It's not a Lilac as such Pegi, I guess the flowers are similar so that's why it was given the common name. Ceanothus is in California though ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
It's in a different family to Lilac..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
They are a beautiful shrub to have though! Many of them grow into quite large shrubs so you need space for them.
