Syringa vulgaris - Common Lilac

The common Lilac is a large shrub or small ornamental tree, popular in our gardens for centuries! Medium-sized and with an upright and somewhat irregular habit, it bears charming heart-shaped foliage with a matte medium green colour and a very generous spring flowering, in large pyramidal panicles of highly fragrant lilac flowers that last a long time when cut. It thrives in full sun and rich, neutral soils but can tolerate normal, slightly chalky or slightly acidic soils as long as they are well-drained. The lilac is ideally used to complement hedge rows with its lovely silhouette and spectacular flowering, planted in groups in the background of flower beds or as a standalone in smaller gardens.

The Syringa vulgaris is a very hardy shrub of the olive family and has given rise to numerous cultivars with diverse flower forms: single, double, more or less fragrant, and colours ranging from white to blue, pink, and purple. The common lilac, also known as European lilac, is native to Southeastern Europe and Western Asia, specifically the Balkan Peninsula, and arrived in Western Europe at the end of the Renaissance. In the wild, this indomitable plant with highly fragrant blue-violet-purple flowers colonises rocky hills and withstands cold winters.

It is a large shrub or a small tree with an upright and irregular habit, reaching an average height of 3m (9 ft 10 in) and a spread of 2m (6 ft 7 in) at maturity. It naturally develops into a bush composed of several stems, similar to mock orange, which should not be confused with it. Its base produces suckers that sometimes need to be removed to maintain its attractive small tree appearance. The triangular, heart-shaped leaves, 8 to 12cm (3.1 - 4.7 in) long and 3 to 8cm (1.2 - 3.1 in) wide, appear in spring in a tender green colour with a satin finish. Flowering occurs from April to May, earlier or later depending on the climate. At the tip of one-year-old branches, pairs of pyramid-shaped compound clusters called thyrses, measuring 10 to 30cm (3.9 - 11.8 in) long, appear. The lilac-colored flower buds open into large flowers. The fragrance of the flowers is powerful.

The strength emanating from the aged silhouette of a lilac, anchored on multiple trunks, as well as the generosity of its flowering, sometimes deserve a prominent place, as a standalone specimen, in a small garden. Surrounded by a bed of ground-cover roses and catmints, in a dedicated small space, this modest subject will become a grandiose shrub, covered in glory in the heart of spring. Easy to grow in cool and relatively moist climates, even in medium-altitude mountains, the common lilac thrives in ordinary, fresh, preferably chalky soils, but above all well-drained soils. Use it abundantly, mixed with other varieties in pink, mauve, or red, in large flowering hedges, alongside single-flowered roses, mock oranges, serviceberries, Crataegus Paul's Scarlet, Cotinus, or large buddleias (B. alternifolia). A lilac hedge, along with flowering prunus, Chinese almond trees, flowering cherries, and ornamental apple trees, planted above a large sunken alley, is a true delight in spring.