Fragrance in My Garden
As you enter my front gate in the spring you will pick up the delicious lemony aroma of Magnolia stellata, the star magnolia, with its whimsical floppy white flowers. Just inside the courtyard there is a Rhododendron occidentale, the Western azalea, my favorite native shrub, which has a profusion of white flower clusters and a sweet rose scent. Although they are truly beautiful shrubs, it is their fragrance that appeals to me and lingers in my memory.
The Nose Knows
Our sense of smell is linked to the parts of the brain where memory is stored, and the scent of a particular flower can evoke memories of past times and places. It is also where emotions and moods are set off, as with a gentle herbal perfume that encourages our stressed bodies to relax. Humans can differentiate thousands of distinct smells.
Walking down the sun-warmed path of pine needles and redwood duff, the aroma changes from piney to winey as you near the Calycanthus occidentalis, or Western spicebush. This is a bold shrub with fragrantly spicy leaves and reddish-brown flowers at the ends of its branches, which turn to seedpods in the fall and smell of allspice. (Others have said that it reminds them of an old wine barrel.) Scents can change depending on the time of day, season, distance, weather , soil, and by the time of the month for women, or the perception or receptivity of the sniffer.
Around the back of the house there are several deliciously fragrant shrubs. Philadelphus lewisii is called mock orange for obvious reasons. There is a heavenly lilac (which always reminds me of my mother’s garden), plus a few roses. When you first see a rose isn’t your first impulse to bend over and sniff its splendid bloom? I used to have over 25 roses, but have simplified, and “native-fied” my garden, and now am happy with only five hybrids, plus two of our native wild rose, Rosa californica, which provide a pretty border with their pale pink five-petaled flowers. They don’t have the heavy damask scent of the heirlooms, but they do emit a very pleasant rose fragrance, and need no pampering whatsoever.
Sweetly scented flowers seduce insects and other critters with their perfume to pollinate their flowers. In contrast, some flower and leaf fragrances contain volatile oils with strong odors that are a natural deterrant, and can prevent the germination of competing seeds around the base of the plant.
Get A Whiff of This
We like to have lunch in our wisteria-covered arbor on any sunny day, but when it is in bloom with a massive display of hanging violet flower clusters, it’s a joy for both sight and smell. I grow Wisteria sinensis ‘Caroline’ for its delicate aroma. A more intense perfume comes from the tuberose, Polianthes tuberosa, that I keep in a container there. In bloom it resembles the powerful floral scent of a tropical lily. To round out the bouquet in my garden there are many reliably fragrant perennials and annuals, lavenders, various sages, especially Salvia clevelandii, and climbing sweet peas. The smell of catnip relative, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant,’ is the favorite of Ariel and Gus for rolling about and snacking.
I have singled out the scented flowers, but there are many fragrant foliage plants as well. On my deck I keep small pots of herbs … chives, mint, thyme, sage and oregano. They’re not only handy just outside the kitchen door, but also they smell wonderful as you walk by them down the stairs. The herb garden is redolent with all the different culinary scents: pungent rosemary, licorice-like tarragon, spicy oregano, lemon and lime thymes and tangy, pickley dill. In the middle of its rather formal rectangle is a massive aromatic Pelargonium graveolens, the scented geranium. Its strong rose scent fills the lower garden.
Find places in your garden for olfactory treats and enjoy the rewards of sensuous pleasure, happy memories, relaxing essences, appetizing stimulants and even insect repellants.