I wish I had Smell-O-Vision so that you could feast your noses on this:
The jasmine is so strong that it smells a bit like bananas, and the red rose is seductive as ever. I have been cutting the flowers to make rose jam and rose sherbet. I collect the flowers in a big bowl and just hold my face in it. The smell is so delicious; if I were an immortal being, it’s all I would eat – roses.
The wisteria is also still going strong. Something about the flowers makes me think of women in gowns with ribbons tied around their necks. And the smell of them is enough to make me feel elegant even in grubby jeans and sandals. Ali likes to plant them under trees (that’s a wild pear under all that purple).
The Brown House is visible in the background, still clad in its winter wear – we have rolled it all up since that photo was taken. The weather heated up overnight and we have temps of 35 C (in the 90s to you Fahrenheit folks)! It’s a little too much heat too soon and I’m not the only one who thinks so – the garden is swooning. We’re doing our best to offer succour to the citizenry.
This is a season where there is much to delight the nose (with more to come – the honeysuckle looks set to burst forth any moment). And yet, if you are unfortunate enough to be allergic to any of the multitudes of pollens flying about, this season can bring you to your knees.
I’m not allergic to much, but when the grasses pollinate, I’m a goner. “I can see the pollen!” I told someone the other day, who smiled at me, and said patiently, “You can’t see it.” But I don’t know if they knew just how much grass I was talking about. I have truly looked the enemy in the eye:
And I was the first to blink!
Garden Correspondent 
Glorious aromas, but time to break out the anti-histamine! 🙂 Such an idyllic photo – your house nestled in amongst the woods!
I am taking them this year for the first time in ages and although they make me feel a bit washed out, I have to say I prefer it to the ordeal of runny everything!
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Siobhan, we actually have quite a bit of luck with a nasal spray – we use Flixotide (also known as Beconase Allergy here). It’s like an asthma preventer rather than a reliever – so you use it every night in hayfever season and it helps build up your resistance. I think the active ingredient is Fluticasone.
I’ll have to look into that – thanks for the tip!
Here, it’s tree pollen. It gets me and the grandkids, but not Hubby. Right now, the car windshield is yellow with it…
Oh, to have a jasmine vine… 🙂
My husband is completely immune to the wiles of pollen and seems to think that allergies are some sort of game people play every year. Oh to be so unfettered! The jasmine does like it here – we have an old plant of my mother’s that she used to overwinter indoors in Istanbul and it grew like mad once we set it loose.
“if I were an immortal being, it’s all I would eat – roses” that is a wonderful image!
And pass the Kleenex 🙂 Achooooo ! Mine won’t start for a while yet, but no doubt it will…..
Oh, I remember so much pollen in North Carolina. My black car was always covered in yellow dust.
When it’s at its peak, I feel like I have to wipe everything down five times a day. Amazing how much of it is flying around, isn’t it.
Oh, that jasmine sounds wonderful and I can’t believe you’ve roses in bloom already! I’ve a wisteria, too, and really love the scent. It fills my yard when it’s in full bloom. Still, we’re a few weeks — at least — from having the scents that you’re enjoying. 🙂
I hope we get to see your roses again when they are in bloom. I’ll be nostalgic for all of the flowers by the time they open up by you — our red rose is already winding down.
At this time of the year, you can definitely see the pollen as it coats everything. I’m sure that the smell is wonderful…this is my favorite season.
It is lovely- especially once the grasses have done their bit and left me in peace!