Choisya in full bloom

The Mexican Orange Blossom has it all says Peter Dowdall winter colour, summer beauty and a powerful scent.

WELL, it’s really summer now, the first flushes of fresh new spring growth are well behind us and we are slap bang in the middle of nature’s most productive gardening season. The trees that were bare skeletons up to six weeks ago are now fully clothed and harbouring thousands of different lives within their branches and foliage. Shrubs that were holding onto their buds so carefully all winter and spring are now showing off like peacocks to attract the pollinators and other beneficial wildlife.

As I look out my window today I am greeted with the wonderful sight of a Choisya ternata in full bloom. And it’s not just the eyes that this Mexican Orange Blossom appeals to, for it has also the most magnificent of scents, creating a sweet aroma which hangs in the air up to 10 metres away on a fine day.