Back to nature for the latest small delight, and the beautiful white Star Jasmine which covers the wall by our front door. 

The flowers do indeed look like little stars – or to my eyes like the windmills on sticks we had as children.

I love the way these five-petalled flowers grow in clusters from a central point making a scented ball of flowers, like a natural pomander, and the contrast of the shiny dark green leaves, like a bow on the end of a posy.

According to Wikipedia, the name ‘Jasmine’ comes from old French via Persian. After the Muslim conquest of Persia it was borrowed as yāsamīn. Through Arabic, the name entered Ottoman Turkish and then to Middle French around 1570. The word was first used in English in the 16th century.

A pretty name for a pretty flower with a beautiful scent.