What Plant Smells Like Fresh Laundry?
![honeysuckle flower 2 | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener](https://t9e4s3i5.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/honeysuckle-flower-2-600x450.jpg)
Q: I walk at night in north Georgia in the winter and there’s a sweet smell that I initially thought was someone’s laundry but I realize it must be a plant. Could it be elaeagnus?
A: A couple of candidates come to mind: winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, blooms off and on through January. Fortune’s tea olive(Osmanthus x fortunei) smells great but you probably won’t notice the small flowers from which the fragrance comes. Your theory of eleagnus, Eleagnus pungens, is also a possibility for night time perfume.