Ten years ago I transplanted an orange tree and put it outside my bedroom window. I vividly remembered the fragrance of orange blossom from a teenage trip to Spain. I wanted to relive that memory. Maybe it was because orange blossom represented the exotic contrast between Spain and Ireland, where I grew up. The tree struggled for years. It survived the 2017 fires that came within feet of its branches. This year blossoms proliferated – it is a sea of white petals with yellow centers. This is the year when I get to work by my window and inhale the fragrance. Sometimes things are timed perfectly.
