The Poet
Yes, someone named this jasmine ‘Poet’ or ‘French Perfume’ (Jasminum grandiflorum). I’m not sure I like the name or the scent best. I can see why it get this name. One whiff of its scent and you can write a few lovely lines of poetry. If you keep sniffing it, you may be able to pull a Robert Frost act.
It’s a lovely vine with very dark green leaves and 1.5 inch white flowers. Its fragrance is a little bit sweeter than the Jasminum sambac and seems to do well when the weather gets a little colder. The temperature has been hovering around 50 degrees or lower at night and gone up to 60 or 70 during the day here. It started to bloom as soon as the temperature dropped and blooms profusely now while the Jasminum sambac like Maid of Orleans and Grand Duke of Tuscany are producing less and smaller flowers than in the heat of summer. The Poet flowers also last longer than a day, but are not as fragrant when picked and taken into the house. So, using it as an air-freshener like the Jasminum sambac is out. Well, at this time of year we can sit and enjoy it outside longer since it is too cold for mosquitoes to fly around. Maybe that was nature’s intent.


What a pretty flower and ‘Poet,’ great name. It’s nice you have several varieties and can enjoy nature’s transition as the weather cools. Mosquitoes here seem determined to ignore the cooler weather.
Jasmine is a lot easier to grow in the pot than gardenia, so I keep adding new varieties. I envy you though that you can enjoy growing gardenias outside and see them bloom. I miss the scent but I will not get any more gardenias until the only one I have blooms. Having had it for a couple of years now, it still produces only leaves, no blossoms.