
This post is from June 20th, 2011 but, as the Linden Tree flowers once every year, I am reposting.– I noticed as I entered the park from the southeast yesterday, the smell was particularly distinct!
If you walk from the fountain east, at the intersection where a fork occurs in the road and the pathway veers south, there is a huge Linden tree. Right now, it’s flowering and the flowers emit the most beautiful smell. The flowers don’t last that long so check it out soon.
I was walking by and looking around for where the fragrance was coming from and then looked up and realized that tree is a Linden tree. I don’t know if there is more than one Linden tree in the park.
More on Linden Trees (genus: Tilia) from Wikipedia:
On healing: The flowers are used for herbal tea and tinctures; this kind of use is particularly popular in Europe and also used in North American herbal medicine practices.
In Germanic mythology: Originally, local communities assembled not only to celebrate and dance under a Tilia tree, but to hold their judicial thing (governing assembly) meetings there in order to restore justice and peace. It was believed that the tree would help unearth the truth.