Fragrance of plants the joy of a garden

Press, 26 January 1979, Page 7

Fragrance of plants the joy of a garden

Home & People

The scent of flowers is created by volatile oils contained in special glands within the flower. In general it tends to be strongest in the early part of the morning and again during the evening. Not all plants follow’ this pattern however. Those from the warmer regions of the world release their scent during the hottest part of the day. particularly during windless conditions.

Aromatic flowers are not accidental; they are so endowed to attract insects which help to implement pollmation.

There has been a pronounced accent in breeding, more for size of bloom and range of colour rather than scent. This trend may alter as the response by garden lovers increases towards a desirability for more fragrance. A good example of loss of fragrance is provided by the cyclamen so popular as a house plant. The wild form has small pinkish blooms which are pleasantly scented. Examples of some plants with aromatic leaves and/or scented flowers are given below to help in the selection for this very purpose.

Winter Sweet, Chimonanthus praecox, has lovely pale yellow flowers which have a waxy appearance which gives them an almost artificial aura. The virtue of this very fragrant shrub lies in the fact that it flowers on bare stems in the winter time.

C. praecox is an improved form with larger, brighter flowers which still retain the fragrance of the Both plants will exceed 2.5 m.

Boronias are very popular and there are several highly scented species generally available. The brown one, Boronia megastigma is among the most popular. These plants do best if given a little moisture and are cut back as soon as they have finished flowering, a task which will prolong their life and general appearance quite considerably. Fragrance is not a particular virtue of the Australian flora and apart from Boronias the only generally available species with scented blooms to eome to mind are wattles.

It is mostly the foliage which is aromatic, such as the Prostantheras (mint bushes) and fringe myrtles.

Acacia baileyana provides a fast growing tree which will exceed 7m which becomes a ball of yellow when in full bloom towards the end of winter. A. leprosa is commonly known as the cinnamon wattle; it makes a semiweeping tree, about 6m high.

And for a relatively frost-free position a good choice is the Queensland

silver wattle with its triangular glaucous leaves and pendulous growth habit. Many of the viburnums are strongly perfumed but it is predomenantlv the deciduous ones which qualify in this respect.

They include Viburnum bitchiuense, V. bodnantense, V. burkwoodii (the gardenia scented viburnum), V. carlcephalum and V. carlesii, the Korean spice viburnum which is sometimes available as a standard grown plant.

Gardenia is a truly sweetly scented evergreen. However, gardenias are frost tender and only suitable for the sunniest and most sheltered frost-free positions.

Mock orange, Philadelphus virginal, by contrast provides us with one of the hardiest of scented shrubs which will grow in most situations. This deciduous plant bears semidouble white flowers in large panicles which almost cover its growth when they appear in the springtime. Periodic pruning will help to stimulate fresh growth from the lower regions and prevent it becoming too big.

Rose lovers always delight in fragrant blooms, both in the garden and for picking. The older ones are belter for scent. Suggestions include Super Star, Burnaby, Perfecta, Wendy Cussons, Fragrant Cloud, Eden Rose, Josephine Bruce.

Several rhododendrons qualify for mention here. One of the best and most highly perfumed species is Rhododendron fragrantissimum.

This has conspicuous white flowers but a rather open habit of growth. Others include R. Loden patience (white with a crimson blotch); R. decorum (white with a yellow throat) and R. nuttalli which is also white with a light gold coloured centre and is one of the most beautiful of all the rhododendrons but not very hardy.

Of course, one cannot overlook the daphnes — all of which are scented to a greater or lesser degree. Pride of place perhaps goes to Daphne odora leucanthe with its clusters of pale pink flowers. It becomes a rather sprawly evergreen shrub, parts of which should be carefully cut back each year once fully established to maintain compactness and vigour.

Two New Zealand natives which can really rival scented plants from elsewhere are Cordyline australis, the common cabbage tree, and the lemon scented matipo, Pittosporum eugenoides, which not only bears creamy white perfumed flowers in spring but aromatic leaves.

Citrus are beautifully scented. With their virtue of carrying some bloom

almost throughout the vear, together with their fine evergreen foliage and cropping potential, they should most definitely not be overlooked. Nor for that matter could one possibly exclude the lilacs from even the most random listing of fragrant tree and shrubs.

Quite a good selection of fragrant climbing plants are available and some are exceedingly well endowed in this respect. One of the most popular is Jasminum polyanthumum which has white flowers flushed pink.

The honeysuckles tend to get a pit rampant but there are many situations which are ideal for them. Lonicera hildebrandiana, the spectacular Burmese honeysuckle is however a more restrained grower.

The deciduous Chilean jasmine, Mandevilia sauveolens, provides a strong growing hardy climber with very strongly scented, pure-white trumpet-shaped flowers which show up well against the dark green lanceolate foliage. It flowers in summer. And, of course, any discussion on fragrant plants cannot be concluded without mention of herbaceous ones such as violets, freesias, carnations, sweet, peas and stocks — to name but a few.