Chimonanthus praecox

tasting yellow and Les Fluers du Mal…

A story on the radio this morning described a rare condition called synesthesia in which people see words as colors, feels sounds or even taste shapes. Synesthetes of note include Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Paul Klee, and Richard Feynman. Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil and Paul Klee’s The Goldfish are certainly two of the more beautiful things in this world and I can’t help but wonder if smelling colors=creative genius. While it isn’t known exactly what causes the condition or how many people have it, it is clear that such people truly do experience crossings of the senses. While I’m afraid I can’t include myself in their company I am certain that the pale yellow of the flowers on a Wintersweet shrub will send me spiraling into my universe of memory searching for their smell. If you go out looking, it flowers in February around these parts, likes partial shade, and as another author noted turns back into a pumpkin come Spring.