An aromatic garden
A scent garden is delightful at any time, a wonderful place to relax, a scent garden can be therapeutic, but it is also a great place to entertain.
It is a well-known fact that there are certain smells that trigger strong emotional reactions. Some scents are known for their ability to create different moods, for example
Lemon – clears the mind.
Peppermint – invigorating and invigorating.
Lavender – very soothing.
While few gardens have the climate for lemon trees, the scent of lemon can be felt in many flowers, there are several varieties of lemon-scented geraniums, and many lemon-scented herbs such as thyme.
Why do plans smell?
Plants create fragrance by producing organic compounds on their surface. Fragrant flowers have perfume in glands on their petals to attract pollinators. Not all flowers have a pleasant smell, in some plants the smell is on the leaves. This comes from water-repellent essential oils that are produced by glandular hairs on the leaves to repel leaf-eating predators, mainly insects. Some plants give off an aroma that is decidedly undesirable, most notably carnivorous plants, many of which smell like rotting flesh.
The first thing to do in an aromatic garden is to make coming your way a pleasant experience. If you have a path with stones or flagstones, plant creeping thyme between the flagstones and lavender to frame the path. As you crush the thyme and pass the lavender they will release a wonderful aroma, both come in many colors and several different perfumes, thyme can smell like anything from caraway to citrus and as a bonus of course it can be used in grilling and cooking. Fill tubs or pots with fragrant geraniums and trailing variegated ivy and place them near the front door. In the evening, the aroma will be heavenly.
Nothing is better than a garden filled with the spicy scent of old-fashioned roses. You can collect the petals to make potpourri or rose water or even rose petal ice cream and of course while they are blooming they are so beautiful to look at.
Use fragrant climbing shrubs such as honeysuckle or jasmine on your fences, walls or on a gazebo with a built-in seat so you can sit surrounded by fragrance on a summer evening when the perfume of the gardens is at its height. Some of these bushes and vines grow at a rate of knots and it won’t be long before you can’t even see a wall or fence.
Plant evergreens to keep the garden looking good through winter, so if you’re looking for a flowering, beautifully scented, evergreen shrub that will grow anywhere, look no further than Eleangus Ebingei, it has inconspicuous flowers and grey-green leaves that have a striking white down side, more than one of these and your garden will be filled with the most wonderful fragrance from August to November. Another is the Helicrysum or curry plant, with its distinctive fragrance, as well as the yellow Choisyas, and don’t forget the lavender and Rosmarinus with their fragrant needle-like leaves. Consider Casimine and Mock Orange, which smell like orange blossoms, Nepeta or Catnip, which not only smell good on cats, but also on us. Monardo or Beebalm have fragrant foliage but can be invasive so plant in pots. Perovskia or Russian Sage, is not sage, but has a sage-like smell from all parts of the plant and Santolina too, they are all sweet smelling and a joy to have in your garden.
Growing plants for their visual appeal is only one small part of gardening. Why please one sense when you can please all?
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