Autumn Honeysuckle

I love honeysuckle. The heady scent of this hedgerow flower is in many ways the essence of a summer evening. More than this, it links me inextricably to my childhood home where dad had trained honeysuckle around the veranda trellis, its perfume permeating my summers. 

So we’ve always wanted honeysuckle in our garden, but for years whatever variety we planted failed to thrive. Odd pathetic strands of creeper would make a feeble effort to bear blooms, inevitably failing - until this year that is. 

This summer, we finally seemed to succeed in growing this - for us - elusive shrub. Though in reality, we didn’t ‘grow’ it - it just decided to appear! 

So to find a second flowering this autumn seems miraculous - and I’m thrilled to photograph its blossom today. 

But for this, there’s another hospital visit for an ECG, a phone consultation with my lead consultant who’s delighted by the improvement in my condition, and a further phone call from the surgery discussing my progress with the anti-depressant; I must admit, I’m so impressed by their continued monitoring. 

Much of the rest of the day is spent ‘faffing’ around to get my prints ready for tonight’s camera club.  Having said I wasn’t going to enter any competitions, I’ve gone for both the PDI and print - at least it’s a toe in the water …..