It seems like in just one day, all the Confederate Jasmine in town has burst into full bloom. Everywhere I go I smell its sweet scent, and see its white flowers. Here massed in a hedge. There climbing up a telephone pole. There on a fence, or climbing over a vacant house. I once grew this plant as a finicky hanging basket plant in Seattle. Not here. Here it takes over!
Trachelospermum jasminoides is a vigorous evergreen vine with white five-petaled star-shaped flowers. It's a native of China and is not related to the "real" jasmines of the genus Jasminum.
It gets its common name because it grows so well in the Southern states, those once part of the Confederacy. This is a legacy that perhaps this pretty flower should have outgrown. In Europe, it's called Star Jasmine. That might be prettier.
Nevertheless, there is so much of it here in New Orleans that it has filled our late April evenings with scent.
3 comments:
I had our kitchen in Virginia painted red -- unfortunately, the shade of red I chose was called "Confederate Red." No doubt that your flowers smell prettier than the paint!
Lilacs are in bloom all over my city now. When the breezes are blowing just right, the backyard smells heavenly.
Spokane is known as the "Lilac City." I wish lilacs could grow in our warmer climates!
Hi,
Isn't that the same jasmine that grows all over LA (the other LA)?
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