Above: Lime Blossom at Leopold Place. Charcoal on A4 paper. Rose Strang 2026.
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- Photo Adam Brewster 2026
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- Photo Rose Strang 2025
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- Photo Rose Strang 2025
Lime Blossom, Linden, Tilleul, Tilia, or to give it its classic Latin name; Tilia Cordata. It’s one of the most elusive, romantic and emotionally resonant scents, and as each year passes I find myself more and more entranced and obsessed by its aroma. Something to do with ageing and the symbology of it all? The inexorable scythe that begins to hover over the head as we approach our later lives?!!
Today was so rainy and cold we decided to stay in Edinburgh rather than drive to Fairhill (otherwise known as Pishwanton) to sketch fern and birch.
I thought I’d sketch, in the comfort of the house, a lime blossom leaf, but it felt so wrong not to work from life, outdoors (I’m bored of the term en plein air). I’ve got used to the charge, or aura of the real subject, now that I’m focussing on straightfoward observation for a while (as part of my ongoing Fairhill series, which you can read about in my previous blogs.)
So I got my sketch pad and charcoal and walked along to the park on Leopold Place at the end of my street, to sketch the Limeblossom trees. And that immediately felt better. I was only there about 20 minutes, but it felt good to pay homage to one of my favourite trees.
When I returned, I began to make dinner and a young buzzard (still slightly fluffy, in appearance if not personality) arrived on the tree outside our kitchen window, terrifying all the local birds. Fascinating to see such a sight in the city – he was something to observe to quote from Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill!
It was somewhat grim watching him eat a pigeon, but mesmerising to watch such a bird up close. The local tits (and I don’t refer to my fellow Leithers!) and pigeons swooped up onto the opposite roofs, not daring to return to their favourite tree. It made up for missing out on our hare at Fairhill today.
Back to lime blossoms though, they don’t properly emerge until June. This year I’m ready for them, and I’ll be posting about it on instagram every week or so, as the moment of ‘peak’ lime blossom approaches.
This is to celebrate the 1st anniversary of writing about perfume and scent on my perfume-related Substack and instagram, since my first ever post was about lime blossom last year. You can read or follow them on these links …
The Perfume Papers (Substack) and on Instagram Rose Strang Perfume
Rose Strang Artworks 