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Garden journal entry |
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Sarcococca hookeriana |
March 17, 2012. Fragrance eludes me. I'm olfactorily challenged. While many gardeners go to great lengths to plan and build fragrance gardens, and describe the multitudes of sweet scents wafting their way as they amble through their gardens, for me the sense of smell is mostly an afterthought. I don't know why – I don't seem to have trouble spotting (and enjoying) the smell of fresh bread being baked in a nearby bakery, or the sinful scent of a Cinnabon outlet. Perhaps the sensitivity of my nose is tied closely to the satisfaction receptors in my stomach – which probably wouldn't much appreciate a meal of lilacs. In any case, I find my enjoyment in gardening elsewhere, but I sometimes feel like I'm missing out. Like with sweet box, whose creamy white little flowers have appeared early this year. They aren't much to look at, but many horticulturists wax poetically about their sweet scent. I put it to the test today, and found I had to stick my nose just about right up to the flowers to discern the fragrance. It was sweet, indeed, but unlikely to charm me from a distance. Oh well, I'll continue to enjoy the visual, tactile, and gustatory delights of my garden – along with the olfactory ones that are so powerful that they defeat my scent defenses (some roses come to mind, as do the aforementioned lilacs). |
Last modified:
September 09, 2009
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