Sunday, 3 January 2010

Wintersweet


Chimonanthus praecox

If you plant a grove of Wintersweet
make sure you choose
a sheltered place.

On a warm still day in January
the trapped cloud
of honeyed fragrance
will envelope you
so that summer seems
only a breath away.

9 comments:

Mary said...

divine !

Meggie said...

How gorgeous! I love the scent of Wintersweet.

Ali said...

..sniff..

kristina said...

That sounds lovely. I've never heard of wintersweet... K x

Monica said...

we had those in our garden in Italy. one of my dad's favourite. they remind my of him.

thank you.

silverpebble said...

Oh I love it as you know. Mine, whose flowers are more waxy and less brightly-coloured, is just about to flower. I can't wait for the smell. Is witch-hazel another name for it? x

Spruce Hill said...

What lovely color for a cold winter day!

Don said...

The picture you have above has the title of Winter Sweet(Chimonanthus praecox), but I think the picture you are displaying is Witchhazel(Hamamelis) It flowersin the winter and has a wonderful scent when all around is lifeless like Wintersweeet.
Don from www.donsgarden.co.uk

alice c said...

Dear Don,
Thank you for this suggestion. As it happens that tree IS Winter Sweet (it is labelled) but there are Witch Hazel planted nearby and I was enjoying ther fragrance only this weekend.
Regards
Alice