Back when dear husband was at UNC-Chapel Hill and I was working at a strangely shaped building (for which there are no pictures on the web!), I would drive to UNC after work and jog before we headed home. One of my usual routes took me through Coker Arboretum, and, during odd warm weeks in January and February, there was one bush that made me stop in my tracks. Even if I didn't notice that the Lonicera was blooming, the fragrance caught my attention as I jogged by.
A Lonicera was the first bush we planted in this yard. We moved in a few weeks before December. About a month later, one Sunday after church, we were walking in the arboretum and the Lonicera was blooming. We bought one at a garden store in Carrboro on the way home and planted it that afternoon.
Yesterday, I could smell it from across the front yard. Even though we've had it for years, it still takes me by surprise. Lonicera's common name is Winter Honeysuckle, and it's also called "Sweet Breath of Spring" - a promise of things to come! By the way, the picture is much larger than the flower, which is only about 1/2 inch across.
I can post pictures, and links to music, and YouTube videos, but there's no way I can send the smell of Lonicera through the internet to you. It's a shame!
But, it's so nice to be able to do a gardening post in early January!
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