Sweet pepperbush There's something amazing in the early August air: the powerful perfume of Clethra alnifolia. I'm not sure there's any scent in the green world that can carry farther than what emerges from the creamy white flower clusters of this wetlands-loving shrub, and the impact is to make the roadsides and paths, even those hundreds of yards from the plants "as sweet as possible." Sweet Pepperbush, or Summersweet, as Clethra is also known, gives a new meaning to the ASAP acronym. Often, you can hear a congregation of the shrubs well before you see them, for they're bumblebee magnets and the flower clusters, technically called racemes, are typically heavy with furry pollinators. Wikipedia suggests that the fragrance is "somewhat cloying," but I would beg to differ. To me, Sweet Pepperbush—the pepper part is a reference to the fruits, which bear a resemblance to peppercorns but can't be used as spices—is the perfume of high summer... something delicious but fleeting. I wish there was a way to bottle the scent so I could keep ASAP in a jar to bring back memories of the season whenever I need a "scentual" boost.