SWEET SCENTED PLANTS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 82, 7 April 1934, Page 13

SWEET SCENTED PLANTS

FILL CORNERS WITH FRAGRANCE That fragrance is as much esteemed as beauty of colour in the garden is obvious enough. Who would drcam of omitting such delightful s>mted subjects as mignonette, lavender, or even violets from the garden? A real garden must appeal to the sense of smell as well as to sight. Some permanent shrubs or herbaceous plants, if they are not particularly attractive to look upon, may yet serve the purpose of a screen or boundary, and give forth abundant scent. Box, for example, gives a very marked and pleasing’ fragrance, whether used as a dwarf edging to the borders or in naturally-grown bushes in the shrubbery. Sweet Bay also may take its Place in the shrubbery for the same purpose. The chief value of herbs is undoubtedly the grateful appeal they make to the sens e of smell. Lavender, thyme, marjoram and balm mar even if not specially cultivated, be ‘used to nil an odd comer solely for the purpose of adding fragrance to the place, while a special selection of plants in which scent is a feature, may ’add much to the attractiveness of the beds and borders. Roses, lilies and stocks are, at the same time, gorgeously coloured and fragrant, though some, of course, are sweeter than others. The old Damask and Provence roses are particularly richly scented, but the scent of many of the newer varieties seems to have been sacrificed to beauty of form. The same applies to sweet peas and carnations, lhe Clove carnation is a very old favourite on account of its fragrance, and tew gardens arc without pinks, tobacco plants, night-scented stock, a.id evening piimroscs are pre-emin-ent for their evening fragrance, though there ar e many other things which do not lose their fragrance after nightfall. Sweet brier is on o of these, and lew things make a more romantic appeal to the senses. Lily of the Valley is esteemed for its perfume, but tew remember to plant its near relative the Solomon’s seal, which has a delightful almond scent. Of climbing plants, the white jasmine, honeysuckle, and some species of clematis, are powerfully and agreeably scented and when these are planted against ’ the house wall, lead the charm of the garden into the house. One ought not to forget, though they need no more than a mention, the wallflower, and the exotic and heavy perfume of heliotrope or cherry-pie, one plant of which will make a house a perfect bath of perfume. At one time the musk surpassed all for fragrance, but this has quite disappeared, and a fortune awaits its reproduction.