As I said previously, we have gardenias in our new backyard. I love them, but wish they could last longer. When we first moved in, one or two were blooming, but I was too busy to take photos. When we returned from our two trips, there were spent blossoms all over the patio. Sigh. It took almost a month to see another bloom and here it is:
I was surprised to learn that the gardenia was named after a Scottish-born American naturalist, Dr. Alexander Garden. Great name, huh?
The scent is divine.
{carole}
Pearls & Prose 
Oh, Carole, this brought back memories. We had a gardenia plant near our front door of my childhood home. The scent, as you say, is divine. And it always makes me feel like I’m at home. I’m so jealous that you have your own. Enjoy it for me!
Oh, I will. The scent of gardenia and jasmine remind me of California instantly. I really missed them when I lived on the East Coast, so I understand.
Now that you mention it I remember the scent of gardenias… It’s very nice.
It’s often used in perfumes too.
Here is a list. I love this site btw
http://www.fragrantica.com/notes/Gardenia-19.html
They are such beautiful flowers.
What a cool site! I haven’t found a perfume that smells like the true scent of gardenia, but bodycology makes a cream called White Gardenia that comes awfully close. It’s subtle, which I like.
So funny to have a flower named after someone named Garden!
Isn’t it?
These flowers are one of my mom’s favorite. The fragrance is intoxicating!
I love the milky white petals against the dark green leaves.
How lovely that you have the plant in your yard.
I am thrilled, because I’ve tried growing gardenias before and was unsuccessful. They don’t like a lot of water and I was unaware of that the first time around.
These were Mom’s favorite flowers and we always remembered her with corsages, etc. made with gardinias. I actually tried to grow them when we first moved to Texas but was not able to keep them alive and blooming….too hot I think and the clay soil just didn’t help….
Laurie, I had no idea! It was so nice of you guys to remember like that.
Yes, gardenias need humidity and cool night temps, but I think they do OK in hot places like Houston and Florida because of the moist air.
I love gardenias. My sister had them for her wedding flowers. I still remember walking into the room at church where she was getting dressed and the wonderful smell of the flowers in the room.
Jeanne, so good to hear from you! I really miss reading your blog.
I would have loved being in the room with the gardenias. I just learned that there’s a type of gardenia that gets really big–those are the ones used in corsages. Mine are much smaller.
Beautiful, Carole. My sister’s previous home in Georgia had a gigantic magnolia tree in the front yard. I’d always considered them a tender plant to be coddled and coaxed because the blossoms appear so delicate. Not so.
I think magnolias are just plain amazing, Cheryl. Growing up in the Midwest, I had never seen one until I moved to Virginia. One of my all-time favorite trees.
We once rented a house in California with a garden that looked terrible–hadn’t been watered for at least a month. After two or three months of steady watering, rosebushes sprouted all over the place. I think I counted 50 in all. They are tougher than they look too.
I had never seen one until I saw my sister’s tree. Up here they are an indoor, pot-grown exotic!