• Home
  • About
  • Contact Us

CvilleBuzz

A Jim Brewer Publication

  • Outdoor Report
  • Boomer Memories
  • Now We’re Cooking
  • Golfing for Duffers
  • Backyard Birds and Buds
  • Local Business
You are here: Home / Weeds and Wildflowers / How Sweet It Is!

How Sweet It Is!

May 21, 2020 By Jim Brewer

Funny, but there are still a handful of smells that I can distinctly remember from my youth. One was the smell of a new baseball mitt, a strong leather scent that lasted until you left your glove out in the rain just once. Another smell was that of a new pair of blue jeans, the aroma of the strong indigo dye was tantalizing. Another unforgettable scent I recall was from Grandma Brewer’s kitchen when she – or Aunt Lena – baked fresh yeast rolls.

And a sweet smell I’ll never forget was that of honeysuckle. The fence behind the batting cage on the Little League field in Lewisburg, WV was covered in honeysuckle and the sweetness of that smell was haunting As kids, we used to pluck the honeysuckle blooms and suck out a morsel or two of sweet nectar.

Honeysuckle is in bloom now. And no French perfume smells as sweet.

They say that the honeysuckle is the “Queen of Flowering Plants.” Ferris Cook, who penned “The Garden Trellis”, said that “If I had only one trellis, I’d probably plant a  honeysuckle.”

Not many today plant the sweet-smelling vines , but they readily grow wild along roadsides and the edges of woods. Honeysuckle was once thick on the floors of  Virginia’s forests, until the explosion of deer, then honeysuckle largely went away in the backwoods.

Many landscapers encourage the planting of honeysuckle, especially near doors or windows through which the sweet smell can permeate. They also suggest planting the hardy vine to hide old tree stumps and other eyesores. Honeysuckle weaving through a chain-link fence forms a natural privacy barrier and honeysuckle anywhere in a backyard is a bird magnet – for nesting, shelter and feeding – especially hummingbirds.

This spring, take advantage of one of the sweetest of all smells. If you see honeysuckle in bloom, draw near and inhale its grandeur.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Print
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket

You might also enjoy

Default ThumbnailViolets are Blue Default ThumbnailButtercups Default ThumbnailDandy Little Dandelions Default ThumbnailCommon Daisies

Filed Under: Weeds and Wildflowers

advertisement

Subscribe to CvilleBuzz

Subscribe to our mailing list

Latest Stories

  • Telling It Like It Is
  • Trader Joe’s Tempura Shrimp
  • The Robins of Capistrano
  • Heavenly Cod
  • A Passenger Hawk

Find us on Facebook

Find us on Facebook

Popular Stories

  • The Rathskeller at Chapel Hill
  • White Tailed Blackbird
  • Butch Wax and Flat Tops
  • Carolina Cioppino
  • Remembering a Blue Ridge Mountain Father

About Cville Buzz

I am Jim Brewer, Editor of the new CvilleBuzz, a humble on-line attempt to entertain those, not only … Read More...

Story Sections

  • A Losing proposition
  • Around Town
  • Articles From the Past
  • Backyard Birds and Buds
  • Band Aid
  • Boomer Memories
  • Chuckles
  • Columns to Remember
  • Coming Attractions
  • Conservation
  • Dan Corbin
  • Eatin' Out
  • Exploring Virginia
  • Golfing for Duffers
  • Greg Lefler
  • Guest column
  • Hawaii
  • HUnting Update
  • In Layman's Terms
  • Lights Out
  • Local Business
  • Nancy B's
  • Neat Stuff
  • Now We're Cooking
  • On Golden Pond
  • Outdoor Report
  • Ready Fore Golf
  • Realtor
  • Road Trips
  • Saltwater Report
  • The Garden Spot
  • The Outer Banks
  • Trout Fishing
  • Weeds and Wildflowers
  • While Shepherds Watched

Pages

  • About
    • Lights Out: Lighting Fixtures
  • Contact Us

Advertise on Cville Buzz

Do business in the Charlottesville area? Then Contact Us to learn about our affordable rates and attractive ad display options.

Copyright © 2021 Cville Buzz · Log in