I thought I was buying spicebush, but what arrived was Carolina allspice, and by way of apology for the mistake, the seller said they were “similar”. Well, yes, you dumb bitch, in that both are shrubby things, and both are natives, and both have “spice” in their common names, but I’m quite certain that Spicebush Swallowtails can tell the difference. Last thing I ever buy from her. Anyway, I thought they were kind of pretty, so I stuck them up by the pond, and this year, they finally had a few blooms. People go on and on about the “spicy” scent of the foliage and blooms, but I thought they sort of smell gross, and it’s only a faint scent. Not “cat piss rue” gross, but not pleasant, either. Nice leaves, though, and cool-looking papery flowers.

After the open-oven-door heat and drought of last summer, my little dogwoods were doing well to have any blooms at all. Not as many as last year, but last summer was fucking miserable, so they did a pretty good job, all things considered.