 Gardening
- Inside the Dairy of a True Green Thumb!
By Donna Dawson, owner ICanGarden.com
I remember back when I first
starting gardening, all I
wanted to do was get some plants planted! I loved puttering around in the soil and was
thrilled to see something I had planted grow and bloom. I didn’t really care if they
had a fragrance; all I wanted was to cover that bare soil with something green and
growing. I put in all the plants I could get from my mother - she had a couple of small
greenhouses and really enjoyed growing from seed. I also added favourites of mine along
the way from local garden centers.
I didn’t worry about colours too much then. Since I was getting my
plants for nothing, I planted lots of reds, oranges, yellows…and that was how it
began.
Now, having been in my home for 11 years, I have learned much from
trial and error. I have learned what pleases me and that particular colours in my garden
were not the best as they made the garden appear too close. We have a small garden, only
30 feet wide and 50 feet long, and you cannot plant hot colours without making your garden
appear right under your nose. I have learned to take more time in choosing plants, because
as I get older, I am planting at a slower speed with an older back!
I have learned that once where there was just height, light and colour
to look at, you also have the choice of fragrance. Now once you have been bitten by a
fragrant plant in your own garden, you are on the way to getting more and more.
Who hasn’t started their first garden with sweet peas? These
magical and colourful flowers can make a whole room sweet smelling in minutes. Stocks,
heliotrope, Nicotiana and alyssum are always annual reminders, but the perennials that are
fragrant… they should matter indeed because not only do they come back for many
years. They also give you something more powerful than show, and that is the power of
scent.
I see more and more gardens during my garden tours, that have
specifically scented beds. They have them not only for us to enjoy the scent, but because
there is a segment of our society that cannot see and must enjoy the garden through the
aroma and feel of it. Every year at the Chelsea Flower Show there is a scented garden and
after the show, this whole garden is transported to a site where it can be made available
and enjoyed by those who can only touch and smell their way through it.
I also believe that as more and more people garden, they will look
towards plants with scents. Smell is the one of our senses that has been overlooked for a
long time. As I look through the 2003 offerings, I don’t see too many plants listed
that include fragrance, except the roses of course. However, many of those roses are not
grown for our zones.
Of the new perennials out this year, I could only see two listed with
any scent, Dianthus Rosiah One Garden Pink and Phox Paniculata Natural Feelings. I wonder
if more have scent and they just don’t think we need to know that. Or have they been
bred so much for other qualities that the scent that they may have had has left them.
As mentioned earlier, I have a small garden and it’s almost
totally enclosed now, by choice. I love my privacy and the fact that it’s a secret
garden to many. Over the years, I have changed the scheme to the colours and plants that I
like - all my other plants have gone to good homes. I have kept a couple, the Maltese
Cross that my husband likes, as well as a honeysuckle that is quite beautiful when in full
bloom and gives me flowers from spring through fall. I have planted not only with
different leaf textures in mind, but also fragrance when in bloom. I wanted different
leaves because perennials only give you a certain amount of time in flower, then the rest
is just foliage.
My absolute favourites are my peonies. I love the fact that they
are old fashioned and always reliable. The scents on them are all different, from the
regular species to the tree peonies - some are spicy and some are musky. I have roses as
well, mixed in with the peonies and iris. One of my favourite roses for scent is my Sweet
Juliet, a David Austin and repeat bloomer. Two other roses that have survived for years in
my Zone 3A garden are the Winnipeg Parks and Fisherman’s Friend. They both have a
wonderful fragrance and Fisherman’s Friend looks very much like a David Austin
English Rose. Both are also repeat bloomers. I have just planted two others - Charlotte
Rose and The Mayflower Rose, so we will see how they fare this year.
Other fragrant perennials I have included in my garden are
Convallaria Majalis (Lily of the Valley), Lathyrus Grandiflorus (Everlasting Pea), Phlox
Paniculata (Phlox), Violas, and Syringa (Lilac). The Dianthus family loves to spread and
over the years have filled in many spots with their bright little flowers and scents of
cloves. Don’t forget the lily families either, some have beautiful scents. For herbs,
I have included Dill, Thyme - both Wooley Thyme surrounding my urn as well as Edible Thyme
- Spearmint, French Tarragon and Lavandula (Lavender). I do have Achillea Millefoloum
(Yarrow) planted as well - the Cerise Queen. My alliums have scents too, but I don’t
tend to use them as scent plants, but more as a filler in arrangements; their flowers are
so round and perfect.
As I look around my garden I know I will add more scented perennials
because I have discovered the value in them, but they are hard to find. Annuals are much
easier! That is why I include them in my planters on the deck each year. I love the
evenings when their scent seems to be at their highest, wafting in through the patio doors
and beckoning me outside to enjoy them. Our season is short so we plant them where we can
make the most of them. You want to be able to smell them throughout the garden if at all
possible. They prefer full sun and really need it to produce their scents. Think about
their blooming time when buying them so you can have scents in your garden spring, summer
and fall. For instance, I have planted a lot of the pinks right off the deck. My peonies
and roses are also close to the deck and house so I can walk over to them and smell them.
My garden is small so I can really take advantage of these scented perennials. The Wooley
Thyme I have planted around my urn emits a wonderful fragrance as I walk on it. For
someone who has a larger garden, you can intersperse these plants throughout the garden to
enjoy at stops, or gather them all in one area to savour the scents while sitting on a
garden bench or swing.
In the spring, you have the choice of scented bulbs - tulips, grape
hyacinths, daffodils, lily of the valley, thyme, stonecress or rockcress, and pinks. Then
the roses, peonies, and iris in the summer followed by lilies, lavender and still roses,
plus you now have the annuals. Towards the fall season, you have everything peaking and
can enjoy some wonderful fragrance in your home by cutting mixtures of roses, herbs, and
your scented annuals.
There are more that you can plant… Hops -although I found this
plant to be awful due to the whitefly - though I recently of Doktor Doom Botanics which is
more preferable! Some of the honeysuckles have scents, Monarda, Russian Sage, herbs such
as Rosemary (to be kept as a houseplant though) and Sage, which can also be used in
cooking as well as enjoyed for their fragrance. Don’t forget fruit trees, for they
not only give you fragrant flowers but also reward you with fruit.
Before you plant, think about where you will be walking and sitting to
get the best from your plants. Pay special attention to the old fashioned varieties of
perennials; these have the strongest, most pure of fragrance.
You might as well make the best of our winter season by going through
garden catalogues and the Internet to discover what you can plant. Most companies now will
hopefully include information on flower scent, but if not, they should have a phone number
or email to contact to find out.
Donna Dawson, Master Gardener is a past director of the
Edmonton Horticultural Society & a current member of the Royal Horticultural Society
& the Garden Writers Association. Both Donna & her husband own www.ICanGarden.com which offers
articles, tour information, books, gardening supplies & more to the gardening
enthusiast.
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