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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Sniffing whiffs and pretty pongs!
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| Thursday, 7th August 2008 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
Do you like the fragrances of certain flowers? The musky rose? The ever-so-sweet sweet pea? The heady gardenia? The delicate yet powerful mock orange blossom?
Apparently, scented plants were recognised for their medicinal purposes, as well as for perfumes, as far back as Ancient Egypt. There was even a God – Nefertem – who was the god of beautification, perfumes and aromatherapy, as well as healing.
Today, plant fragrances are used and imitated in a range of commercial products to encourage us to part with our money. Just take a closer look at household products such as shampoos, detergents and air fresheners boasting that they have the “scent of citrus” or “a hint of lavender” or “the essence of roses”.
Scientists reckon our ability to smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than taste, and people can distinguish between 3,000 and 10,000 different scents.
In our own gardens there are usually plants with powerful fragrances dotted about – but the plants were generally planted for their flowers (as in honeysuckles, roses and sweet peas) rather than for the fragrance. This means that little thought is usually given to ‘where’ they should be sited.
For example, in the olden days, when cottage gardens were the norm, ‘roses around the door’ were not so much for the welcoming sight, as for the pleasing fragrance given off as you cross the threshold. Nasty niffs both inside and outside the home were a common thing in those days!
But how does ‘smell’ actually work? Well, the scent of a flower comes mainly from the nectaries, which are glands at the bases of the petals.
They produce the nectar, which is often, but by no means always, scented. Scent is designed to attract pollinators (bees, butterflies and moths) from a distance so that they will seek out the nectar as food, and in so doing transfer pollen and fertilise the flowers. Very clever stuff!
Many hardy winter-flowering shrubs (think of witch hazel, winter sweet, viburnum, and others) have powerfully scented flowers, working extra hard to attract the few pollinators that may happen to be braving the weather!
Flowers pollinated by birds (usually the more exotic plants from jungle areas) are not scented generally, as the birds enjoy the nectar and are attracted more by the flower colour than the way it smells.
We mere humans detect fragrance in our noses via specialised receptor cells of the olfactory epithelium (impressed?)! Signals are transmitted to areas of the brain that are part of the limbic system, which is involved with our emotional behaviour and memory. That’s why, when you smell something, it often brings back memories associated with that particular smell or object.
In the garden, of course, it is absolutely the best idea to plant scented plants in places where they will be appreciated. This means next to the patio where you’ll be sitting and relaxing and taking in the aroma. Or along a pathway where you can brush against plants as you walk along, releasing the fragrance as you go. Or near to the back door, or main windows, where the breeze can carry the sweet smells indoors.
So…which plants give off what kind of smell? Experts in this field have decreed that there are three categories of fragrance: ‘floral, ‘oriental’ and ‘Chypré’ (the latter being a mixture of resins). Between them they give us hundreds of variations that make up the perfumery world.
‘Floral’: For these fragrances (which are considered ‘delicate, soft, sensual and sweet’), you should consider peonies (the most fragrant being ‘Felix Crousse’ and Paeonia festiva maxima); honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum); the Mexican orange blossom (Choisya ternata, with white blooms throughout much of the year); lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis); and scented geraniums (small flowers, but with highly scented leaves when crushed).
‘Oriental’: These scents (often regarded as ‘fresh, warm, and where jasmine scents dominate’) are offered by sweet peas; roses (but check plant labels when you buy, as not all roses are highly scented); lavender; cherry pie (forms of heliotrope, a tender annual suitable for patio containers, and the flowers of which really do smell of cherry pie!); and garden pinks (including the many forms of Dianthus x allwoodii, which have a clove-like scent).
‘Chypré’: This group of fragrances (‘fresh tones with fruity aromas and a touch of spice’) come from hyacinths; mock orange (philadelphus, with white summer flowers); gardenia (indoor plant but powerfully fragrant); herbs (including rosemary, thyme and mint); and petunias (yes, the bedding plant usually has a strong perfume, so get on your hands and knees and sniff!).
Of course, there are hundreds of other plants you could try. What about the May-flowering wisteria? The June-flowering myrtle? The July-flowering catmints? The August-flowering carnations? And I haven’t even touched upon the range of herbs available (my topic next week, incidentally)!
At the plant centre we can point you in the direction of some fabulous smells that you never knew existed. Oh yes! I love the smell of a wonderful bouquet (both from flowers, and a bottle of red wine – but that’s another article completely)! Happy gardening!
This week in your garden
Continuing with the scented theme…to be sure of a good display next year, wisteria should be pruned now. Cut the wispy shoots back to two buds from the base.
Prune rambling and climbing roses once they have finished flowering to keep vigorous growth under control and encourage new, productive stems. But don’t prune repeat-flowerers or those with attractive hips, otherwise you’ll miss out on the show!
Deadhead dahlias regularly to encourage further flower production. And keep an eye out for the arch-enemy of dahlias: earwigs. Fill upturned pots with straw to trap them; then collect them and dispose of them.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Herbs to use now – and in winter
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