Russian Lilacs

          Along with warmer weather and burgeoning wildlife activity, colorful flowers are the universal harbingers of Spring.  Japan may have its cherry blossoms and Holland may have its tulips, but Russia certainly gives them a run for their money with its spectacular lilacs.  I found them all across Russia in many varieties and colors, whether in well-groomed city parks, the rural countryside or the front yard of a private home.  The lilac’s scientific name, Syringa vulgaris, doesn’t sound very flattering, but it actually just means ‘common lilac’.  In Russia the lilacs are anything but common.  They bloom in May, a little later than in the United States, and if you’re fortunate enough to be there when they are out in full glory, you can enjoy mingling with the locals as they delight in the beauty and fragrance of these gorgeous blossoms.