Saturday, February 11, 2017

桂花 (Sweet Olive)

As I was walking through campus this morning, I was suddenly made aware of a familiar fragrance.  I instinctively knew it was 桂花 osmanthus fragrant. 


It is one of my favourites.  It is not big in size, loud in colour, complex in structure, or overpowering in fragrance.  It is small in size, pastel in colour, simple in structure, and strong yet subtle in fragrance.  I have always heard that it flowers in Autumn.  Yet I have discovered that those on campus flower every few months.  Perhaps it is because of the warmer climate in Hong Kong.  It almost seems that they realise that they are small and not attraction grabbing like others.  Hence it works hard to bloom as soon as it can, when it has recovered from its last blooming.  

I like 桂花.  It makes our campus that much more pleasurable.  






1 comment:

YTSL said...

Hi Stephen --

I, too, am a fan of osmanthus flowers. In particular, I love their sweet scent. They can be found in a section of the Hong Kong Wetland Park, and I enjoy walking in it. I occasionally also notice them growing wild in Hong Kong -- or, at least, I feel like I can smell their scent. :)