It is official: it’s spring. And yes, it has been raining buckets.

As I go by a mound of fragrant daphne, Daphne odora, I have to go back and smell again. A heady fragrance that is so pleasurable beside an entrance, stairs, a path. The dark-green evergreen leaves are simple, pointed at both ends, but the four-petalled flowers range from pale to deep pink, and they smell wonderful.

In our lane, the magnolias are blooming again: star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) and saucer magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana). And the petals can be fermented! Just a week ago, both magnolias had barely thought of blooming. And now!

Apparently, the petals are edible and slightly gingery, says a friend of mine, who makes artificial magnolia blossoms for those in hospital who aren’t allowed to have strong scents around. They even withstood the rain.