June 26 - Summer has arrived.  We had a beautiful Full Strawberry Moon on June 24th.  Summer memories always revolve around nature's aromas and scents.  One plant that you wouldn't think contributes to a flowery essence is the common privet hedge - Ligustrum ovalifolium. When you study & memorize the phenology of a garden, if you ever became deaf & blind, you'd always know when the seasons come and go by the fragrance in the garden. You'd learn that Spring is over when the wild roses stop blossoming, and that summer is here when the wild privets are in full blossom. The fragrance of these small, seemingly insignificant flowers is a trademark of summers on Long Island. If you take the time to sit in nature by the untrimmed, wild privets growing in your yard like I do, memories of childhood summers most surely will flood your thoughts. A great shrub to attract bees. The entire yard is intoxicatingly fragrant, today. I am remembering my adolescence living on Jackson Ave. in Lindenhurst, and walking along Copiague Road toward Zahns Airport in Lindenhurst and smelling these flowers that filled the air with summer's perfume. And while walking from the small airport, I searched the ground for yellow buttercups to hold underneath my brother's chin to test whether he liked butter. Ahhh the memories of a childhood out in nature. Priceless!