IN SEASON

florjus blog

SPRING 2026

Idealized Sky

Free from obstacles and problems, we say "it's clear skies."

That said I can't imagine never seeing a sky stacked with puffy white clouds. Or floating abstract arrangements of ephemeral cloud art.

A blue sky filled with cumulus clouds over trees.

A blue sky filled with small and large cumulus clouds.

Elusive Scent of Crown Vetch (Securigera Varia)

I discovered crown vetch several years ago. Such delicate foliage. Rings of pink sweet pea like flowers blooming in profusion. So pretty.

While on an afternoon walk, I discovered something else about this lovely groundcover. The flowers smell like garden sweet peas. Huhh?! How did I miss this?

I searched for another plant blooming close by. Nope. Or maybe crown vetch's scent is only impactful in a large grouping. Nope again. I picked a single flower. My nose confirmed that crown vetch is indeed scented.

Floral scents vary from nose to nose, weather conditions, time of day and many things I don't know.

The mystery of the elusive crown vetch scent has a simple (and satisfying) explanation. I was in the right place at the right time.

A group of blooming crown vetch flowers.

Brown knapweed blooming among green leaves.

What's This?

Between a barbed wire fence and the highway is a narrow strip of wildflowers or weeds, depending on your perspective.

Walking along the fence, I spotted this unusual flower among the usual field daisies, vetch and thistles. It looked similar to a "respectable" garden plant. Like bachelor's button wild cousin. Hmm.

Turns out it's in the Centaurea genus like bachelor's button. Common name brown knapweed (Centaurea jacea), even though the flower is some shade of pink. The bracts are brownish. Still, I expected a more charming name for a charming flower.

It's a European native flower and classified as a noxious weed. I observed bees and butterflies not giving a damn about brown knapweed's origin and noxiousness. Why would they shun a food source?

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