Shaking the "No Winter" Blues Away

  It is definitely the wrong time of the year for the little shrub to be blooming but, in view of our lack of cold this winter, I guess this is as good of a time as any.  The tea olive bushes surprised me with their intense aroma as I headed out the east gate this morning.  At first, I pondered just what smelled so sweet but then I remembered that scent...apricots!...and knew right away that the tea olives were in bloom.  A quick check beside the garden gate proved that I was correct.  Both bushes were blooming their little hearts out!  Perhaps it is the wrong time of year but the shrubs threw caution to the wind and budded early.

  The tea olives are evergreens that produce a tiny (think 1/4 inch) flower that gives off an amazing aroma.  This scent does indeed evoke thoughts of apricots.  Some folks say it reminds them a lot of apricots mixed with jasmine. Maybe?  What the blooms lack in showiness, they sure make up for with sweet-smelling happiness!  This is just another of the gloriously scented blooms that grow in the Deep South.  

  The only problem that I have with the shrubs is that they are slow growing.  I had hopes that by this time, I would be collecting enough of those tiny blooms to be making into teas and jellies.  The blooms give teas a delightful flowery or fruity taste.  

  A winter without cold is rather disheartening.  Maybe my little shrubs knew that my spirits needed lifting so they offered the best cure possible.  Finding them at the beginning of my daily hike, proved to brighten the thoughts tremendously.  Just imagine what a cup of tea made with the flowers would do!