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| This is a fancy honeysuckle named Scentsation, but it was planted in semi-shade. |
"Honeysuckle?! Honeysuckle?! You paid for two of them? Didn't anyone tell you honeysuckle is a weed? You can't get rid of it. I've seen 70 feet of that weed."
The same person often spoke of the fragrance of honeysuckle in summer, the aroma drifting through the windows in the summer. Two children have made a point of finding the few berries deep in the back of the yard. Honeysuckle is a big deal in the South.
Mr. Gardener told me years ago about that same weed taking over the grass alley behind our homes. I confessed that I could not get it going. He was amused and puzzled.
I am one of those gardeners who grabs bargains at the end of the season, so I bought two tiny honeysuckle starts - not very impressive. Like some hostas I have ordered for their special colors (stripes, white, gold and green, green and white, blue) - I imagined the honeysuckles pulled out of the ground and eaten by rabbits, squirrels or anything wanting some expensive salad.
I put collars around each plant and bamboo sticks to mark them, pinning down the flighty collars (a collar once rolled a block away during a wind storm).
By spring I had forgotten how to distinguish honeysuckle leaves from a normal weed or ordinary plant. I looked them up on the Net - Aha! They are starting to grow and reach up for support, which a handyman is going to set up for me with "cow squares."
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| This is Charli Sue on a walk at the local animal shelter, showing off her alert status. |
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| She is 23 pounds, very active, intelligent, and attentive to most commands. She is gleeful when playing and running at rocket speed. I added her middle name so she would not be misgendered. |
