The fragrance of early spring…

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come

Song of Solomon 2:12 (a)  TLB

And I will make thee beds of roses, And a thousand fragrant posies.

Marie Antoinette

As we move more into the spring season, I’ve been thinking about all the floral fragrances that announce spring for me.  Though there are many different fragrances and other lovely floral aromas, depending on the flowers that grow in the area where you live, these are a few of my favorites.

While crocus are a visual sign and bright spot of early color in flower beds, it’s hyacinths that mark the first “spring scent” for me.  With their bright pink, purple, or white multiflowered stalks which brave the possibility of a spring snow, they beckon me to bend down to ground level so that my nose can savor their lovely scent.

When raising my family, we had two sweet traditional flowers that welcomed each and every spring.  First was my neighbors bushy pink peony with a profusion of sweet smelling blossoms. Then came the outrageously abundant display of the a shared hedge of hundred year old lilacs!  The soft purple blossoms filled the air of the neighborhood, and my house, with a heavenly fragrance.  Wafting on soft spring breezes, the lovely scent invited the first brave butterflies of the season to drink the flower’s sweet nectar.

And you?  Do you have favorite flower scents that herald the spring? Be sure to appreciate the unfolding fragrance of spring from March to May!