This week... lilacs

With their beautiful scented flowers, lilacs are an easy-to-grow garden classic

- GRAHAM RICE

LILACS are exceptionally cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant deciduous shrubs, many of which will perform well even when badly neglected. They are among the most resilient of all garden shrubs, with many being long-lived.

The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is the wild lilac from which all modern varieties have been bred. The name Syringa comes from the Ancient Greek word syrinx, meaning pipe or tube, and refers to the easily hollowed-out branches of S. vulgaris.

Powerful fragrance

Some lilacs mature as shrubs, while some become small well-branched trees. Sadly, their foliage is generally an unremarkable dull green in colour, but their main claims to fame are their fat spikes of tiny colourful late-spring/early summer flowers and their sweetly powerful fragrance.

For many lilacs, a two or three-week spring season of glorious flowers is worth the plants’ poor contribution to the garden for the rest of the year. However, an increasing range of modern varieties that flower for a longer season on smaller, more manageable plants have begun to appear in nurseries and on the websites of mail-order suppliers. More are on the way.

Lilacs are essential as ingredients in traditional flower gardens and as colourful spring specimens. Many integrate well into mixed borders and modern flower gardens, while neater varieties are good in pots and containers on the patio. When cut for the house their beautiful blooms make a dramatic display.

Care tips