Syringa vulgaris in commerce today. Lemoine's "French lilacs" extended the limited color range to include deeper, more saturated hues, and they also introduced double-flowered "sports", with the stamens replaced by extra petals. These cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: Syringa vulgaris Syringa vulgaris (lilac or common lilac) is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalized in other parts of Europe (including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy), as well as
Trial garden Trial garden A garden grown specifically for the purpose of testing and evaluating plants is called a trial garden. Universities, plant breeders, and garden-industry companies frequently have trial gardens, as do many private and public botanical gardens and professional garden journalists. In the classic trials model, newly developed varieties of plants are compared with the closest similar industry standard plant throughout their life cycle—from germination/propagation through maturity, from seed to harvest. By growing new varieties side-by-side with existing ones, researchers can determine whether these new varieties are indeed better, and, if so, in what respects. The Muck Crops Research Station,