a tradition of scent in the garden k

We cannot see or hear scent, making it seemingly less tangible than our senses of sight, touch, taste, or hearing. Step into a fragrance garden and it is almost magical how layers of aromas greet your nose completely unannounced. This delightful mix changes with amazing frequency walking through the garden. Some aromas dance across your senses while others are deep and exotic. There are familiar scents, while others leave you at a loss for words.

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 11 ⊲ A gate marks the official entry to the author’s garden, but heady fragrances announce its presence long before one arrives.

▼ Some of the best paths to follow are fragrant.

12 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN We respond to these intriguing smells have characteristic places where they store with sensual delight, but while fragrant the oils. For example, most members of the plants are enticing us, they are also hard at mint family make and keep scent in fine, work, modifying our mood and frame of glandular hairs that cover their leaves. The mind every time we inhale. Plant scientists carrot family prefers to hold aromatic essen- are discovering what gardeners have always tial oils in tubes in their seeds, or sometimes known: the fragrant garden reduces stress. in their stems and roots. You can see this in Heady plant aromas make us laugh and plants like angelica, coriander, dill, and fennel. smile more, and leave us with a sense of contentment. It’s not all about the human experience, either. Scent is also important in attracting pollinators, deterring predators, and even allowing plants to communicate with each other. what is fragrance? A bloom in full splendor, a cup of hot herbal tea, a favorite cologne, or the earth after a summer rain—a multitude of smells enrich our lives daily. The impact is profound. Scent enhances life experiences, such as tasting and sensuality. It is also the stuff of which dreams and memories are made. It embodies poetry, mythology, imagination. Nature’s potpourri may seem enchanted, but fragrance is based on an assortment of invisible but very real aromatic compounds. They fit together like a puzzle to make up essential oils. These tiny oils easily float through the air, and can be released simply by pressing on a fragrant leaf. Aromatic flowers, leaves, stems, fruit, roots, and bark typically concentrate essential oils in special cells. Different plant families

⊲ The pungent aromas of Mexican marigold and sages are brought to nose level.

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 13 How we perceive aroma dishwashing soap. Lemon grass, citronella, Each time you inhale, tiny, aromatic mole- and lemon-scented eucalyptus can be remi- cules hitchhike a ride. Smell a rose or basil niscent of pungent insect repellent. leaf, and the compounds you breathe are first greeted high in the nose by the olfac- Putting a name to fragrance tory epithelium: two small receptors that are Describing the many scents produced by about the size of dimes. These receptors use plants has long fascinated botanists and tiny cilia filaments to catch and identify perfumers. One of the first classifications of molecules, seemingly by their shape. The scent was by Theophrastus, a Greek botanist information is sent to olfactory bulbs located and herbalist from the fourth century bc. In at the base of the brain, which interpret it his treatise, Concerning Odours, he designated and send a report to the limbic system. That aromas as simply good or evil, and categor- is where different scents are interpreted and ized them as sweet, pungent, heavy, powerful, sent to the brain, to analyze and coordinate or faint. In the eighteenth century, Carl with other senses. The limbic system also ties Linnaeus, who founded the system of botany our sense of smell to emotions and memory. we use today, divided these categories. Good It distinguishes between aromas that draw us scents smelled fragrant, aromatic, or like in and odors that fend us off. It determines ambrosia, while bad scents were garlic, goat- when there is an emergency, such as smelling like, or foul. In the next century, Eugene something burning. All of this happens in Rimmel identified eighteen plant-based less than a second, making our perception aromas in his classic Book of Perfumes, and reaction to a scent instantaneous. You defining them poetically as spicy, rose-like, immediately identify the aroma as rose or anise, balsamic, and jasmine. The nineteenth- basil, and think either bouquet or pesto. century Frenchman, G. W. Septimus Piesse, Your reaction to aroma is largely based took a new approach to aroma by corre- on past experiences with the scent, how a sponding scents with musical “notes.” particular scent acts on your brain, and prob- Perfumers and aromatherapists still talk of ably genetic make-up. If you are like most high, middle, and base notes when they people, you prefer familiar fragrances that describe essential oils. Base notes, such as spark good memories. Sometimes past asso- vetiver and spikenard, smell heavy. They ciation gets in the way of fully appreciating fix scent and make the blend last longer. aroma. When students at Warwick University Middle notes—think of rose geranium or in England took a test while smelling a cer- marjoram—are considered the heart of an tain scent and were later told they had per- aromatic blend, carrying and tying the mix formed poorly, they felt depressed the next together. Top notes like rose and lemon time they encountered the same aroma. dance over the top of the other aromas. Many people are attracted to lemon’s Classification of plant fragrance was clean, sharp scent, but it can also be associ- expanded by botanist Anton Kerner von ated with furniture polish or lemon-scented Marilaun, a professor at the University of

14 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN Vienna, Austria, and curator of its botanical garden in 1860. He placed damask rose in a rosy, sweet-floral, almost fruity group. Violet- like orris root is paired with violets. The aromatic group lumps together the intense fragrances of clematis, heliotrope, honey- suckle, sweet pea, and Mexican orange blos- som shrub. Heavy aromas that are more cloying, such as daffodil, daphne, lily, and mock orange, are in their own category. Citrus includes the obvious choices of lemon, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemon eucalyptus, and lemon thyme. Animal scents are represented by spikenard and musk rose. Leaves are compared to mint, garlic, turpen- tine (such as rosemary or pine), or camphor (such as bay, sage, thyme, or wormwood). Wood-like scents are aromatic, such as cedar, or carry the turpentine scent of pine and fir. Modern scientists organize scents according to the similarity of their aromatic compounds. If you have a good sense of smell, you will detect a common, aromatic thread. An example is the terpene group, with the diverse, green, earthy scents found in lavender and citrus. The benzoloid group includes the spicy clove of pinks and the cherry-cinnamon scent of hyacinth, as well as the cherry-vanilla fragrance of heliotrope. Scented geranium, rose, and even valerian are in the paraffinoid group. ▲ Eighteenth-century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus created an early system of dividing scents. Essential oils are the key It is possible to capture the garden’s fragrances in a bottle by extracting essential oils from plants. The most common method is by steam distillation. The tiny aromatic molecules that comprise essential oils move readily into hot steam in the same way they

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 15 fill the garden with fragrance on a hot day. A few flowers, such as chamomile, A steam distiller extracts the essential oils, lavender, orange blossom, and rose, are steam cools the steam back into water, and sepa- distilled. Some floral essential oils are also rates out the pure essential oil. Most essential extracted without heat using chemicals or a oils that can handle this kind of high heat carbon dioxide process. These expensive oils are found in leaves and seeds. mostly go into high-end perfume. Jasmine The leaves of basil, bay laurel, clary sage, and tuberose are available only as “absolutes,” juniper, lemon grass, lemon verbena, marjo- which means their essential oil is extracted ram, patchouli, peppermint, rockrose, rose with solvents, then the chemicals are geranium, rosemary, sage, and thyme are removed to leave just the essential oil. It is distilled for flavoring products including an investment, but you can purchase a steam alcoholic drinks, gum, candy, and tobacco. distiller to produce essential oils from your They are also distilled to scent body care and fragrance garden. It requires a vast amount other products. Other, less-known plant of plant material, which is more than most leaves, such as anise hyssop, can be distilled gardens can supply. However, small amounts (I’ve done it myself with my steam distiller), of plant material will give you a quantity but they are rarely commercially available of scented water, called hydrosol, as a due to low demand. by-product of distillation. This aromatic Aromatic flowers are a different story. water is dilute enough for use in sprays, to Many of the essential oils responsible for splash on the skin, or for use in cooking. flowers’ fragrance are fragile and altered by Pure essential oil is so concentrated that the high heat of distillation. Heat changes it smells much stronger in a bottle than the the aromas of clematis, daffodil, daphne, plant itself. In fact, it is so strong that it gardenia, hyacinth, freesia, lilac, lily-of- should be used with care. Although many the-valley, and sweet pea flowers. Most of people think problems with essential oils are these floral essential oils are produced syn- due to extenders that are added to some thetically in a lab and labeled as fragrance inexpensive brands, even pure essential oils oils. The best way to think about synthetic have the potential of being toxic. After all, essential oils is to compare them to cloying, one of their primary roles in plants is to cheap cologne that sticks to the back of the deter predatory insects and animals from nose. Synthetics are commonly used in per- eating them. Undiluted essential oils such as fume, cologne, and scented body care and oregano, thyme, and the citruses can burn household products, including many labeled skin. Essential oils also absorb into your skin as aromatherapy. However, they never smell and reach the bloodstream, and even small like the real thing. Some of the chemicals used to create them have questionable health

effects. Aromatherapists like myself use only ⊲ Tabletop distillers are a good way to capture fragrant plant-derived essential oils. hydrosols and a bit of essential oil from your garden.

16 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN

amounts can tax the liver and kidneys. Some Chemotypes essential oils, such as camphor, are also rough Occasionally, plants in the same species look on the nervous system. For safety’s sake, do identical to the botanist, but do not smell not use essential oil directly on your skin exactly the same. This occurs when they are without diluting it, and do not ingest oils. It growing in different regions and adapt their does little good, since ingesting pure essen- chemistry for better survival. A chemist tial oils causes them to be absorbed mostly refers to these variations as chemotypes, in the throat. Better to add oils to lotion, because the two plants contain different cream, or salve so they can penetrate into percentages of their aromatic molecules. The and benefit underlying tissue. Cats and dogs mint family readily develops chemotypes, do not process ingested essential oils well, so with at least eight chemotypes of thyme can be easily poisoned by them. alone. So thyme growing in the mountains of southern France smells softer because it is higher in linalool, a compound that is abundant in lavender, while its seaside why plant aromas vary counterpart contains more thymol, which With seventeen hundred known aromatic gives thyme its characteristic aroma. The compounds from more than ninety plant chemotypes of rosemary include the families, there are a lot of possibilities for harsh camphor, a gentler verbenone, and making one plant smell different from the eucalyptus-like cineol. Korean mint, related next. Some essential oils, such as orange, to anise hyssop, can have the scent of either have a simple chemistry based on a few cloves or patchouli. Other plants containing specific aromatic compounds that give them aromatic chemotypes include basil, bee balm, a straightforward smell. Orange is pleasant curry plant, lavender, myrtle, sage, scented enough, but compare it to the deeply geranium, and camphor and eucalyptus trees. complex rose, which contains around two hundred seventy-five scent molecules. That complexity is why the captivating fragrance of rose finds its way into the imagination, how plants use scent poetry, and perfume. As much as we enjoy the fragrances of the When several plants share some of the garden, plants produce all their wonderful same compounds—such as lemon verbena, scents not for our enjoyment, but for their lemon thyme, lemon eucalyptus, and lemon own gain. The same essential oils that create grass—they smell similar. Yet, you can distin- aroma are sophisticated survival tools to help guish these plants from each other because aromatic plants control their environment. their other aromatic molecules give each a Since plants are stuck in one place, they use unique essence. scent to reach out and lure pollinators for reproduction, to fend off predators, and to

18 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN thwart competitive plants. In many cases, natural selection has favored the survival of plants with higher concentrations of scent.

DIFFERENT ROLES FOR FRAGRANT PLANTS Aromatic flowers and leaves play different roles. Flowers broadcast copious amounts of fragrance for a just a few weeks a year, attracting pollinating creatures. Leaves generally keep their scent to themselves since they have no need for pollination; strong aroma could distract pollinators and waste precious energy. As a result, we must rub or crush a leaf to release its scent. That aroma is more pungent and “green” than floral, since it serves to keep away destructive insects and infection. Sharp-smelling leaves, such as rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus, and tea tree, are also some of the most antiseptic— not only for plants, but also for people. Plants use scent to keep potential predators from eating them—predators that include us. We consume aromatic herbs only in tiny amounts, because their scent and flavor are so potent. Animals do not find fragrant plants such as rosemary, sage, and thyme tasty. My fragrance garden does not have to be fenced, even though deer fre- quent it. The aromas that are exuded into the soil from the roots of rue, wormwood, and yarrow deter neighboring plants from getting too close.

▲ Lemon, cinnamon, and purple basils each have slightly different scents.

⊳ Geraniums offer a potpourri of scent and leaf textures.

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 19 When Cornell University researchers artificially increased the scent of certain flowers, bees were unimpressed, but destructive ants were deterred by the strong scent. Flowers do not always benefit from pumped-up fragrance. Sigma Xi, the Scien- tific Research Society, reported that flowers with increased scent put out the welcome mat to beetles—however, honeybees were repelled, although seemingly not by the stronger fragrance, but by the abundance of beetles! It is amazing to consider, but plants can smell. Their sense of smell is based on hor- mones rather than via a nose and brain neu- rons. They detect pheromones from their fruit to know when it is ripe. They also put out distress signals when injured or attacked. Wild tobacco that is infested by caterpillars releases a leaf scent to alert parasitic wasps that eat the caterpillars. The University of Florida and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that citrus trees infected by the deadly greening disease pro- duce a scent that attracts parasites that spread the disease, but also a wasp that is their natu- ral enemy. Lemon tree roots exude essential oils if attacked underground. Wounded sage- brush increases its potent scent more than six times to notify other sagebrush in the area. Even tobacco plants growing down- wind from the sagebrush get the message to increase their defenses—and suffer less insect damage as a result.

⊲ A rich-smelling garden can offer multiple benefits.

20 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN

The aromatic compounds that give pine Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds trees their well-known smell also play a sig- demand a high-energy diet to sustain nificant role in reducing ground tempera- themselves and their brood. Pollen is rich in tures in boreal forests. The compounds react protein and flower nectar is primarily sugar with oxygen to become aerosol vapor, rising water, but it does contain some amino acids, and encouraging clouds to form in the forest vitamins, and minerals. Most pollinators fly, canopy. The vapor-filled clouds reflect the enabling them to distribute pollen over a sun’s heat to cool the air below. Some scien- wide area. This promotes genetic diversity tists say that the loss of aromatic trees world- for the plants they visit. It’s a big job: each wide may be helping to warm the planet flower requires about fifteen visits before and contributing to global warming. it is fully fertilized. To ensure fertilization, flowers may rely on more than one type of pollinator. ATTRACTING POLLINATORS Species that have strong daytime scents A fragrance garden offers far more than are pollinated mostly by bees and butterflies. pretty smells; it also draws an array of polli- Those that release fragrance at night are typ- nators. Insects are nature’s aromatherapists. ically pollinated by moths and bats. Plants Many of them rely on a keen sense of smell that are pollinated by bees and flies smell to locate the nectar and pollen that flowers sweet, while those pollinated by beetles have advertise through fragrance. Insects and strong musty, spicy, or fruity odors. Plants flowers have developed a mutual depen- that rely on wind pollination, such as lemon dency and adapted accordingly. grass, juniper, and wormwood, have no need Plant researchers have long said that to be fragrant or flashy, so they have small, pollinators find color more attractive than greenish flowers without sepals or petals. scent. However, it turns out that olfactory Different plant species have developed cues help pollinators choose the best flowers. ways to recruit pollinators and keep them When many flowers go into bloom at the faithful, as well as ways to keep away crea- same time, those that are most highly tures that will rob the plants of pollen and scented win the battle for pollinators. The nectar. Plants often play tricks to smell or Centre for Research on Ecology and For- look especially attractive to an insect. Some estry Applications found that flowers in early clever flowers, especially those catering to spring in Barcelona, Spain, had much stron- butterflies, smell like pheromones that insects ger, herby scents that bees love. In the sum- use to attract the opposite sex. Flowers signal mer, when far fewer flowers are competing that they are prime for pollination by with each other, the fragrance was less increasing their scent when their potential intense. This competition to attract pollina- pollinators are active. Once pollinated, they tors may be why plants developed so many gradually lose both scent and attractiveness. different scents.

22 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ⊲ A bee visits a dittany of Crete flower.

Honeybees and wild bees Most flowers are pollinated by bees, which plants in their area, but they visit domesti- have specialized, furry legs to hold pollen. cated plants as well. Many wild bees are Honeybees are attracted to yellow, blue, and small with short tongues, so they prefer purple flowers, although they are more packed clusters of tiny flowers, such as partial to strong, sweet scents that indicate chamomile. Ground-nesting bees are among the presence of pollen and nectar. Fragrance the first to emerge to visit violets and other helps them find the correct plants. Similar to early spring bloomers. people, bees recognize aromas faster and Like honeybees, bumblebees form colo- remember them much longer than they do nies with a queen, although there are fewer visual cues, according to research reported in than fifty in a nest. Watching bumblebees Functional Ecology. We humans cannot see maneuver into large clary sage flowers can them, but low ultraviolet light nectar-guides be quite entertaining. They will also visit on angelica, bee balm, lamb’s ears, and sweet anise hyssop, bay laurel, clematis, honey- pea attract bees and help them quickly suckle, lamb’s ears, phlox, rockrose, and wis- locate their target. Yarrow and tansy have a teria. Sometimes they will pollinate smaller similar zone across their floral discs. lavender, rosemary, and thyme flowers. Wild bees have always been a vital part Relying on bees for pollination has of the ecosystem. The job of plant survival become an increasing problem for many fell on their wings before beekeepers kept plants. The seasonal behavior of some species European honeybees. Native bees prefer to has been changing and natural foraging areas pick up pollen and nectar from the native moving. Wild bees are beginning to emerge

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 23 at different times in the year when flowering butterflies that also feast on the nectar of plants are not abundant. The spread of infec- phlox. Milbert’s tortoiseshell butterfly visits tious colony collapse disorder has also caused lilacs and wallflowers and sara orangetips a sharp drop in European honeybees. The pollinate violets, while Baltimore butterflies Intergovernmental Panel on Climate flock to wallflowers. Change’s 2014 report warned that bees and Moths, on the other hand, are extremely other pollinators faced the risk of extinction sensitive to odors. They pick up honeysuck- because of global warming. In 2013, the le’s fragrance from half a mile away. Most are European Union announced plans to restrict nocturnal, so the flowers they pollinate wait the use of some pesticides in the hope of until dusk to emit strong scents that will slowing the decline of bee populations. carry in the night air without the sun’s heat to evaporate the aroma—think flowering Butterfly and moth pollinators tobacco, gardenia, Easter lily, and night- Butterflies are particularly active during blooming jasmine. Moths and long-tongued sunny days, visiting a variety of flowers. They bees that can reach into the tubular flowers seek out long flowers and extract the nectar of primrose and phlox help with pollination. with long proboscises. They have excellent vision and, unlike bees, can see red flowers. Other pollinators They also go for bright orange, yellow, pink, Other pollinators visit the fragrance garden. and sometimes blue. However, butterflies do Hummingbirds are so sensitive to scent that not have a keen sense of smell. They rely on they were taught to differentiate between taste receptors on their feet to identify a host smells at the Centro di Studio per la Faunis- plant. Highly perched on long, thin legs, tica ed Ecologia Tropicali del C.N.R in they are not able to pick up or carry as Santa Teresa, Brazil. For example, they could much pollen as a bee, but they still do their tell the difference between jasmine and fair share. Flat-topped flower clusters, such as lavender. those on yarrow plants, make the easiest Hummingbirds are drawn to the deep landing pads for large butterflies. Protective red flowers of bee balm, flowering tobacco, plants such as fennel and violets are used for and pineapple sage. They also go for orange, laying eggs. yellow, and deep pink blooms, as well as The western tiger swallowtail butterflies many purple and some blue-purple flowers, visit my garden to pollinate the bay laurel, such as anise hyssop, hummingbird sage, dill, fennel, native honeysuckle, lavender, Spanish sage, and wisteria. Tubular, nodding mint, lilac, mock orange, phlox, and wall- flowers with long styles and filaments—such flower. Skipper butterflies are tiny enough to as honeysuckle, red-flowering sage, bee balm, pollinate the small flowers of catnip, laven- and some lilies—accommodate the hum- der, and oregano. Phlox and rue attract the mingbirds’ long beaks, which collect pollen beautiful giant swallowtails, and mint and as the birds drink. These flowers do not need mock orange lure wood nymph butterflies. a landing area, because hummingbirds prefer Painted ladies and sulfurs are a few of the to hover while feeding.

24 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ▲ Pollination of an unusual blue-flowering spearmint.

⊳ Hummingbirds serve as important pollinators. Roman chamomile is pollinated by carry it from flower to flower. Even so, some flies, as well as by little beetles. Small wasps hard-working wasps bring their young nec- pollinate German chamomile and tansy. tar and pollen. Flies gravitate toward the white and cream-colored flowers of angelica, daphne, Using aroma to deter bad bugs fennel, lily-of-the-valley, peppermint, rock- The fragrant garden is fairly pest-free. Most rose, sweet woodruff, thyme, wallflowers, insects in my garden are pollinators, rather tansy, and some green flowers. Flies with than their destructive relatives. The aroma short tongues prefer simple, bowl-shaped creates a built-in defense against predators flowers. Hover flies visit so many wild plants that cannot pick up the scent they want that they have been considered the next through the aromatic shield. Insects rely on important group of pollinators after wild their acute sense of smell to locate plants to bees. Some even have a proboscis, to siphon eat, with many of them flying miles to track nectar out of long, narrow flowers. Pollinat- down a meal. Night-flying moths that lay ing flies can mimic bees, but look closely caterpillar and cutworm eggs on garden and you will see only one pair of wings plants purposely fly upwind to detect plants. instead of two, as well as larger eyes, shorter My first garden a few decades ago was in antennae, and skinnier legs than bees. The a tightly populated beach community that larvae of nearly half the pollinating flies are still had old victory garden plots from World laid on the plant. This helps with pest con- War II, when everyone was encouraged to trol, because the larvae prey on other insects. grow food. My neighborhood replanted How to attract plenty of pollinators, but them. My refurbished victory garden held not too many beetles, is an ongoing floral only a few vegetables that were surrounded dilemma. Beetles are clumsy in flight, so by forty-some aromatic herbs. It was the only require an easy entrance to the flowers. They garden for blocks without predatory bugs— are also messy pollinators, often chewing that is, my garden and the one directly on the plant and leaving droppings. Flowers the other side of the fence. My first garden such as Mexican marigold and rockrose have tours were to show curious neighbors the adapted ways to provide enough food for benefits of having an aromatic garden. hungry, pollinating beetles, while avoiding If your garden is invaded, peppermint, being destroyed in the process. thyme, and wormwood are star players Millions of years ago, when the first against garden pests. They remove white flowering plants began to bloom, some flies from the greenhouse. Along with basil wasps made a switch from hunting prey to and dill, they deter the dreaded tomato gathering pollen for their brood. Wasps are hornworm. Wormwood can almost generally less efficient pollinators than bees single-handedly defend the entire garden, (which descended from wasps) and lack the discouraging carrot fly, squash bug, and body hairs to trap pollen, so are unable to maggot. Along with southernwood, it also

26 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN works against the cabbage looper. Pepper- mint deters both the ants that climb my roses and the aphids they deposit on the shrubs. Other plants to battle aphids include basil, camphor, cilantro, eucalyptus, fennel, and tansy. Use French marigold, rosemary, and rue for beetles, and tansy for Japanese and cucumber beetles and squash bugs. Cat- nip, cilantro, and tansy are specific for potato beetles. To deter spider mites, try cilantro, cumin, and oregano. Fennel and rosemary can be ground into a powder to sprinkle anywhere there are slugs or snails. A plant’s essential oils protect it in other ways besides just odors and aromas. Essential oils also destroy bacterial, fungal, and viral infections responsible for plant diseases. These antibiotic oils are the same ones used in aromatherapy to fight infections and heal wounds in both people and animals. Some particularly potent examples are the highly antibacterial and antifungal lavender, oregano, and rosemary. It’s effective to use these aromatic plants in any combination to make a spray for infected plants or to create a powder to sprinkle around a plant’s base. Simply planting them in your garden can deter pests from vegetables. French marigold roots exude an aromatic substance that repels destructive nematodes in the soil, helping ▲ The odor of caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona) helps keep insect pests at bay. prevent injury to garden plant roots. Of course, the best way to keep your garden free of harmful bugs is to have you see problems in the garden, look first at healthy plants. Preventive health care works the infested or infected plant itself for health the same in your garden as it does for peo- problems. Pamper those plants with bug ple, making the plants more resistant to dis- spray, compost “tea” (compost steeped in ease and pests. Insects generally avoid strong water), and sufficient water to make them plants and go after the ones that are ailing. If more resilient.

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 27 i make your own plant pest repellent A simple, all-purpose insect spray for plants. This employs the naturally repellent qualities of plant aromas.

Approximately 1 cup 1. Place the leaves, garlic cloves, and water in a blender. fresh peppermint, 2. Blend contents into a slurry. thyme, and wormwood leaves 3. Let mixture sit overnight, then strain.

2 whole, unpeeled 4. Use the resulting herb-scented solution as is, or add liquid castile soap or garlic cloves dishwashing liquid (for better adherence) and vinegar.

2 cups water 5. To use, pour liquid into spray bottle and apply directly onto infested plants. Dilute with water if too thick. blender 6. Store repellent in refrigerator, where it should keep about a week. Mark spray bottle your bug spray well! When labels have fallen off, my family has eaten all sorts of herbal concoctions. optional

1 teaspoon liquid castile soap or dishwashing liquid

2 tablespoons regular strength vinegar (any kind)

⊲ Thyme is a natural pest repellent. ▲ A rose arbor brings cheer to visitors. aromatherapy from the garden At one time, it was taken for granted that garden changes one’s mood. Never hesitate spending time in a garden was healing to to take an extra “dose” of garden whenever body, mind, and spirit. It is no wonder that you need an emotional lift. Like many gardeners love being in their gardens! They gardeners, I also bring the aromas of my will be the first to tell you that a fragrant healing garden into the house with fragrant

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 29 bouquets, and plants such as jasmine, lilies, apy lore, hoping to put our sense of smell to violets, and daphne growing outside my work helping us heal (as well as prevent) at windows. least some emotional and physical diseases. Scientists have been investigating the As a result, we now have a selection of field of aromacology to discover how scent aromatic plants with therapeutic uses that impacts us. What they found is that aromas are backed by both science and history. spark areas in the brain that control emo- Aromatherapists add a number of additional tions. One reason we respond so quickly to fragrant plants to their pharmacy—plants liking or disliking a scent is because it gains that have not been scientifically investigated direct access to our mind. One of the ways but have many traditional uses. in which fragrance alters moods is to mod- The Fragrance Research Fund, a ify brain activity. Changes are observed in nonprofit coalition of fragrance industry brainwaves and neurotransmitters, such as companies, began collaborating with Yale serotonin and dopamine, which play University’s psychophysiology department in important roles in regulating our emotions, 1982 to investigate ways in which aroma anxiety, cognition, sleep regulation, and affects personality and behavior. One pro- appetite. Scent also communicates with gram followed more than two thousand hormonal regulators in the body, especially subjects over twenty years. A long list of dis- the adrenal, hypothalamus, and pituitary orders is being researched, including fatigue, glands that act as control centers to manage migraine headaches, pain, food cravings, everyday functions. insomnia, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, sexual dysfunction, and memory loss. Fragrance is certainly not as potent as its PLANTS CAN CHANGE pharmaceutical counterparts, but it is non- YOUR MOOD addicting, seems to have no side effects, and Aromas impact our emotions in different can be used safely with drugs. The typical ways. Calming scents help our bodies deal prescription for aromatherapy is simply to with stress and depression. Other aromas take a sniff every few minutes. stimulate the mind to keep us awake or to help us work more efficiently. Most scents Relaxing, stress-relieving scents stir the memory, but some do a better job Chamomile, lavender, lemon, marjoram, than others. Generally, fragrances that we orange blossom, and other citrus scents have find pleasant make us feel good and assist us been shown to enhance relaxation, in functioning better emotionally. encourage sleep, reduce depression and Medical science is looking into the anxiety, and lower the body’s response to many ways people have traditionally used pain. It takes just a few whiffs of any one of fragrant plants. It’s helping scientists uncover these scents to calm the body physically and the untapped potential of aromas. Research- mentally. Spikenard and valerian increase the ers are studying plants with rich aromather- calming, meditative theta brain waves and

30 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ▲ Plant clove pinks to boost relaxation and happiness. deeply relaxing delta waves, while decreasing the more stimulating beta waves. Most lemon-scented plants, such as lemon grass, nervousness, as well as memory loss. The and lemon itself, help the nervous system scent does this by moderating brain neuro-​ overcome stress, nervous exhaustion, and transmitters and reducing adrenal cortisol especially sleep disorders. The eleventh- levels that rise when we are stressed. century Islamic healer Avicenna recom- Herb-like scents that are identified by mended lemon balm to lift a bad mood. perfumers as “green odors” help protect the A relaxed, happiness response is pro- body from the negative impact of stress. The duced in the brain by clove-like scents. This green scents of fennel, oregano, and marjo- may be one reason why clove-scented roses, ram appear to improve feelings of general clove pink, wallflower, and especially stocks well-being by adjusting neurotransmitter became such well-loved garden flowers. Basil activity. Many green scents, such as German also has clove buried in its scent. The aro- chamomile, gardenia, lemon grass, rose, and matic compound eugenol gives these plants sweet flag have been shown to be calming their clove-like scent. University of Arizona because they enhance a brain chemical psychologist Gary Schwartz, PhD, has had called GABA that encourages relaxation and hundreds of people participate in studies on sleep, sometimes more than sleeping pills. scent. He showed how clove produces relax- They are thought to work through the ation and reduces stress, mental fatigue, and hypothalamus and pituitary glands, which

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 31 signal regulatory processes throughout the when volunteers in a 2012 study at Eulji body to keep it in balance. Ruhr University University’s College of Nursing in Korea researchers in Germany say that aromather- repeatedly inhaled a blend of lavender, mar- apy sprays may offer a new class of GABA joram, orange blossom, and ylang ylang over modulators and “a scientific basis for aroma- twenty-four hours. therapy.” Sniffing jasmine may be compara- The relaxing and comforting scents ble to taking sedative drugs. of India’s vetiver and daphne (which the Even cosmetic companies are creating Chinese called the sleeping scent) have yet aromatherapy perfumes and body care prod- to be examined by science, but both have ucts. Research at Shiseido, the world’s long historical use. Research may also find third-largest cosmetic company, says that potential in primrose, orris root, and violets, stress adversely affects the complexion, but which English herbalists once commonly an aromatherapy facial can relax brain waves used to treat nervous disorders such as anxi- to the same extent as meditation. ety and insomnia. Even dill seeds were Multiple research studies indicate that tucked into potpourri pillows to encourage the scents of rose, patchouli, and orange blos- fussy babies to sleep. som encourage relaxation and help with long-term pain and physical and emotional Antidepressant, feel-good scents stress, as well as problems from the resulting According to Dr. Jeanette Haviland-Jones of high levels of cortisol and adrenaline. Orange Rutgers University, fragrant flowers have an blossom, lavender, and rosemary lower corti- immediate positive effect on our emotional sol levels. Rose and patchouli seem to mod- well-being, with the ability to “trigger satis- erate adrenaline output and slow sympathetic faction, happiness, emotional bonds with nerve activity. Rose-scented geranium and others, and alleviate depression and anxiety.” lavender balance emotions by producing She calls peonies, roses, and other fragrant either relaxation or alertness. It is suspected flowers fabulous mood-boosters. Scented that all of these scents help regulate the blooms even increase innovative thinking brain’s neurotransmitters. and productivity in the workplace. Nurses in a 2014 study from Australia’s Griffith University found that the high stress Stimulants and memory scents and anxiety of working in the emergency Aromatherapy studies from Toho University room decreased after an aromatherapy spray School of Medicine in Tokyo determined containing lavender, lime, patchouli, rose, that basil, clove, jasmine, and peppermint are ylang ylang, and bergamot was misted over very stimulating. Next in line are lemon them and briefly massaged into their shoul- grass, patchouli, rose, and sage. These scents ders. They experienced an “immediate and prevent the sharp drop in concentration that dramatic” difference. Stress indicators, such typically occurs after thirty minutes of as blood pressure and cortisol levels, dropped concentrated work. They are not as strong as

32 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ▲ Oregano may enhance feelings of well-being ▲ “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance,” by affecting neurotransmitter activity. said Ophelia in Hamlet.

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 33 drinking coffee, but also don’t overstimulate blossom tea, the aroma brought back a flood adrenal glands. of childhood memories, filling him with The uplifting fragrances of basil, jasmine, inexplicable happiness. Researchers hope to peppermint, and rosemary appear to stimu- use this association to treat memory prob- late the brain’s beta waves that focus mental lems, even dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. activity, awareness, and alertness, and simply Strong, sharp scents such as bay laurel, jas- make a person feel good. They reduce stress mine, rosemary, and sage sharpen memory. and slow breathing by blocking stress-related Sage seems to slow short-term memory loss nerve responses, but without depressing the by blocking a brain messenger associated nervous system. Mae Fah Luang University with memory loss. Sweet flag helps with in Thailand and several other institutions learning and recalling facts by improving the found that air traffic controllers were more functions of the central nervous system. alert and computer operators made fewer Peppermint and lily-of-the-valley improve errors and worked faster when workrooms sustained concentration. In a 1992 study at were scented with either peppermint or the Bishop’s University Department of Psy- eucalyptus. chology in Lennoxville, Canada, volunteers The brain is imprinted with hundreds memorized a list of words more easily if of specific scents that are attached to our they smelled jasmine. When a study at Tot- personal memories. Events that are associ- tori University in Yonago, Japan, asked ated with our sense of smell are retained far elderly individuals to sniff rosemary and longer and come back much quicker than lemon every morning and lavender and memories that are connected to either sight orange in the evening for one month, they or hearing. You probably have had at least had less memory loss. In aromatherapy lore, one déja vu experience after taking a whiff juniper counters mental fatigue, physical of some familiar plant that whisked you debility, and insomnia. The ancient Greeks back in time. You may vaguely remember found hyacinth and thyme to be invigorat- your grandmother’s house without prompt- ing and to improve memory. Europeans said ing, but smell lilacs that she grew in her gar- that lilacs make you reminiscent. To help den, and the memories come flooding back. remember some important fact, sniff one of Since memory is so tied to our sense of these plants while you memorize it. When smell, past experiences also greatly influence the time comes to recall that information, whether we like or dislike a particular scent. smell that scent again. Psychologists call our association of smell with memory the Proust phenome- non, from Marcel Proust’s novel Remembrance of Things Past. When the French novelist ⊲ A brick entry greets visitors with a riot of roses and dipped a madeleine cookie in his lemon- other blooms.

34 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN

THE PASSION BEHIND SCENT The sense of smell is not the same in both sexes. Women will usually recognize a scent more readily than men, especially food aromas. They take more time to consider scents that they prefer and can readily describe them. Men, on the other hand, do not pick out scents as easily and have little to say about them. Aroma can definitely alter an attraction to another person. Men see women differ- ently if the males smell a perfume they like. For one thing, they will estimate a women’s weight around four to twelve pounds lighter. ▲ Primrose contains a trace of cinnamon scent, which is Researchers say that the reaction of both favored by men. sexes to scent is probably hormonal, since the sense of smell declines in women taking testosterone shots. basil and sweet flag, both aphrodisiac fra- grances that are used in perfume. Garden Fragrant aphrodisiacs plants that hint at cinnamon are primrose, Men and women are attracted to different some scented geraniums, and the white- scents. Studies show that what turns on flowering wisteria cultivar ‘Alba’. Men like women are licorice and cucumber scents, their cinnamon, licorice, lavender, and cola followed by lavender. Men are also respon- scents combined with the smell of dough- sive to licorice and lavender, and in much nuts, but it’s not entirely clear how one higher numbers than women. Licorice- would match that in the garden! Pumpkin scented plants in the fragrance garden are pie spice also contains clove, which was anise hyssop and fennel, which are added to discussed earlier as a known relaxant, and is some perfumes and colognes in small a popular scent in men’s colognes. amounts. It is no surprise that chocolate is Older men and women of any age favor also on the list for women, bringing to mind vanilla scents. Women particularly find the the chocolate-scented clematis, geranium, vanilla-like scent of baby powder appealing. and peppermint plants. By the way, what Vanilla-scented plants are clematis, dried women do not care for is the scent of cherry. sweet woodruff, oleander, and the softly fra- Men found pumpkin pie spice to be the granced, modern-day wallflower. Wisteria most stimulating aroma of all. Its overriding flowers also carry a note of vanilla. Women scent is cinnamon, a well-known aphrodisiac are generally more receptive to men’s historically. The strongest cinnamon scents in advances if there are aromatic flowers nearby, the fragrance garden are found in cinnamon say University of South Brittany psycholo-

36 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ▲ Star jasmine, the scent of passion.

⊳ Beautiful vessels delight the eye; what’s inside pleases the nose.

well-known scents are based on plants that have age-old reputations as aphrodisiacs. Jasmine, labdanum, orange blossom, patchouli, rose, sweet flag, tuberose, and vetiver were originally made into exotic, solid perfumes that predated the modern alcohol-based products. Coriandre perfume by Jean Couturier for Women is based on the spicy coriander seed, which was an gists. They recommend highly scented flow- aphrodisiac mentioned in The Arabian Nights. ers, such as roses and lily-of-the-valley. Cardamom is another well-known aphrodi- Flowers only need to be in the room and siac spice that finds its way into modern not presented as a gift. perfume. It was a key ingredient in ancient Egypt’s once-famous kyphi perfume, as well Plant-inspired perfume as another traditional fragrance from India in It is no secret, with perfume brand names which it is blended with coriander, jasmine, such as Tabu, My Sin, Opium, Perhaps, basil, and cloves. Many perfumes have been Shocking de Schiaparelli, Poison, and Sexual, inspired by lily-of-the-valley, or muguet in that personal fragrance has long been all French, including Christian Dior’s Dioris- about sex appeal. Like most perfume, these simo. Gardenia is the foundation for at least

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 37 fifty perfumes. Popular for nearly one design. A garden that was constructed with a hundred years, My Sin and Arpege are a few geometric design and filled with aromatic of the many perfumes based on jasmine. plants was considered especially tranquil. Tall Today, in addition to all the traditional walls surrounded the gardens, creating a plants used for fragrance, fruity-violet retreat from the outside world and inspiring mignonette, daffodils, and a few strongly inward reflection. The walls also served to scented bee balm species are also cultivated capture the fragrance of the plants contained for the perfume industry. A small hint of a within. Aromatic trees were an important potent scent (such as clary sage, curry plant, source of medicine, spiritual inspiration, and lemon marigold, or santolina) give high-end shade, so they were often grown in the perfumes a fragrant boost. Among contem- fragrance garden or an adjoining area. porary popular scents, lavender is the star of Through most of garden history, fragrant Chanel Jersey; orange blossom is integral to gardens were thought able to ward off illness. Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Sublime and Elie A sixteenth-century poem tells of a walled Saab Le Parfum; and Roberto Cavalli Parad- garden with benches and arbors; it is so iso combines notes of bergamot, jasmine, sweetly fragrant, it counters disease. and cypress. The fragrance garden was a place to Cologne is a lighter version of perfume. seek peace and contemplation. Throughout It often contains at least one aphrodisiac Europe, the Middle East, and India, gardens aroma, but it tends to be less floral than were considered a perfumed heaven on earth perfume and more herbal, spicy, or woodsy. where one could purify the soul. The plants It often contains cloves, cedarwood, or juni- in these gardens held important religious per. The original eau de cologne from the symbolism that was often associated with seventeenth century was orange blossoms, their aromas. Their fragrance was said to be bergamot, lavender, lemon balm, and rose- able to transform raw emotion into religious mary. The tuberous earthnut sweet pea is passion. This transference was considered sometimes used in cologne. Tobacco gives possible in the garden because passion for cologne a dry, masculine scent with a heavy both worldly desires and spiritual develop- base note, for its musty appeal. ment were associated with scent.

Aromatic gardens for love and beauty fragrance garden Scented gardens also have their secular side. Most often the garden’s theme turned to history love, romance, and even passion. The plants The gardens of antiquity were heavy with grown in a fragrance garden were often the fragrance. Persian palaces, Egyptian temples, same ones found in a religious garden, but Roman villas, and European estates and their scents carried new symbolism. Favor- monasteries were all based on formal garden ites, such as the rose, were able to span the

38 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ⊳ Sweet-smelling favorites such as roses have long been hallmarks of a welcoming garden.

wife in the seventh century bc. Sennacherib described the highest platform that imitated the Amanus Mountains, with “all kinds of aromatic plants, orchard fruit trees, trees that enrich not only mountain country but also Babylonia.” Fragrance captivated ancient Greece and Rome. Sailors said they knew when they were approaching the Greek isle of Rhodes because the fragrance of rose wafted over the sea. An entire street in Capua, Italy, devoted to manufacturing scented products like rosewater was said to be thick with heady fragrances. Greek and Roman gardens were dedicated to their gods and goddesses, so they contained the bay laurel, lilies, myr- tle, and narcissus that were associated with such mythology. Their gardens were also scented with chamomile, oleander, violet, and roses. The fragrant herbs they grew were hyssop, juniper, lemon balm, mugwort, orris root, mint, pennyroyal, and rue for use as culinary herbs and medicine. The many aro- spiritual and common nature of the indi- matic spices cultivated in these classical gar- vidual, so they found a welcome home in dens included basil, coriander, dill, fennel, both types of gardens. marjoram, oregano, sage, wormwood, and Perhaps the most famous ancient thyme. Pliny the Younger chose aromatic gardens that were constructed for love are rosemary hedges to surround his garden at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. They are his coastal villa because they tolerated wind usually credited to Nebuchadnezzar II, but and sea exposure better than the common according to Oxford scholar Stephanie boxwood hedge. Dalley, they may have been the gardens that It seems that gardeners have always been surrounded the Nineveh palace in modern- fascinated with acquiring new plants. Botan- day Iraq. These elevated gardens were built ical exploration for fragrant plants led Egyp- by Assyrian king Sennacherib for his beloved tian queen Hatshepsut to send an expedition

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 39 to Punt—possibly Somali—around 1500 bc. herbs and trees listed in the Capitulare de Her boats carrying fragrant myrrh trees for villis vel curtis imperialis. This list was likely her garden are depicted on a wall relief at compiled by the French abbot Benedict of her temple on the Nile’s west bank at Deir Aniane, who was already exchanging garden el-Bahari. These trees were said to have plants with Alcuin, the abbot of Tours and eventually grown to a good height, thanks to one of Charlemagne’s advisors. Alcuin was their roots being carefully wrapped for the known for his beautiful lilies and gallica voyage. As the collection expanded, Egyptian roses, which were included on the manda- gardens became botanical showplaces. A tory list, along with other aromatics such as mural in the Botanical Garden room at the coriander, dill, fennel, juniper berries, mint, fourteenth-century temple of Amun at Kar- pennyroyal, and rue. The De naturis rerum by nak in Egypt illustrates two hundred fifty Alexandri Neckam notes in 1210 that species that were grown in that temple’s Londoners were growing fragrant flowers twenty-six gardens. They included all kinds such as heliotrope, lilies, roses, and violets in of beautiful flowers and aromatic spices, such their private gardens. as cumin, marjoram, anise, and coriander. Dominican monk Albertus Magnus Much of garden history corresponds specified in 1260 that gardens should have “a with the conquest of new territory. King great diversity of medicinal and scented Ramses III had pots of exotic trees and herbs, not only to delight the senses by their flowers shipped back to Egypt from his perfume, but to refresh the sight with their army’s twelfth-century bc conquests in flowers.” He described gardens containing Libya, Syria, and Cyrenia. Alexander the “every sweet smelling herb such as rue, and Great sent plants from lands that he con- sage, and basil, and likewise, all sorts of flow- quered in the fourth century bc to his tutor, ers, as the violet, columbine, lily, rose, iris, Aristotle, to establish a botanical garden out- and the like . . .” German herbalist Hildegard side of Athens, Greece. von Bingen (1098–1179) grew all of these in her cloister garden, plus catnip, chamomile, Monastery gardens clary sage, myrtle, oregano, tansy, thyme, The Romans brought fennel, rue, rosemary, valerian, and yarrow. She recommended the southernwood, sage, and thyme to British scents of fennel, rose, violet, and wormwood gardens during their conquest. When they to counter depression, and spike lavender to left Britain, the aromatic herbs remained. improve one’s disposition. The Damask rose, and probably jasmine and The medieval monastery herb gardens, lilac, are fragrant plants that arrived in medi- or herbaries, contained aromatic plants eval Europe when crusaders returned from intended to nurture the soul and provide the Middle East. Roman emperor Charlem- agne decreed around ad 800 that all of the monasteries and estates under his extensive ⊲ A Celtic garden of fragrant herbs and flowers. Stone carving reign in Europe should grow eighty-nine by Martin Akerstone.

40 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN

European tapestries made around 1500 hang at The Cloisters museum. In the most famous panel, a unicorn is portrayed in the middle of an informal meadow filled with highly scented flowers. Such fields were referred to as millefleurs, or “a thousand flowers.” Eighty-five of the plants on the tapestries were identified by two botanists. These include the fragrant flowers of clove pink, Madonna lily, and violets.

Gardens of delight The late Middle Ages saw spirituality give way to pleasure and sensuality in the Euro- pean garden. Arbors of fragrant roses, repre- senting both love and religious devotion, concealed intimate seats where one could play music, embroider, contemplate, or be romantic amidst the fragrance. Part of the medieval love poem Roman de la Rose by Guillaume de Lorris takes place in a walled garden like this. He describes lovers meeting ▲ Saint Fiacre, patron saint of herb gardens. where “the earth was very artfully decorated and painted with flowers of various colors herbal remedies. Benedictine, Chartreuse, and sweetest perfumes.” The garden’s design and similar liqueurs were flavored with doz- stayed formal, but the walls surrounding it ens of aromatic medicinal herbs that were were lowered to see the world beyond. grown by the monks. Monastery gardens Boccaccio, in his book of tales, The Decam- were filled with symbolic plants. They often eron, describes a fourteenth-century garden had an alcove dedicated to the Virgin Mary in which “the sides of these walks were that was overflowing with the fragrant flow- almost closed in with jasmine and red and ers associated with her, such as lily-of-the- white roses, so that it was possible to walk in valley, roses, and violets. the garden in a perfumed and delicious Fifty of the plants in the Trie Cloister shade.” The inner lawn, which was bordered garden—at The Cloisters museum, part of by orange trees, “pleased the sense of smell.” the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New The New World had its own spectacular York—were chosen from those displayed on fragrance garden. In 1519, Bernal Diaz del famous tapestries titled “The Hunt of the Castillo arrived from Spain to the Aztec cap- Unicorn.” These lavishly woven, plant-dyed ital of present-day Mexico City as a Spanish

42 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN ▲ Spain’s tenth-century Mosque of Cordoba was originally foot soldier. He was amazed to see the city renowned for its fragrant gardens. covered in beautiful floating and rooftop gardens. In The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, he wrote, “I was never tired of cities. He personally designed landscaping looking at the diversity of trees, and noting for ten gardens in Kabul, Afghanistan. The the scent each one had and the paths full of most famous example of Mughal architec- roses and flowers.” ture, the Taj Mahal, was once surrounded by Zahir-ud-din Muhammed, a descendant extensive gardens. of Gengis Khan known as Babur, was inter- The Moors brought their passion for ested in literature, art, music, and gardening. fragrant flowers, shade, and garden pools He established gardens in every Central with them when they conquered Spain. Asian city he conquered in the early six- Roses, carnations, jasmine, lilacs, lilies, narcis- teenth century. Babur was greatly influenced sus, wallflowers, and orange tree flowers per- by the Persian culture and its love of fragrant fumed their gardens. A fragrant, trimmed flowers, so he made sure that every garden in myrtle hedge surrounds the Court of the the Mughal dynasty that he established in Myrtles, at the medieval Alhambra palace India was filled with “sweet herbs and flow- and fortress in Granada, Spain. The tenth- ers of beautiful color and scent.” One of his century Mosque of Cordoba was renowned first acts as emperor was to have several gar- for its fragrant gardens. A well-known dens created in the city of Agra, which were twelfth-century writer, Al-Fath Ibn Khaqan, followed by more gardens in other Indian described the breeze “blowing day and night

A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN | 43 over the garden loaded with scents.” The Fragrance gardens enter Court of Oranges had orange trees planted the modern world in a sunken garden that was fifteen feet The expanding imperialism of nineteenth- below the walkway. This allowed visitors to century Britain brought exotic plants from smell the pure aroma of neroli orange blos- the far reaches of the world into British soms as it floated off the treetops. gardens. The country style garden took off In the seventeenth century, many and gentry who had the time and money to women who had the means to do so put garden raised splashy displays of fragrant aside their embroidery and began botanizing flowers. Scented geraniums and orchids were and designing gardens as a hobby. The 1617 kept in large, glass houses that were made Country Housewife’s Garden by William Law- possible by advances in steel and glass manu- son presented them with ideas for kitchen facturing. Thanks to the invention of cast and flower gardens. He suggested that they plate glass in 1848, large sheets of inexpen- plant rosemary, roses, and sage, among other sive, strong glass were used to build the plants. Even Josephine, the wife of the Crystal Palace for the 1851 World Exhibi- French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, was tion in London. My great-great-grandfather, an amateur botanist who brought nearly two Jesse Keville, was a gardener in London at hundred plants to France for the first time. that time. In his memoirs, he recounted how Through France’s conquests, she acquired impressed he was by the advancements in rare species to grow in her garden. She gardening technology that were displayed at commissioned Belgian botanical artist the exhibition. Pierre-Joseph Redouté to illustrate the The home gardener needed a supply of flowers at her Chateau de Malmaison. He seeds, and the R. K. Bliss & Sons seed com- painted marvelous renditions of five hun- pany led the way, offering nearly seven hun- dred lilies and two hundred roses. Known dred varieties of flowers in their full-color for her beautiful roses, Josephine had several seed catalog. By the turn of the twentieth varieties named after her and properties, century, there were about eight hundred including the fragrant ‘Souvenir de la seed companies in the United States alone. Malmaison’. A growing middle class rolled up their Under the influence of Louis XV’s sleeves, grabbed shovels, and set to work Marquise de Pompadour, plants in her planting colorful, fragrant gardens. A eighteenth-century garden at the rustic her- renewed appreciation of flowers developed mitage at Versailles were arranged by scent, so as more potted plants and bouquets were that one heavenly smell led to another. An brought into the house. Specially designed avid gardener who loved fragrance, the Mar- pots for tuberose plants, which grow in low quise had lemon trees, gardenias, jasmines, light conditions, became popular in Victo- myrtles, tuberoses, oleanders, lilacs, and fifty rian parlors. Books were written about the orange trees planted in straight avenues with symbolic folklore of fragrant flowers. trellised walkways leading to the rose bowers.

44 | A TRADITION OF SCENT IN THE GARDEN