I love the scent of lilac and the flowering season is always too too short. Even more so in this Mediterranean garden, where it lasts all of two weeks in April. The rest of the year the shrub seems solely focused on surviving. It is an old plant, growing in all-day full sun on the far side of the large Eleagnus hedge where it was completely invisible until we discovered it during those weeks of heavy bushwhacking in the summer of 2022.
Syringa vulgaris is a native of the Balkans and the Black Sea region, not of the Mediterranean. It does grow in gardens around here but I have yet to see one that really thrives the way they do farther North.
For this reason I would never plant Syringa shrubs down here but I do enjoy the one we have for all its worth. And I do admire its tenacity in hanging in there and growing to a respectable 180cm. Thanks to the past rainy springs and some pruning it has even tried to spread out a bit. Since it would be difficult to take it where it has been planted it will remain and I will continue to enjoy its short-lived but oh so lovely flowers.
Syringa meyeri
We had also had a Syringa meyeri planted in full sun. It had a few very small flowers for about two weeks in June. At its best in 2025 it came up to almost 100cm, but always looked miserable throughout summer and fall, so I finally gave it away this October.
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