Flowers for all senses

While walking home from work this week, sometimes drenched, sometimes dry I was struck by a most amazing sweet fragrance. We welcome the shade urban trees provide and their shelter from wind and rain. But not always do we notice their fragrances. Many of our trees  and shrubs to not produce scent. Most of us can recall the scent of roses, but did you know the city is aburst with the aroma of lime this week?

This week is owned by the lindens. Their sweet lime fragrance scents the downtown and suburban landscape. Lindens are those trees with heart-shaped leaves and clusters of sticky yellow-green flowers. The aromatic volatile oils that give the tree its fragrance have also been employed in herbal medicine, as a soporific and for stomach ailments.

A refreshing tea may be made by steeping fresh or dried flowers.


Linden in flower on a windy day, photo by Marian Munro