|
Sweet Olive� 2002-03-02 Been sick for the last couple of days. Yeesh. Every time I catch a cold I wish I could live in a bubble. Miserable things. Been playing games on the computer with the sliding glass door to the atrium open. I like the doors and windows open when possible anyway, but right now it's especially pleasant. The sweet olive is in bloom. I don't know the scientific name for this one or if it's really related to olive trees, but it smells wonderful. Like white-fleshed nectarines. (I'm not obsessed with food, I swear I'm not. . . much.) I can't believe that so much scent comes from such tiny blossoms. They're about 3/16" wide. I saw, or rather smelled this plant at the Los Angeles Arboretum years ago. It took me a few minutes to figure where the scent was coming from. The plant didn't have a species marker like most of the plants there, so I didn't know what it was. I looked for it for years. Then one day I was leaving a nursery with my purchases when I smelled it. That was it; I knew it was. I snatched it up and headed back to the cashier. I put it in a container in the atrium. (No way am I leaving this one behind when we move.) Since then every spring and fall it blooms and perfumes the office and entry. And makes me hungry for summer and nectarines. � |