Chinese fringetree

Chionanthus retusus

Privet

Click on the photo to make it bigger. Between the pond and the buildings, there are hedgerows of privet, newly trimmed. I only started to appreciate the privet (Ligustrum) after I saw it like this from a distance.

It's also nice up close when it's in flower.

These panicles of fragrant white flowers are reminiscent of lilac.

Here's another view of the hedgerow in winter. Click to see.

White Fringetree

Chionanthus virginicus is native to the eastern United States. It's in the same family as lilac, privet, and forsythia.

Its fragrant flowers have four long, thin white petals that each taper to a point.

The white fringetree can be shrubby; this specimen has more of a tree-like form.