Yard perfume

When I walked out onto my back deck this morning, I noticed a sweet perfume wafting through the air.  None of the fragrant plants growing near the deck is in bloom right now so I was puzzled for a moment.  Then I realized that the fragrance was my sweet autumn clematis which is in full bloom, draping over the old swingset.

I'm not sure why it is called sweet autumn clematis since it always blooms in late summer for me.  Perhaps it blooms later in cooler zones.

I also feel compelled to confess that I stole this plant from a mailbox several blocks from my house.   My husband and I walk past this house every morning.  I had noticed that the homeowners had cut the vine completely down to the ground.  In a few weeks, it was back, a few days later they cut it to the ground again.  Apparently, they were trying to kill it.  When it started growing again, I knew that I needed to rescue this plant so I pinched a few tendrils and carried them gently home to root them.  The neighbors finally succeeded in killing their sweet autumn clematis and I'm thoroughly enjoying this vine that I rescued  . . . or stole from them (depending on your point of view).