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“They’re beautiful,” said Jeannette Hauver, a retired master gardener who has lived in Marquette since 1970. “And, of course, the fragrance is wonderful.”

Lilacs will grow and are growing in most places in the Upper Peninsula. But even a casual review of the number of lilac bushes in other U.P. locations compared to the Marquette area suggests there are more here than elsewhere.

Marquette and the surrounding area is literally loaded with lilac bushes of all sizes and colors. The ones that are situated on private property were, in all likelihood, planted by property owners at some point in the past. It’s the bushes that are located on public lands and on public rights of way, however, that are harder to figure out.

These lilacs are blooming in the Father Marquette Park in Marquette. (Journal photo by Abby LaForest)

“There are a lot of them around,” said Hauver, who, for many years, tended the many flower gardens and flower beds on public land in the city.

Flowers, indeed anything that grows from dirt, depend on soil, sun and water to flourish, she said. But additionally, cost may have played a role in their profileration.

“They were inexpensive,” said Hauver. “People bought them for themselves, they gave them to each other.”

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, lilacs are a widely cultivated European shrub (syringa vulgaris) of the olive family that has cordate ovate leaves and large panicles of fragrant pinkish-purple or white flowers.

They come in a handful of basic colors, including varying shades of purple, red and white. Notable not only for their beauty, lilacs are extraordinarily fragrant and are occasionally used in the manufacture of perfume.