Smell of summer

We used to have a reasonably large frangipani tree in our front garden but when the neighbours subdivided their property to squeeze another house onto their land to sell, it was badly affected and just looks a bit sad now.

Practically losing the tree turned out to be a small price to pay as the people who bought the house are lovely and we're very happy to have them next to us. But I do miss the frangipani and the scent that would drift into the house on a summer's afternoon.

During the week, a big truck of arborists turned up to trim the trees that grow in our street. For some unknown reason there is a smallish frangipani growing in among them on the nature strip and the guys got to work and starting chopping a few errant branches. Even though it was 7am, I nipped outside and asked for some offcuts, which I was happily given (the crew had cut them cleanly so they could be planted if someone wanted them, wasn't that sweet?).

I'm now going to try and grow a couple from the cuttings, starting in pots. The trick with frangipani cuttings is to let the cut heal by leaving them to dry for a week or two before planting into sandy soil. If I'm lucky, I'll end up with nice neighbours and a good frangipani. Win, win.