While I was cleaning some of the flower beds, this heavenly scent just about took my legs from under me. TEA OLIVE!
The tiny white bell-shaped flowers are so well hidden and so small that they're often missed, but that delightful scent can make one swoon!
If the perfumers could ever come CLOSE to matching this fragrance, they'd be rich. But the 'tea olive' fragrances' I've tried don't do the plant justice!
14 comments:
It looks beautiful Lin. I have never heard of it or smelled it, but you make me want to! Great sketch. Glad you did it to share.
oh my Lin, you are so prolific! so many sketches . . . . plants, flowers, grandchildren, trees, very inspiring your enthusiasm and willingness to tackle all subjects even the scary ones, nice job on all of them!
Your plant drawings are so lovely. Clearly you are a gardener.Lovely work.
MD
Lin,
You've been a busy girl! I scrolled down just slightly after seeing this sketch and found so many, many more. Great work. I love the watercolor washes on the flowers and especially the sketch of your grandchild.
This is interesting, have never heard of this before.
Tea olive, or osmanthus, is probably my favorite scented plant in all the world. Well, not counting roses and mock oranges. I associate the bloom with autumn, though. I'm curious that you're experiencing the blossoms now. I completely agree that no manmade perfume has ever captured that elusive, unique fragrance. Thank you for posting this lovely sketch.
I've never heard of tea-olive, and I garden! Looks and sounds gorgeous -- it's going on my list of plants to find.
Beautiful! I just love all the botanical sketches you've been doing! And what a great way to practice watercolor washes (like in the trees).
I've never smelled it, but now I will be on the look out for it in the nurseries. And your sketches are so lovely!
I've not heard of a Tea Olive before - do you know it's botanical name? Maybe we call it something else here. Wish it was possible to document fragrance on blogs! :o)
Hi Lin, This is my favorite fragrant plant, ever. I read about the scent, described in a magazine as a mixture of orange & vailla with a hint of spice, and I searched all over for it. Thanks for reminding me that it's as lovely to paint as it is to sniff! Nicely done!
Belinda
TEA olive? Sounds delicious but I don't think I've ever seen it this far north. I'll have to settle for martini olive. But meanwhile, I do love your drawings, Lin. Wish I had time to g et back to it. Maybe when the snow goes away...
Here you go: The Sweet Osmanthus (Latin name: Osmanthus fragrans; also known as , Sweet Olive or "Tea Olive") (from Wikipedia.)
It is commonly said to have an apricot smell, but to me, it is a fragrance unlike any other.
Very nice job on the leaf shapes - I don't know of this scented leaf but we grow olive trees, so maybe I should see if it would grow here.
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