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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Friday, April 18, 2008

The Heavenly Fragrance of You


All year long you wind your way into my favorites list. Your evergreen vine performs without skipping a beat even during harsh conditions of heat, drought and wind. Maturing, you clambered and twined your way around to soften the 60 foot length of fencing. As if to say, "wait, I can do even more", you did double-duty providing the perfect amount of privacy for what was constructed initially as a doggie retreat. That was oh, so many years ago. The doggie isn't here anymore but there's a new vegetable garden within your bounds keeping secluded and safe from winds on blustery weather days.
I was so happy with your presentation I gave you another prominent space in the back garden and again you made me proud with the neat way you tangled up one side of the archway that connects two planting beds.

You don't get high acclaim for your characteristics in general although you are a favorite of southern gardeners. I'm of the opinion you should receive lots of glory for being a fast grower. I highly recommend this wonderful vine to new gardeners. They would be taking little risk when planting you and I know they'd feel quite successful. Your failure rate must be little to none. Why, there's not much you require in the way of maintenance. You're even pest free. Of course to keep you from getting unruly you do need a little trimming occasionally. Even so, I'm particularly fond of the way you look in springtime when your energetic dark glossy leaves flush out light green on the tips and with your slender, wiry vines spilling upward and outward kind of wild and airy.

Your best days come in the months of April and May right on schedule each year. It seems overnight the scene transforms when you burst forth with your delicate (1 in) white pinwheel shaped flowers sending your sweet fragrances into the spring air. Your blossoms individually are not too much to rave about but you manage to overcome that by sending out oodles of them in a mass of white to cover the vine.
The way you perfume the morning and evening air is divine. With one deep breath I recognize your heavenly fragrance wafting around my garden. Why even in the heat of the day when I come near you I'm surprised each time as your aroma reminds me of how I adore you , confederate jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, or also commonly known as star jasmine.

22 comments:

  1. Got to love the Jasmine. Just got some confederate jasmine in at work. I love working around the fragrance. What a beautiful cover it has made in your garden. I have some unknown jasmine growing but I don't think it's confederate.

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  2. I love your post. So well written that I can almost smell the confederate jasmine. I wonder if it grows this far north. I will check.~~Dee

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  3. What a lovely ode to the Star Jasmine. I wish I could grow it as you do. I have a tiny piece that won't die but it won't thrive either. Every time I decide I will toss it into the compost it sends up a lovely twiny vine that makes me forget that it will die back to nothing during winter when I will once again think, compost.

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  4. What an absolutely stunning vine - yet another plant in your garden that I haven't seen before. It positively glows!

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  5. Your is lovely on the arbor! I bet it does smell divine.

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  6. Vanillalotus: Confederate Jasmine isn't a true jasmine actually. But it surely produces an intoxicating jasmine-like fragrance.

    Dee: Thank you... I wish I could share the sweet scent with you. Confederate Jasmine is hardy in Zones 8-10 ...

    nancy: Now that would be potent stuff wouldn't it?

    Lisa: Oh I can't imagine tossing this vine into the compost... but then again it would be frustrating to neither live well or die... oh the dilemmas of gardening.

    Amy: I do get a certain excitement every time I see the sun reflecting on the jasmine-laden archway in the morning light.

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  7. Robin: Thank you... it is a wonderfully clean yet strong lemony fragrance.

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  8. Hi Meems, you make a good sales pitch for this vine. It is sold in the local nurseries, maybe it would help provide shade on my new arbor. I will give it a try! Thanks.

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  9. Frances: It grows best in full sun but does well in partial shade too. If you are looking for a vine to cover your arbor fairly quickly you might want to give it a try. It's a really fast grower down here. I only wanted it to go up one side and over the top of mine. The other side used to have a brilliant fuchsia bouganvillea - that way I had a blooming vine all summer. Alas, too much shade took over and now I grow Diplademia on the other side which performs well in partial sun with pink blooms all summer.

    Hope you enjoy your Saturday- I'm heading out to the garden.

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  10. Great blog! I'm in Southern California, so we have many plants in common. I, too, love jasmine and trained one to grow up on my dog's kennel fence. Love it's smell on a warm summer evening!

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  11. Beautiful! I love the smell :)

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  12. Yum. I love a vine with scent and the fact that it's a quick grower is a plus too. I wish it would grow in Colorado. :-(

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  13. lin: how fun that we have similar plants and what a great idea for the dog's kennel. Thanks for visiting Hoe & Shovel.

    Marie: Thank you.

    Kathleen: Whatever zone we are in - we have to find those plants that have a yummy fragrance... don't we?

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  14. Hi Meems, what a wonderfully written post. I really enjoyed reading it and would love to smell this beautiful confederate jasmine. I wonder if it's the beautiful vine our arboretum had blooming inside the greenhouse last month.

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  15. Oh Melanie, I do wish you could smell it too... if only you were my neighbor...

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  16. What a pretty post, and Star/Confederate Jasmine deserves this ode in my opinion, Meems! We sat on the veranda last night and as dusk fell the fragrance was released.

    We've liked this vine so much I had to plant another one in the back yard last week.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  17. Annie: Thank you... I think so too. This time of year it is our habit to eat dinner on the back lanai and that wonderfully fresh scent never fails to greet us as the sun goes down. I'm glad to hear you are growing the jasmine in your TX garden. It probably does just as well for you there as mine does here.

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  18. Always a delight seeing and smelling the difference in Florida and Michigan gardens, Meems. Spring has hit BIG TIME and the world is glorious!

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  19. This reminds me of our trip to Bradenton last year. At Braden Castle (and I mean THE CASTLE!) there is this jasmine growing on the fence surrounding it. It smells SO wonderful!

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  20. Ah, I was just out in my garden and enjoyed the fragrance of my own star jasmine. It truly deserves the praise you've given it.

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  21. What a wonderful post, and wouldn't I love a confederate jasmine in my garden! But alas, it would go running home to you once that first frost hit it.

    Instead, I'll struggle along with lilacs.

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  22. Yes, it is beautiful, and to be fragrant, too, adds to the enjoyment!

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


September 2010

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