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Perfume of Frangipani, Christmas Trees on the National Mall
One season said farewell, another said “see you soon”
3 min readNov 14, 2024
It was a greedy hope, an unrealistic one.
It was late October and I wanted one last look at tropical splendor outdoors in Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian’s gardeners this summer lined a small path near the National Museum of Asian Art and Freer Gallery with some of my favorite plants.
Frangipani flowers perfumed parts of the path on warm days.
A few steps later, you’d get the scent of ylang ylang, the flower that’s said to be the mysterious star of Chanel №5 perfume.
On this short path, there also were palms and many kinds of hibiscus and orchids and other flowers. The tropical garden was a highlight of the summer of 2024 for me.
