Fragrant flowers, that fade from an intense violet to a softer lavender blue and then to white, are such a sweet feature of the old-fashioned shrub that I know as the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow (Brunfelsia) bush. It is the way in which its flowers change colour from day to day that give this shrub its common name.
From violet ...
... to lavender blue ...
... & then to white.
The young Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow bush growing in my garden was covered in masses of these blooms after the recent soaking rains we had. It is slower growing and it does need water, especially in the drier months of the year. After flowering, it's important to give it a light prune to encourage new growth and to keep the shrub bushy.
Flowers and raindrops.
My Grandmother grew this shrub in her garden, my Mother grows it still and now I do too. The fragrance of its little flowers brings back memories of the gardens I played in when I was young. It's amazing how fragrance can do that in an instant:
"Smell is a potent wizard
that transports you across a thousand miles
and all the years you have lived."
~ Helen Keller
Do you grow fragrant plants in your garden and do they take you back in time too?
Meg
p.s. You need to be aware, if you choose to grow this shrub, that parts of it are poisonous to dogs.
It is a beautiful shrub but not good for anyone with hayfever symptoms.
ReplyDeleteMy garden has frangipani, gardenia, port wine magnolia, mock orange, star jasmine and budlia, so there is usually fragrance somewhere most of the year.
It must be lovely to walk around your garden with those beautiful perfumes in the air, Margaret. Meg:)
DeleteMeg our neighbour grows this gorgeous shrub along our joining fence line. I know when it's in flower as the fragrance is just delightful.
ReplyDeleteIt grows in lots of gardens around where we live, Jane. It's always so beautiful when in flower. Meg:)
DeleteMeg, we used to have that shrub growing out the front and I have no idea what happened to it. I will have to ask my hubby as it was quite beautiful. Plants come and go here :-)
ReplyDeleteMaybe it succumbed during a really dry spell, they really do need bit extra water in the heat/dry of Summer. Meg:)
DeleteSuch a beautiful flower Meg. I know exactly what you mean about different scents reminding you of things. For some reason Jasmine reminds me of Nan. I can only guess she had it growing.
ReplyDeleteAnother one is freshly mowed grass. Reminds me of running around the yard when Dad was out mowing on a weekend.
Kylie
Jasmine is such a beautiful scent, I have it growing along one side fence and it's just gorgeous! Today, I've planted some little sweet peas and their smell reminds me of my Grandparents who grew them too. Meg:)
DeleteBrunsfelsia is one of my favourite shrubs too. I have a small, variegated on growing in Jubilee Park which I just managed to keep alive during the horrible (for the garden) summer we just had. I have a cage about it at the moment because it is reportedly extremely poisonous to dogs, and puppies have a tendency to bite at the plants you least expect.
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that it's quite toxic to dogs, the berries in particular. I have planted mine in an area where our old Labrador doesn't really venture that often, he's usually in the back yard snoozing in the sun or snoozing under my feet! Meg:)
DeleteIt has a really interesting name, which is why I remember it, but I can't say I've had any experience with that plant. It's great to have family memories tied up in our tactile senses. In this case, smell.
ReplyDeleteThere's one plant which does the same scent memories for me, and that's the star jasmine. It grew everywhere in the Brisbane suburbs, where my boyfriend (now husband) and I use to walk a lot. Every spring, the neighbourhood would be filled with the fragrance of star jasmine vines. Delicious! It reminds me of long walks, holding hands and dreaming about nesting.
I love star jasmine too, Chris. It grows along one of our fencelines here and when it's in flower I love catching wafts of the perfume on the wind. Meg:)
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