A Taste of Heaven

I take all my houseplants outdoors for their summer vacation; all, except one--the hoya or wax plant. It continues to hang under a skylight in the solarium, its vines nearly touching their toes to the floor.

The upside-down umbrella of pale pink waxy star-shaped flowers neatly interlock with one another. Each pale pink star is centered with a white star which has a perfect tiny red flower at its center and in the center of the red, a tiny white tongue secretes one clear drop of sweet syrup. Touch your tongue to it for a taste of ambrosia, mildly flavored by the hoya's perfume.

That's the real reason i keep it indoors in the summer. When i walk into the house at night, it smells like i've walked into heaven.