I sat me down to watch upon a bank
With ivy canopied and interwove
With flaunting honeysuckle.

John Milton, Comus 

I could watch the honeysuckle for a long time. Each stage, from bud to fully opened flower, has a different and fascinating appearance. 

The strangest part, for me, I’ve only just noticed when I came to draw it: the stem goes right through the middle of a large, flattish leaf, and further small leaves grow out of this, either side of the stem, reminding me of an Elizabethan ruff around a slender neck.

Honeysuckle is also known as woodbine, and the Woodland Trust describes the flowers as ‘a paradise for wildlife’.