Small is powerful

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The last few days I've been reminded that small doesn't always mean insignificant. In fact, small can be quite powerful.



The fragrant olive bush (Osmanthus fragrans)in our backyard just started blooming. Even though each flower is no bigger than a pencil eraser, they all pump out an amazing amount of fragrance.

Case in point: every time I step out the door, I can smell the flowers. Nevermind the fact that the shrub is at least 40 feet away.

In fact, this shrub is a big part of why I fell in love with the backyard and bought the house. Well, the shrub and also the orange tree, but that's another story for another time.

At any rate, every time I smell these tiny flowers I'm reminded of an old saying:

"If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito."


Ain't that the truth!



12 comments:

Wicked Gardener said...

Love the mosquito quote!

Kim Taylor Kruse said...

Thanks! And as a fellow Floridian, I know that you know what I mean!

antigonum cajan said...

Greetings,

I have written on the fragrance issue a couple of times.

Including a botanical inventory for gardeners beyond...

Good luck in your projects.

Anonymous said...

There are also so many mosquitoes here. I love this quote. I like your honest blogging style.

Laguna Dirt said...

with all the visual beauty of most gardens, it's easy to overlook the amazing fragrances. i just posted some pics of my native garden in california (i killed my lawn--our state is running dry!), and sages are amazingly aromatic!!!

Anonymous said...

We have a small bush similar to that near our back door. Not really the same, but it has such a strong scent.

Char's Gardening said...

Great quote!

india flint said...

how apt!

Lucyeats said...

Love that quote!

miss_understood said...

stumbled across your page and wanted to tell you that i agree, small IS powerful!

Diane said...

How do you keep your tea olive healthy. I just posted today that my tea olive is sick.
I just love the fragrance of the tea olive.

http://panamacitygrandma.blogspot.com/

Lisa M. said...

Yay for smallness :)