Spring Smells

Can someone please made me some perfume of these flowers?

This Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata or Berberis trifoliolata), a native Texas shrub. All along the fence line down the road past the house where I walk, they are growing up through the fence wire. As I walk at this time of the year, the breeze as I pass each one if filled with the wonderfully sweet smell of their flowers. As you can see, the branches are covered. It is a bit early so the bees are not as thick as they will be on our other wonderful smeller, the Texas or Mexican Persimmon. Both plants produce edible fruit.

The agarita has bright red berries that provide a winter pantry for native birds while the persimmon has large black fuzzy plum-like fruit with not much pulp. I have heard of folks braving the agarita’s sharp leaves to get enough for jelly, but personally, I’ll leave them for the birds. I have tried to eat a ripe persimmon, but in spite of the sweet pulp, there is not enough to make it worth the work. I’ll leave them for the racoons and the deer.

Texas Persimmon, (Diospyros Texana) These fruit don’t show up until late summer.