Re: favorite fragrant plants
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: favorite fragrant plants
- From: K*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 21:43:01 EST
I like David's list, but I'd like to add a couple, if I may:
Magnolia stellata. The scent doesn't really carry--in fact, you have to
stick your nose in the flower to get at it--but it's so light and sweet, so
delicate and ephemeral, the very essence of spring.
Clematis armandii. Another early spring bloomer. Mine has a few flowers
starting to open already. I have this one trained over my front porch, and
it's peak of bloom is one of the highlights of the garden year to me. I
never tire of that warm vanilla scent.
Grape Hyacinth. Another one you have to stick your nose in to enjoy, but
I've loved it's fruity scent since I was a child.
There is an old Osmanthus fragrans on the grounds of the University of the
Pacific, here in Stockton, that must be 25 feet tall. When it is in bloom,
in late September-early October, the rich apricot scent carries a good city
block.
And what about the smell of citrus trees in bloom? Can anything beat that?
One of my favorite memories is of driving through the Coachella Valley in
late spring, as the setting sun illuminated the western sky over the purple
mountains. The grapefruit orchards were in bloom, and the scent, carried on
the warm desert air, completely enveloped us as we drove through the miles of
date palms and citrus orchards. Magic!
Kurt Mize
Stockton, California
USDA Zone 9
