I love Linden blossom. I picked a basket a week or so ago and left it to dry in a sunny porch. Scented. Deliciously so. Proust was spot on with Linden blossom tea and madeleines. Try adding gutweed (seaweed) to madeleines - interesting
The scent of Lime Blossom is intoxicating. I first realised that trees could be scented thanks to an avenue of lime trees outside of my primary school. The drive to my senior school was banked by wild garlic. A fortunate childhood:-) One of our children suffers from anosima - ouch.
Here in North America, we have Tilia species and call it Linden. The flowers look exactly the same, I wonder if it’s similar in medicinal properties. The flowers and bracts (which look exactly the same as what you harvested) can be used for a tea (or tincture) that has a sweet floral flavor and helps the heart and circulatory system, also helps us heal from grief.
Linden is a common name for it here in the UK and in Europe too. My wife is a medical herbalist and very much interested in the medicinal properties of plants, and lime/linden right now and slowly that interest is reaching the cloth mind of her gormless husband
Thank you for bringing us along on your morning walk, albeit the wrong side of the river! I can feel the kiss of the sun and the entanglement of the scents in the air.
LOTS of weirder lime trees in London parks (probably all parks). All do seem to be having a v fragrant year. I’d never seen a lime hawk moth before yesterday!!
Now I've figured out what the ones near me are, I'm very keen to find the less common ones - Silver, Silver Pendent and Crimean especially - and I saw your lovely month on insta - what a beautiful thing!
In Canada we call them Linden Trees, maybe because some places in Europe know them by that name as well. When I lived in Toronto my neighbour had a tree in his front yard and I picked the blossoms for a nightly brew of tea. Relaxing and promotes a good night’s sleep. The whole street smelled delicious with just that one gorgeous tree! Your recipe sounds easy and just the thing for hot summer’s , a cool drink in season.
I love that it's known so commonly by linden too, and after yours and others recommending the flowers as a tea I'm going to pick some if we ever get another sunny day here again!
It makes a popular tea in Bulgaria. We're a few weeks ahead, so lime blossom is the quintessential scent of June. (We're lucky enough to have a huge lime tree over the road, lending its perfume to our garden.) Thanks for the beautiful description, taking me back in time a few weeks. Happy sighs here...
Thank you Claire - it seems to be very much more a part of the culinary calendar in much of Europe than here in the UK, but maybe one day we'll catch up!
Thank you, Mark, for this Proustian moment. Where I grew up, there is a pedestrian alley lined with 100-year-old lime/linden trees. When they were planted, someone thought of using three varieties that bloom at different times, ensuring the scent lasts longer. It is seductive and unforgettable. We primarily use the flowers for tea, but we also make cordial. I love the photos. You've captured that limy green colour.
Thank you Amela - and what a gorgeous place to grow up that sounds! I'm looking forward to the next sunny day to pick some for tea as I've never tried it
I found it in a local nursery and couldn’t resist it … although I can’t resist most plants to be fair. Although I draw the line at dicentra , bloody awful things.
Rushes to find the nearest Limes, a scent that has escaped me so far. Your description is one of the loveliest concoctions of words I’ve read in a good while Mark.
I am gathering that the lime trees you are referring to are not fruiting trees? We have two limes, one a Kaffir grown mainly for its leaves and the other a Tahitian which gives abundant fruit, but there would be no way we would be gathering the flowers from either unless we didn’t care about the fruit. Like others I enjoyed your walk in the sunshine, it is not a day for walking here being quite cold and wet! 32ml in the rain gauge this morning.
Hello Sally, yes, very different species and I would most certainly not pinch the flowers from a fruiting lime for much the reasons you state! I think you may have just had the rain we had a couple of days ago which was torrential
It is dawn, and the scent of lime blossoms is already intense. The fragrance is a kind of annunciation that my little girl's heart recognizes. That is the first proper day of summer for me. I'm leaving with Grandma for the Adriatic Riviera, where, year after year, I spent all of my family holidays. Now that I'm an adult, I'm allergic to their scent. It's horrible and wry at the same time.
What a gorgeous description of lime trees and their flowers - a scent I have to say Ive never really noticed. I shall be off to sniff it out now. And thank you for the answer to my 'where are the bees' question - they're clearly waiting in the willows' wings....
Thanks for sharing! I’m familiar with orange blossom—it’s widely used in Morocco and other Arab countries—but I had never heard of linden blossom. I’ll definitely try it.
La Mer by Charles Trenet is a classic! Have you listened to the version by Miguel Bosé?
Now you’ve got La Mer in my head and I love it. What a balm of a piece of music; it’s like a warm blanket for the soul. This is one of a few pieces of music that cocoon and soothe me, however I may be feeling. Utterly wonderful.
I love Linden blossom. I picked a basket a week or so ago and left it to dry in a sunny porch. Scented. Deliciously so. Proust was spot on with Linden blossom tea and madeleines. Try adding gutweed (seaweed) to madeleines - interesting
I have just googled Proust, linden blossom tea and madeleine's and that might be an afternoon of my weekend taken care of, thank you
The scent of Lime Blossom is intoxicating. I first realised that trees could be scented thanks to an avenue of lime trees outside of my primary school. The drive to my senior school was banked by wild garlic. A fortunate childhood:-) One of our children suffers from anosima - ouch.
Here in North America, we have Tilia species and call it Linden. The flowers look exactly the same, I wonder if it’s similar in medicinal properties. The flowers and bracts (which look exactly the same as what you harvested) can be used for a tea (or tincture) that has a sweet floral flavor and helps the heart and circulatory system, also helps us heal from grief.
Linden is a common name for it here in the UK and in Europe too. My wife is a medical herbalist and very much interested in the medicinal properties of plants, and lime/linden right now and slowly that interest is reaching the cloth mind of her gormless husband
Thank you for bringing us along on your morning walk, albeit the wrong side of the river! I can feel the kiss of the sun and the entanglement of the scents in the air.
Thank you Alex, I do appreciate you coming along for the walk
LOTS of weirder lime trees in London parks (probably all parks). All do seem to be having a v fragrant year. I’d never seen a lime hawk moth before yesterday!!
Now I've figured out what the ones near me are, I'm very keen to find the less common ones - Silver, Silver Pendent and Crimean especially - and I saw your lovely month on insta - what a beautiful thing!
In Canada we call them Linden Trees, maybe because some places in Europe know them by that name as well. When I lived in Toronto my neighbour had a tree in his front yard and I picked the blossoms for a nightly brew of tea. Relaxing and promotes a good night’s sleep. The whole street smelled delicious with just that one gorgeous tree! Your recipe sounds easy and just the thing for hot summer’s , a cool drink in season.
I love that it's known so commonly by linden too, and after yours and others recommending the flowers as a tea I'm going to pick some if we ever get another sunny day here again!
It makes a popular tea in Bulgaria. We're a few weeks ahead, so lime blossom is the quintessential scent of June. (We're lucky enough to have a huge lime tree over the road, lending its perfume to our garden.) Thanks for the beautiful description, taking me back in time a few weeks. Happy sighs here...
Thank you Claire - it seems to be very much more a part of the culinary calendar in much of Europe than here in the UK, but maybe one day we'll catch up!
Thank you, Mark, for this Proustian moment. Where I grew up, there is a pedestrian alley lined with 100-year-old lime/linden trees. When they were planted, someone thought of using three varieties that bloom at different times, ensuring the scent lasts longer. It is seductive and unforgettable. We primarily use the flowers for tea, but we also make cordial. I love the photos. You've captured that limy green colour.
Thank you Amela - and what a gorgeous place to grow up that sounds! I'm looking forward to the next sunny day to pick some for tea as I've never tried it
Could I use Tilia Henyana do you think … it’s the one with those wacky serrated leaves?
Sadly, I have no sense of smell anymore which has its benefits as well as drawbacks 😂😂
Hi Gill, what a beautiful tree it looks - I haven't seen one in the flesh, and while I don't know for sure, I don't see why you couldn't use it
I found it in a local nursery and couldn’t resist it … although I can’t resist most plants to be fair. Although I draw the line at dicentra , bloody awful things.
Rushes to find the nearest Limes, a scent that has escaped me so far. Your description is one of the loveliest concoctions of words I’ve read in a good while Mark.
Thank you JP - it's a very special thing
I am gathering that the lime trees you are referring to are not fruiting trees? We have two limes, one a Kaffir grown mainly for its leaves and the other a Tahitian which gives abundant fruit, but there would be no way we would be gathering the flowers from either unless we didn’t care about the fruit. Like others I enjoyed your walk in the sunshine, it is not a day for walking here being quite cold and wet! 32ml in the rain gauge this morning.
Hello Sally, yes, very different species and I would most certainly not pinch the flowers from a fruiting lime for much the reasons you state! I think you may have just had the rain we had a couple of days ago which was torrential
Our son and his daughters went camping last weekend! Not great weather for that 🌧️
It is dawn, and the scent of lime blossoms is already intense. The fragrance is a kind of annunciation that my little girl's heart recognizes. That is the first proper day of summer for me. I'm leaving with Grandma for the Adriatic Riviera, where, year after year, I spent all of my family holidays. Now that I'm an adult, I'm allergic to their scent. It's horrible and wry at the same time.
That's such a cruel allergy, you have my sympathies
What a gorgeous description of lime trees and their flowers - a scent I have to say Ive never really noticed. I shall be off to sniff it out now. And thank you for the answer to my 'where are the bees' question - they're clearly waiting in the willows' wings....
I couldn't quite work out how - until last summer - the scent had passed me by too.
I've not tried this before and I guess it's a similar process as with elderflower...
The cordial sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing the story and the recipe.
Will definitely give it a go!
It’s so worth the effort Yasmin
Could you make the cordial with dried blossom? Always have some as it makes nice tea.
No reason why not - I suspect it would be a bit different but still very good
Thanks for sharing! I’m familiar with orange blossom—it’s widely used in Morocco and other Arab countries—but I had never heard of linden blossom. I’ll definitely try it.
La Mer by Charles Trenet is a classic! Have you listened to the version by Miguel Bosé?
I wasn’t but I am now…pleasingly different to the Trenet!
Now you’ve got La Mer in my head and I love it. What a balm of a piece of music; it’s like a warm blanket for the soul. This is one of a few pieces of music that cocoon and soothe me, however I may be feeling. Utterly wonderful.
La Mer is instant summer in the brain isn't it! I love it too. Utterly transporting