Fragrance in the Garden

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23263, 4 February 1939, Page 10 (Supplement)

Fragrance in the Garden

jpOR elegance of form and variety of colour the modern flowers are unsurpassed. Many of them, however, lack the- charm of the old-fashioned varieties, owing to their lack of perfume. Nothing is more pleasing than the perfume of an old-fashioned garden, where, although the flowers may not be up to exhibition standard, they have a fragrance which more than compensates for any lack of size. By a judicious selection of the right plants, it is possibl« to have a scented garden for the greater portion of the year. The greatest favourites are of course the roses. The hybrid sweet briars have a most delightful perfume, especially after a shower of rain. The hybrid musk roses with their clusters of flowers, ■which have a musk-like perfume, are very distinct. Many flowering shrubs are particularly fragrant, especially the, lilacs; Philadelphus, Jasminum officinalis and Viburnum fragrans all have distinct perfumes. Chimonanthus fragrans with its yellowish brown flowers is one of the most strongly scented of winter shrubs. Hamamelis mollis and Mabonia japonica, which has a lily of the valley like scent, are two

Growing Flowers and Shrubs for Perfume

other winter bloomers. Daphne is of course indispensable. The Gum Cistus and Cistus Laurifolius, Myrica Gale (sweet gale), with highly scented leaves,, all add their fragrance to shrubbery o.nd border. Iris stylosa does well on the rockery and will bear sweetly scented blooms all winter.

Then there is a charm in a bed of lily of the valley, or of violets, in a sheltered spot. For the summer border, sweet rocket, stocks, the old-fashioned pinks or the modern forms of these popular plants will serve. Crimson clove carnations, mignonette and sweet peas all add their quota to the fragrance, and will give v a touch of the ojdfashioned richness to the garden. The liliumsi are all richly perfumed and will make a handsome display. Perhaps some of the sweetest scents of the garden come from the different varieties of herbs, such as lavender, rosemary; the numerous varieties of thyme, such as T. serpyllum, speculum and citriodora, lemon-scented; and the mints, including Mentha piperita Kequinei, rotundifolia and viridis. Sweet balm (Melissa officinalis). Southernwood (Artemesia abrotanun), bergamot (Monarda didyma), lavender cotton (Santolina), and Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) are only a few of the many herbs cultivated at the present time.

Of all the 'sKented' flowers and herbs, a special appeal attaches to those that

perfume the air after sundown. They may not be as showy as their daylight neighbours, but they do make the garden a delightful place in which to linger on a summer evening. The finest fragrance of all comes from the tobacco plant (Nicotiana aflinis); its perfume fdls the air. Another favourite is the night-scented stock. Its small flowers are practically closed during the day, but expand at night into delicate shades of pink and lilac and are charmingly scented. Floral perfumes have an advantage over those of plants, in which the fragrance resides in leaf or stein glands. In the former case the scents are exhaled and float to us on the breeze, while in the latter the leaves have to be bruised or brushed in order to release their fragrance.