In the early morning light, some things in the garden pop out like the colors of a cartoon. I went outside this morning and was stopped in my tracks by the bright colors, the scents, the scene. It won't be looking like this all summer, I know, but for now, it's glorious. I don't want to go to work! That's not entirely true. I love my job. Even so, it's hard to tear myself away in the morning - especially at this time of year.
Cardinal climber is blooming in my back yard for the first time. It has tiny trumpet-shaped red flowers with yellow centers and wispy foliage. In fact, it looked so wispy I thought it would take a lot longer to support any blooms.
But there it was this morning, along with the chartreuse buds on the hydrangeas and the creamy white blossoms of the sweetbay magnolia. This is a quiet member of my gardening community. It's not flashy, except perhaps in colder weather when its fire-alarm red fruit feeds half the birds in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Or it just seems that way.
The official name of this lovely tree is Magnolia virginiana, and it blooms after its bigger pink cousins. I've never found those as fascinating, and they've got nowhere near the scent of this one. It's hard to describe, but if you put your nose right into the blossom, and drink deeply, you're stunned to discover that it smells kind of like perfume. A fine one. It's citrus-y. People say it's lemon-y. I don't know what to call it, but I know it wafts over the garden, hooks up with the honeysuckle hugging a wall nearby and travels on.
Open the kitchen door, walk outside and it's everywhere. The other night I just sat on the patio and inhaled. Yes, I inhaled! With eyes closed.
