Bliss in My Garden

Yolanda Elizabet, today you are not the only one who has bliss in your garden. Too bad the internet doesn't have scratch 'n sniff capabilities:



Every time I walk by the trellis where this Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) grows, or even am in the general vicinity of it, I catch a whiff. I breathe deeply again and again. I can't get enough, but I keep trying because it will be gone before I know it.

This is on the invasive species list in several states, including Ohio, but according to The Nature Conservancy, it's not found with regularity in our part of the state. I don't find it to be a problem here in our yard, and we've had it for probably 25 years, maybe longer. I don't really remember how it got here, but it's planted at the base of our large trellis, which wasn't here when we moved in (1977), so we planted it. I hate it when my memory fails me.

We also have Morrow's Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), which is also on the invasive species list, back in Max's Garden, in the corner. I hate that thing. It grows VERY fast and isn't generally attractive. It doesn't even have the strong scent that the Japanese honeysuckle has. It was here when we moved here, and given its location, I'm guessing it was planted there on purpose.


It's so large now that it would be a major undertaking to remove it, so we try to just control it by pruning it back extensively a couple of times a year.

Max likes to use it for claw sharpening, and when it's in bloom, you can actually hear the tree/shrub buzzing from several feet away, it's so loaded with bees.