Plant Now for Spring Fragrance

"Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?"
- Neltje Blanchan

Fall isn’t my favorite time of the year. Although it is beautiful and the moderate temperatures are welcome, I know that winter is just around the corner and I’ve come to dread its weather extremes. One way to keep a positive outlook is to start planning (and planting) now for spring. In my part of the world (US Hardiness Zone 6), now is the time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. Bulbs can be planted until the ground is frozen solid, but they will perform best if you plant them in early fall. Not only will they add welcome color to your garden, but many spring flowering bulbs are fragrant as well.

The following is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but will give a few suggestions of fragrant spring-flowering bulbs.

• Hyacinths (Hyacinthus) – all kinds
• Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) – all kinds
• Lily of the valley (Convallaria) – all kinds
• Tulips (Tulipa) – Apricot Parrot, Apricot Beauty, Monsella, Prinses Irene, Angelique, Ballerina, Peach Melba
• Daffodils (Narcissus) – Fragrant Breeze, Fragrant Rose, Erlicheer, Martinette, Cheerfulness, Baby Boomer, Thalia

If you can’t find fragrant bulbs locally, a quick Internet search will yield many mail order sources. 

Essential Oils 101

“To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat” –John Beverley Nichols

Many think of essential oils only as something used by aromatherapy experts.  However, there are plenty of ways that the average person can use essential oils around the house.  Due to health and environmental concerns as well as financial considerations, more people are making their own household cleaning products.  Essential oils are a great addition to these “green” products, as well as to home fragrance and bath and body products, all of which are easy to make yourself. In this blog, I intend to share recipes and directions for such items.  But first, here are a few basics about acquiring and using essential oils.

First of all, what are essential oils?  They are pure oils extracted or distilled from plants.  Depending on the variety, they may come from the leaves, flowers, roots, bark, or other plant parts.  Making them is beyond the scope of most home gardeners, as special equipment and large quantities of plant material are required to make just a small amount of essential oil.  So you will probably want to purchase your essential oils.  I purchase my essential oils from a wholesaler, www.naturesgardencandles.com.  There are many other reputable online sources, both retail and wholesale, and the oils are also usually available at natural food and craft stores.  Look for pure essential oils, rather than synthetic.  Quality oils will be packaged in dark-colored glass bottles and it is best to store them in the original bottles in a cool, dark room. Essential oils usually come with some sort of dropper, as a little bit goes a long way and oils should be measured out one drop at a time.  You will probably want to start out by purchasing oils in the smallest size available.



Fairy Rose



What kind of oils should you buy? This is purely a matter of personal taste, but here are some of my favorites:


• Cassia (cinnamon)
• Clove bud
• Eucalyptus

• Lavender
• Lemongrass
• Orange
• Peppermint

The Lure of Lavender

“The air was fragrant with a thousand trodden aromatic herbs, with fields of lavender” -William Cullen Bryant

If I had to choose just one indispensable plant for both garden and home (which, thankfully, I don’t) it would have to be lavender.  Outdoors, it adds beauty and fragrance to the garden over a long season and its semi-evergreen foliage provides winter interest in our cold climate.  Like many aromatic flowering plants, it attracts bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Of the several varieties I’ve grown, I especially like Lavendula angustifolia ‘Hidcote Pink’.  I found it very easy to start from a small potted plant and it has grown to a respectable size over the past two years.  It is cold hardy to US Zone 6.

Inside the home, I’ve used lavender, either dried or the essential oil, for more projects than any other plant.  Here are some the things I’ve made from lavender:

• Sachets – for drawers and pillows
• Laundry items – fabric softener and dryer sachets
• Carpet freshener
• Drain cleaner
• Soap
• Bath salts and bath teas

In future posts, I will share details and instructions for some of these items.

You can use lavender for culinary purposes, too, but so far I haven’t tried that. It would be interesting to hear from those who have.

Thyme for Drying Herbs

Of leaves, choose only such as are green, and full of juice; pick them carefully, and cast away such as are any way declining

– Nicholas Culpeper -The Complete Herbal -1653

When you dry your homegrown herbs, you can use them not only for cooking, herbal teas, or medicinal purposes, but also to make all kinds of fragrance items – such as sachets, potpourri, and bath and body products.

There are several methods for drying, including air drying by hanging or spreading on racks, and drying in a dehydrator, microwave or oven. 

Although each method has its merits, I prefer oven-drying.  It is simple, fairly quick, and you don’t need any special equipment.  Just spread the herbs in a single layer on a cookie sheet, set your oven to the lowest temperature available, and leave the oven door slightly ajar (you can prop it with a wooden spoon if it won’t stay open on its own). Check progress often, stirring the herbs around about every fifteen minutes.  The finished product should be dry and crisp; once they are cool, you can easily crumble them with your fingers.  Drying time will vary according to the variety and size of herb and your oven temperature.

I’ve just finished drying a batch of basil.  I will probably use it as a food seasoning, but the smell is also delicious. This took about one hour and ten minutes with my oven set at 170 degrees F.

Beloved Invaders

O thou weed! Who art so lovely fair and smell’st so sweet – William Shakespeare

Some of my best garden friends are – well, bullies.  To the uninformed, their vigorous growth and invasive habits might make them seem nothing more than weeds.  In fact, though, they are useful, decorative, and aromatic herbs.  With proper care, they can form the backbone of your fragrance garden without getting out of control.

Members of the mint family, especially, are prone to spreading rapidly. Besides the many varieties of mint itself (peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, apple mint, pineapple mint and many more), this plant family includes other aromatic herbs such as bergamot, lemon balm, sage, thyme, and oregano.

So how do you keep your herbs from getting out of hand? One of the most attractive methods is to plant them in containers or small raised beds, devoting each container to only one variety of plant.  Other strategies include planting in a pot or bucket with the bottom removed and submerging the pot below ground level. Devoting a large area in a bed or border adjacent to a lawn works, too, as they will simply be mowed off if they start spreading into the grass.   With care, these potential garden bullies can become your best friends, too.

A Breath of Spring

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity - John Ruskin

 

The scent of autumn will soon be in the air here in Ohio, but this weekend I’m enjoying a breath of spring – the delicate yet pervasive aromas of honeysuckle and lilac.  Spring-scented September is being made possible by repeat-blooming varieties of these popular plants.

The lilac is called Josee – I planted it last year. After a rough start from being accidentally mowed to the ground, it has recovered and is now starting to bloom.  Josee is considered a dwarf lilac, although it grows four to six feet tall. It grows in Zones 2 through 8, has pinkish-lavender flowers, and blooms sporadically from May through the end of summer.  It requires very little pruning or other care.

As for the honeysuckle, I don’t know which variety it may be. A quick Internet search informs me that there are over 180 species of honeysuckle worldwide. This one is a vine, growing wild, either a gift of nature or a planting of my mother’s from years ago.  It has a yellow and white flower and also blooms in flushes throughout the season.  The aroma is simply heavenly.

The Josee lilacs and the unknown honeysuckle definitely meet my criteria for favorite plants – long bloom season, strong fragrance, and little to no maintenance. 

Why Garden for Fragrance?

“Awake, O north wind, And come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad.” - Song of Solomon 4:16

Why grow a garden with fragrance as a focal point?  For me, it is mostly for the sheer enjoyment of it.  This summer a friend told me that growing basil among the tomato plants is supposed to give the tomatoes a sweeter flavor.  I planted one lone basil plant in the tomato bed, and its fragrance filled the vegetable garden all summer long. In spite of good intentions, I never did harvest the basil and make pesto or other delicious sauces, and I’m not sure if the tomatoes tasted any different.  But growing that plant was worth it for the enjoyment of that wonderful aroma every time I worked in the vegetable plot.

There are other reasons to garden for fragrance, of course.  Many aromatic plants are among the easiest to grow, are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators, and may be resistant to snacking deer.  Then you can harvest them and make all kinds of gifts and household items, like sachets, potpourri, household cleaners and decorative crafts. 

This blog is about growing scented plants and making things from them.  I hope you will like the facts, ideas and projects I plan to share in future posts.