Is it Lilac or Lavender?

While walking in the park with my girls, we came upon an area that was filled with a sweet floral scent. I walked a bit slower, turning my head in different directions to try to find any nearby rose bushes. I didn't stop walking, I only slowed down my pace. Even though I really wanted to find out where the fragrant came from, in a split second, I decided against it because I didn't want to waste time. I was keeping tabs on time, making sure our stroll in the park was not too long so that my eldest daughter could go home and start on her homework and for me to cook dinner.

My girls did continue to walk but they didn't hasten their pace. Instead, they meandered. They paid attention to everything along the way. They noticed the little pink flowers on the bushes, the broken glass on the trail, and the spider webs on the bushes. They stopped and looked at everything that their curious minds saw along the trail despite me hurrying them along. When we turned around to walk home, my eldest daughter stopped in front of a bush. She said the fragrant seemed to have came from that bush. I smelled the little purple flowers on the bush and indeed it was the sweet floral scent that filled the air. My eldest said it smells just like our hand lotion. I looked at the flowers and my first thought was, "Lilac?". Okay, by now, you all should know I'm not good with flowers but lavender was a second thought that popped in my head because its scent is commonly used in hand lotions, soap bars, and dishwashing liquids. I didn't bring a camera with me that day but returned the next day and nipped off a tiny branch of flowers to take to a plant nursery and ask if they can help me identify the flower.


At first, I wanted to plant this flower in my backyard but moments later, my youngest daughter pointed to a trail of ants. I looked closer and saw a lot of ants around the bush which was not a good sign. I definitely don't want ants in my backyard. We ended up not going to the plant nursery after all but since I took a picture of the flower, I'll probably go this weekend and find out more about this flower.