Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, February 2, and it is Groundhog Day here in the US. Apparently, groundhog “Punxsutawney Phil” did not see his shadow this morning, which is supposed to predict an early spring. Unfortunately, Phil and his predecessors have been right less than 40% of the time over decades, but I’m choosing to believe. I’m ready to start pruning roses for spring and summer blooms! I’ll be uncovering the rest of my plants this weekend, having already removed the frost covers from many in the past week. And yes, I’ve checked the actual weather forecast; we may get down to 32 degrees Fahrenheit next week, but that seems to be the worst of it.
I try to grow mostly fragrant plants in my garden when I have the option. Most of my roses are varieties that have been bred for good fragrance. I also have some beautiful lavender (mostly “Phenomenal”, which was the only kind that survived the hard freeze we had in December 2022). Sage, basil, thyme, oregano are fragrant, of course. A new favorite geranium, which I saved by moving indoors as well as taking cuttings, is “Attar of Roses” and yes, when you press its leaves, it smells exactly like a rose! Then we have gardenias, hardy jasmine, evergreen clematis, magnolia trees. Right now, the most fragrant plant in my garden is mahonia, whose yellow flowers smell like a mix of gardenia and lily of the valley. I don’t recall ever seeing mahonias until we moved to the Southeast and bought an old house with an old garden that had some, and now it’s a favorite plant, ungainly as it may look. Its scent reminds me of Natalie, a gardenia-centric fragrance created in memory of the late actress Natalie Wood.
Do you garden? If yes, do you deliberately seek out fragrant plants? Or do you have a favorite fragrance that evokes a particular plant, floral or not?
I can see what looks like that plant flowering in a neighbours garden right now. I’ve been pondering what the yellow spikes of bloom could be. Specially in the north of England in the middle of winter. Would mahonia bloom in winter? Whatever it brings spectacular colour on grey days.
I’m not much of a gardener. I grow edibles that survive year on year. I need to put beans in this coming spring to fix some nitrogen into the soil after rogue spuds came up last year whilst I was letting it rest
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, mahonia blooms in winter, and it is evergreen all year round. Great plant!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No gardening skills here. I just try to fertilize my camellia plants so they will bloom each year. I consult an arborist to keep my trees in good health. I love my trees! I have 2 beautiful big live oaks in my yard and they provide lovely shade in the summer. I’m planning on having some landscaping done by a nursery that specializes in native Florida plants later this year, but it needs to be low maintenance! I want some plants that will attract bees and butterflies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love live oaks! Do yours have resurrection ferns in their limbs?
LikeLike
They do, and Spanish moss as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our garden is mostly for vegetables but we do plant some sunflowers and tagetes etc for a healthy soil
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those are great. I grow tagetes in my vegetable garden too, with lots of herbs. I actually love the smell of tagetes (marigolds) too.
LikeLike