Gardening

Present a flower to a child and watch what he does. Nine times out of ten, the very first thing will be to bury his nose in the center and take a healthy sniff. One of the most enchanting things about gardens are their fragrances - yet many of our modern flower varieties have had the scent bred right out of them.

To me, spring smells like lilacs, and a summer afternoon should be scented with the tang of growing tomatoes. Romance is the nearly cloying sweetness of gardenia drifiting on the breeze on a summer night, and nothing says autumn quite so clearly as the crisp scent of apples in the orchard. In these days of artificial flavors and aromas, a garden grown specifically to appeal to the nose is a curiously enticing idea.

You can create a garden that perfumes the air throughout the year by choosing fragrant plants that bloom during different seasons. Keep these principles in mind:

Choose plants that will bloom in sequence, and avoid too many plants that bloom at the same time. You want to enjoy each plant for itself, not part of a melange. Plant fragrant ground covers along paths and walkways. The passage of feet will stir and lift the scent.
Plant fragrant herbs and flowers in window boxes and containers near benches so that their scent is stirred by passing breezes.
Make note of the usual prevailing winds. If the wind often blows from the east, then it will carry the scent of a fragrance garden planted east of the house toward the house itself.

My own nose garden starts in mid-spring when the lilacs bloom. A single bush in the corner of the yard perfumes the entire neighborhood with its sweet, heady scent. Just as its blooms are fading, the roses take over.

Old fashioned, antique and English roses are considered to be among the most fragrant of flowers, and I can testify to that. One spring I was haunted by the fragrance of roses that seemed to hang over the entire neighborhood - despite the absence of a single visible rose bush. The source was an antique 4-petal rose that had taken over the back of an abandoned, overgrown lot. I transplanted several canes of it to my own yard, and have carried them with me wherever I move.

The roses bloom through late June, and often again in late October if the weather stays warm enough. Between their blooming, there are gardenia, honeysuckle, mints, verbena and lavender to please the senses.

Other fragrant plants that you can choose for your own garden include magnolia, citrus plants, box hedges, myrtle, John F. Kennedy and Heritage roses, jasmine, clematis and wisteria. There's nothing like the fragrance of a garden in full bloom. You owe it to yourself to enjoy it.