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The typical form of the Himalayan Lilac is a large shrub from the western Himalaya, a habitat dripping with
the romance of the exotic, all of which seems to have passed it by. Bean notes that the June flowers are
'..not pleasantly scented' and it is not surprising that it is only occasionally planted. Fortunately there is a variegated form that I got as 'Elegantissima', which Bean calls 'Aureo-variegata' and which the latest 'Hilliers Manual' assures me should be called 'Variegata' (so I will go with that). Spectacular lime and yellow leaves that look like the flickering of dancing sunbeams from a distance, regardless of the weather. In Trees and Shrubs online, John Grimshaw writes: "Syringa emodi 'Variegata' provides a valuable splash of potent yellow to the garden throughout the summer." Under the name 'Elegantissima', Mike Griffin and Michael Maunder say: "This cultivar too is characterised by yellow markings but these are restricted to the leaf margins. Described in 1976, this is a form originating from the Dutch nurseryman Cornelius Johannus." |
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