I grew up in house in the New Jersey suburbs, where we were fortunate to have a partially wooded backyard that was perfect for all kinds of make-believe games. I was also very fond of one of the trees that stood on our front lawn: we called it a “mimosa,” although now I know that it would have more properly been described as Albizia julibrissin, or a “silk tree.” I liked the tree’s split trunk (which offered just enough space to perch a foot or two above the ground), its slender seed pods, its ferny leaves, but most of all, its flowers. They were as soft as tiny feather dusters, slightly sticky with pollen dust at their deep-pink, fringed ends, and scented with a magically sweet smell.

Jo Malone has just released a fragrance called Silk Blossom, and its promotional photographs feature a background of the flowers that I remember from my childhood…

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