It’s a gloomy, drizzly day here today, but not cold at all, and yesterday when I was out watering the pot plants in my small covered courtyard, I noticed my gardenia had a bud that was about to bloom. I adore the fragrance of gardenias and the first gardenia of summer is always an event,  so I brought the pot inside and put it in my bedroom.

Then I went out for most of the afternoon — an end-of-year/Christmas lunch with a small group of women I went to high school with. We reconnected some years ago at a school reunion, and ever since 9 of us have been meeting every few months for lunch, or to do some kind of activity or see an art exhibition. It’s always a day or good company and good conversation. 

Anyway, I got home last night around seven pm, stepped into my bedroom and wow! The fragrance. It was glorious. The gardenia was fully open and the scent of just that one single bloom had filled the room.

So this morning I took this photo of it. It’s quite a small plant, but it has half a dozen fat little buds, so I’m looking forward to those.

I love all kinds of flowers, but the fragrant ones are my favorite. What about you?