Sweet Smell of Spring

Living in the deep south we don't have too many really gorgeous days, but the last few days have been fantastic. The humidity is low, the sky is clear and blue, the weather is cool and everything is blooming. These are days when we can open the windows and let the fresh air blow through the house.

As I sit in my studio working today I can see the green all over the yard. I can hear the birds having a ball in the trees. But most of all I can smell the ligustrums, also called privet. . .
Ligustrums are an evergreen shrub that can be pruned to be a standard or left to grow as a large bush.



In the spring ligustrums produce clusters of fragrant white flowers.



These flowers make the bushes absolutely lovely.



However, they also produce a very potent fragrance and an over abundance of pollen. The fragrance is very strong and combined with the pollen can easily cause allergy problems from headache to sinus pressure to full blown infections.

Our home is surrounded by ligustrums and they usually cause all types of problems for my allergies, but today the weather is so gorgeous and the blooms so beautiful that I can't resist leaving the windows open and enjoying nature. I just pray my allergies decide it is too gorgeous a day to act up!