Daphne odora

In spite of it being so bitterly cold, the daphne odora is starting to bloom properly now. It'll be a little while before it peaks, but it's already looking wonderful. Unfortunately, my ability to smell plant fragrances is rather diminished these days, but I can still just about detect the scent of daphne. What insects there can be around in the this weather I've no idea, but presumably something may be pollenating it, or maybe just the wind. It does lift the heart to see it though. The flowers look unreal in a way - so perfect and so still that you'd think they had been modelled in some sort of waxy substance.