Honeysuckle grows really well all over Lanzarote. There is a particularly beautiful variety around the Monumento del Campesino in Mozaga. It is visually spectacular and has large orange flowers and glossy leaves. It wraps itself all around the side of the restaurant. However this variety doesn't have a fragrance.
Across the road from our house in Calle Sancocho, one of our neighbours has a less showy variety. It is pale yellow, and smells incredible; a sweet vanilla aroma that is especially strong at night or early morning.
Here are my favourite honeysuckle facts and my honeysuckle poem:
| Honeysuckle flowers are filled with nectar which attracts hummingbirds, bees, moths and butterflies, which pollinate the plant. The colour of the flowers often changes after successful pollination |
| You can safely consume the flowers and nectar of honeysuckle, but not the berries because they contain substances that induce nausea and vomiting. Honeysuckle berries are not poisonous for birds and other animals |
| The leaves of honeysuckle are also edible and they can be consumed as leafy salad vegetable |
| During Victorian times, it was an English superstition to plant honeysuckle in front of houses to keep evil spirits and witches away. It was also believed that flowers of honeysuckle, tucked under a pillow, ensure pleasant dreams. This old belief is still popular and flowers of honeysuckle are used today in the manufacture of herbal pillows |
from out of the madrugada
riding in on the moon mist
the honeysuckle's golden glow
dusted with pollen like moth wings
fragrant as a warm citrus dream
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