Just to get it off my head...I found out what 白兰花 in English is: Michelia alba. Of course, I have no idea how to pronounce the first word. It's times like these that I wish I took some rudimentary latin. Anyway, michelia alba is a member of the michelia family (obviously), and is distinguished from others by its white and intensely fragrant flowers. It's a shade tropical tree with light, glossy green leaves. Hence, they do not deal very well with frost when young (meaning less than 4ft tall). They start blooming in spring and lasts till late fall. They can grow into trees towering above a one story house or pruned to bush-shape about 5ft tall.
I love them and will definitely try to grow them as I love the fragrances of the flowers. They bring back memories of Shanghai where old ladies sell them on the streets enticing young women with promises of elegance and beauty, like the michelia flower that wilts at the slightest crimp. (Image)
Another fragrant flower that I love is 桂花 or osmanthus. I have yet to find the exact variety that produces the fragrance I remember. These can grow as hedges or a bush. I'm not sure if they can be trained to grow in vine or tree form. They are small flowers. I remember my dad plucking some flowers off and putting them in his coffee and singing his Chinese songs from the revolutionary days. (Image)
And finally, lilacs, the house sized tree in Ruby's backyard, and the stunted bush behind Khoa's old house. Fragrant for about a week or so, it heralds the onset of what little real spring we have in southern California. Though people might disparage the delicate bunches of pink-blue blossoms for their transience, I love waiting for them and their charming wafts of light fragrance. When the blooms are gone, I can't wait for the next year when it happens again and look forward to a whole new growing season in the garden. (Image)
As you might have noticed from my three choices, they are all flowers from my childhood. They have a way of capturing me that whenever I see or smell them, I have an urge to pluck one and hold them in my hand all day just so I can smell them whenever I'd like. I play a little game with myself: I fill my nostrils with their fragrance molecules and feel like my whole world is filled with them. As I feel saturated with their scents, I breath out to recalibrate my nose. And repeat. Nostalgia. Happiness.
Those are some really great memories B^2. I am constantly reminded of how important scent is, especially when it comes to memories and or getting your mind into an altered state quickly. Even though I want to eat most of the things we grow, it would be awesome to grow these flowers (besides, we could always cheat and use the fragrant petals as garnishes neh?)
ReplyDeleteoh and btw, I think it would be cool if we could put the pictures of the flowers into your blog post. I would do it myself but I can't edit your posts ><
ReplyDeleteThat's actually what I wanted to do. However, I wanted to wait till I can take my own pictures before posting them up. I didn't want to use other people's.
ReplyDeleteOk, you know what? I just tried, but I can't figure out how to do it. So what do I do after I upload the picture?
ReplyDeleteHeh, maybe its a sign that you should wait until we have our own pics to put up ;P. I will call you manana and let you know how to navigate blogger's image uploader dealy.
ReplyDelete