grow in rough terrain, including rocky hillsides, and flourish quite easily. They are common to parks, gardens and other natural areas. And I guess in the grand scheme of things, they are quite lovely and smell pretty nice too.