Lavender - lavandula dentata

There are quite a few variations upon Lavender down in the nursery. I have not investigated, but I think the lavendula may be a poor man's lavender: one not grown for cut flowers, or for oil but purely for pleasure. Corrections welcome.

The flower spike to this one is quite different for others down there.

And the container from yesterday was a gift from a couple of friends for my 60th last year. I had asked for "something old and junky" and they found this which was labelled turkish.

Baby's Breath is really gypsophila and is a bit like an incredibly small daisy.

A thing of beauty

An offering for those of you who prefer their beauty from a classical mould.

A perfume from the past

This is my newly planted Daphne which I suspect will flower this coming spring. It is such a compact flower: full of self-control that presents itself just-so. And yet it emits this overwhelmingly profuse perfume.

I like that in a plant: the hidden whammy.

Beauty

Beauty persists over time; it metamorphoses with age rather than fades. Youthful beauty is a given. But to retain beauty over time requires restrained elegance. The sepia tinged leaf cannot destroy the glorious perfume of the gardenia. Flowering bushes from an age passed crowd my gardens: gardenia, daphne, lavender, orange jasmine ... the jostled memory lingers.

A perfumed garden

The Murraya is immensely popular as a hedging plant. However, regular and inappropriate trimming can stifle the flowering of this highly perfumed plant. Other areas might know it as Hawaiian Mock Orange or orange jessamine or Chinese Box. Its botanical name is Murraya paniculata var. ovatifoliolata.