Sweet Scents of the Garden!

Mark and I have a habit of strolling about the gardens every evening.  Not that there is a whole lot to see during this time of year but once in a while we are pleasantly surprised by some plant or critter.  This might be by a rabbit scared by our presence but unmoving as to not draw our attention, by some plant starting to sprout through the ground or by some bud starting to unfurl.  Our walk yesterday evening was interrupted by a glorious aroma!  We had just rounded the corner by the huge grapefruit trees and stopped for a moment by the kumquat tree.  Mark was grabbing a snack from the tree when I got a whiff of something delightful!  My mind raced back in time to my childhood and the large circle driveway at the old farm place!  It was there that I first recall the spicy scent of the Paperwhite Narcissus.  Pop always had a myriad of flowers planted in the beds around the driveway.  Each season brought forth a new array of blooms!  I never recall this area being bleak and bare.

Mom always loved these flowers..not because of their striking beauty..(with which some will argue calling them plain.) but because they were harbingers of spring.  She knew that once the Paperwhites started blooming, warmer days would soon be the rule.  I suppose the main reason I am so fond of the plant is it was one of her favorites.  As matter of fact, the little cluster of bulbs that I have are direct descendants of hers!  Years ago when Mark and I built this house, I dug up a couple of bulbs from the old farm place and transplanted them here.  Each year, I promise to take better care of them by moving them in a happier place than under the citrus trees but I humbly admit that I am negligent in my duties.  The poor plants do what they can to survive and always manage to bring a smile.  *I promise to transplant the Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs this year!!!*

Anyway, our walk was highly pleasurable...Mark's simply because our ambling took us past the kumquat trees and mine merely because of the Paperwhites and happy memories!