Page "Syringa vulgaris" Paragraph 7

It is widely naturalised in western and northern Europe.

In a sign of its complete naturalization in North America, it has been selected as the state flower of the state of New Hampshire, because it " is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State ".

Additional hardiness, for Canadian gardens, was bred for in a series of S. vulgaris hybrids by Isabella Preston, who introduced many of the later-blooming varieties, whose later-developing flower-buds are better protected from late spring frosts ; the Syringa x prestoniae hybrids range primarily in the pink and lavender shades.