Since
this weekend our living room developed an incredibly strong floral
scent that defied explanation. We searched for anything that could be a
culprit — there are quite a lot of houseplants in the front window,
and for a while we theorized that the smell might be from something
dead or rotting. It was very pungent, enough to make me asthmatic and Rachel nauseous.

In my hunt for the source I completely overlooked our innocuous
“corn plant” — you know, the ubiquitous long-stalked leafery found in a home
or office near you. As it turns out, this plant, which I have owned for over 8
years, had suddenly shot out a very exuberent flower stalk that was
throwing pollen and dripping nectar everywhere. Here’s a closeup
of the flowers after I chopped them off. Later on I threw them into the
snowy backyard — somewhat regretfully, since if they had flowered in
the summer I would have been happy for their fragrance in a room with
open windows. But in the dead of winter with the windows shut tight, it was us or them.

Some quick internet research this morning turned up the scientific name of these plants: Dracaena Fragrans. “Fragrans” indeed!