Alright, I admit it: I have been watching these flowers for a few weeks now, so it’s not like they were a new innovation today. BUT, I took a picture of them while biking today, so there you go;)
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(they smell so amazing <3 )
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The other day, one of my friends called this plant — she has one in her garden — by the first common name I’ve ever heard for it: “wintersweet.” When I look up wintersweet, of course it takes me to a different yummy-smelling of plant, Chimonanthus, but that’s the thing with common names for plants, they point to lots of different things. And wintersweet is a great name for these, since they start flowering basically in the depths of January winter and they smell so, so good.
So, I see (and smell) these tucked all around Portland and I know them as Viburnum. Maybe Viburnum farreri. I’m actually not sure, but a pink-flowering viburnum like this by any other name still smells as sweet, heh. And still lights up the winter, and my bike ride too:)