Lilac Garden
The common purple lilac first arrived in the United States around the middle of the 1700s. The first recording of a lilac bush in Spokane was in 1906. Two lilac bushes were planted by J. J. Browne, one of Spokane’s early builders, at West 2226 Second Avenue in Browne’s Addition. In 1912, John Duncan obtained 128 named lilac cultivars from Rochester, New York. This marked the beginning of the official Lilac Garden in Manito Park. Today, the Lilac Garden contains well over 100 named cultivars from 23 distinct species, making it one of the most important lilac gardens in the West.
In 2003, the Spokane Lilac Society made a contribution to Manito Park for an extension of the garden that is now home to Syringa Spokane, the lovely double pink lilac. The idea to promote Spokane as “The Lilac City” came in the early 1930s when the local garden club was encouraged by community leaders to plant lilac bushes throughout the City. By 1938, there were 144 in Manito Park. The annual Spokane Lilac Festival has been a spring tradition since 1938.
Syringa Spokane
Syringa Spokane had been chosen in July 1999 by members of the Spokane Lilac Society for introduction as a city namesake to represent Spokane, The Lilac City. The original plant, the ortet (#3-203), originated from the controlled cross S. vulgaris ‘Tita’ x S. x hyacinthiflora ‘Mary Short.’ Syringa Spokane was registered December 31, 2003. For the next five years, members of the Spokane Lilac Society carefully tended the first small starts in their home gardens. By Spring of 2008, some of the lilacs had grown and developed enough to be transplanted to city parks.
Information from the Spokane Lilac Society describes the Syringa Spokane variety as having “large trusses of very fragrant double-magenta-colored blooms that turn a lighter pink-silver-white when fully opened. The shrub itself has dark green foliage tipped with burgundy bronze when new. Eventually, gardeners can expect a double-pink estate-type lilac that grows up to 12 feet in height.” Syringa Spokane typically blooms in the third year after propagation. The plants are described as being hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 8.
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