Linden Blossom

‘If thou lookest on the lime leaf

Thou a heart’s form will discover

Therefore are the lindens ever Chosen seats for each fond lover.’

Heinrich Heine, Book of Songs

Scents often help me to recall a place far more vividly than a photograph – for example when I smell linden flowers on a hot summer day, I invariably remember standing under a linden tree in Piana degli Albanesi, a hill town about an hour’s drive from Palermo. I have never before or since come across such large and fragrant blossoms, yet I was not in this strange town long enough to find out whether any local use was made of the blossom. I certainly came across no intriguing bottles of liqueur nor unusual ice-cream flavours, in either of which the blossom might have been expected to make an appearance. The cannoli, on the other hand, were clearly a speciality – I have never seen so many being consumed on a Sunday morning. Visiting friends elsewhere in Italy, they were surprised when they saw me gathering linden flowers, which they did not even use for infusions, although they rather liked those I made for them.