Hurrah for lilacs….
By: shortfinals
Tags: 'Under the Lilacs', England, gardens, lilacs, Louisa M Alcott, olive, Rewards and Fairies, Rudyard Kipling, scent, South Yorkshire, Syringa vulgaris
Category: England, South Yorkshire
| Aperture: | f/8 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 9.2mm |
| ISO: | 100 |
| Shutter: | 1/0 sec |
| Camera: | MVC-CD500 |
White lilacs
The common lilac, or Syringa vulgaris, is a shrub which is related to the olive, and as such can have some ‘hardiness issues’ . However, it is widely used in English gardens, for its heavy white blossom (held in spikes) and its heady scent. Despite the name, not all lilacs are ‘lilac’; here we see a dense white example. It is not Syringa vulgaris ‘Alba’ – which is a ‘single’ – as all the blossoms are ‘double’, so it is probably a white, naturalized variety. Since S. vulgaris can reach up to 20 feet and is a dense shrub, with little appeal except for the flower spikes, careful thought needs to be undertaken as to the siting of a lilac in a garden.
Liliacs are featured a great deal in literature too. Kipling mentioned them in ‘Rewards and Fairies’ and, of course, there is also ‘Under the Lilacs’ by Louisa M Alcott. The shrub tends to have ‘good’ years followed by ones with less blossom. This was a good year in the garden in South Yorkshire!
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It could be a “French Lilac” cultivar, so called since the development of the first double lilacs by Emile Lemoine and his wife in Nancy France in the 1800s. Search ‘ double white lilacs’ on Google Images to see some cultivars.
I am an ex-pat from Sheffield living in Canada. I am part of a committee taking care of close to 600 lilac shrubs of more than 125 varieties
visit our website http://www.lilacgardensoflindsay.com
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