Crossword Genius

Place to grow lilac, oddly neglected shrub (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gardenia

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'shrub' is the definition.
(I know that Gardenia is a type of shrub)

'place to grow lilac oddly neglected' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'place' could be 'den' (den is a kind of place) and 'den' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gardenia that I've seen before include "Drainage for shrub with white or yellow flowers" , "Bad drainage produces a fragrant flower" , "Drainage (anag) -- plant" , "Shrub with fragrant flowers - in Grade A (anag)" , "A reading (anag.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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