Syringa vulgaris Paul Thirion - Common Lilac

The Lilac 'Paul Thirion' is a historic French variety that has lost none of its charm. In the spring, it produces beautiful clusters of purple then pink flowers, which give off a very pleasant fragrance. Of medium size, it is just as comfortable in a free hedge as in a cluster of country bushes. Very interesting for making fragrant bouquets, it brings a romantic touch to gardens. This hardy variety is easy to grow and thrives in sun or semi-shade, in any neutral to limestone soil that is not too dry. 

Lilacs are part of the Oleaceae family, which includes many ornamental genera, Forsythia, Osmanthus, Phyllirea, Chionanthus, the sweet-smelling Jasmins, the Troenes, the majestic common Ash as well as the venerable Olive tree with its legendary longevity. Fallen into disuse in the 1960s-1970s, when the slender American or Asian lilacs were popularised, the European lilac and its hybrids wth their model size and often perpetual flowering are making a strong comeback in our gardens, like the old roses which were reproached for their single flowering, and were therefore neglected in favour of modern hybrids.

The Syringa vulgaris 'Paul Thirion' is a variety more than a century-old, obtained by the famous Lorraine selector Victor Lemoine in 1915. Lemoine earned a worldwide reputation for his work on many botanical genera, many of which are still cultivated today for their great merit. This Lilac was named in honour of the first director of the Parks and Gardens of the city of Nancy, where Lemoine was to die in 1911. It is often forgotten that the Common Lilac, also known as the European Lilac, is actually native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia, specifically the Balkan Peninsula, and only arrived in Western Europe at the end of the Renaissance. In the wild, this untamed plant with its very fragrant "lilac pink" flowers colonises rocky hills and braves cold winters.

The 'Paul Thirion' variety forms a bush with an erect and rounded habit, reaching a height of 3 m (9 ft 10 in) to 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in) and a spread of 2.50 m on average. It spontaneously forms a bush composed of multiple stems, like the mock orange. Its deciduous, triangular and heart-shaped leaves, 4 to 12 cm (1.6 to 4.7 in) long and 3 to 8 cm (1.2 to 3.1 in) wide, appear in the spring and display a beautiful bright green. The flowering takes place in April-May,  sometimes as early as 15 April depending on the climate. At the ends of the one-year-old branches appear long ramified clusters grouped in pairs, or even more. These compound clusters, called thyrses, sometimes reach 25 cm (9.8 in) in length. Their overall pyramidal shape is rather slender. The dark purple flower buds bloom into single pink flowers. They emit a pronounced, very floral fragrance.

The Common Lilac 'Paul Thirion' is an essential bush in a flower garden or a traditional garden. Use it, mixed with other white, mauve, pink or red varieties, in abundance, in large flowering hedges, along with single-flowering roses, Mock Oranges like the Philadelphus Virginal, a large bush with pure white flowers. You can also associate it with the Amelanchier lamarckii, with its starry white flowering, its sumptuous autumnal colours and decorative fruits, or with the Euonymus planipes, a spindle tree with scarlet autumn colours and decorative pink and orange fruits.