Fragrant Flowers

Have you ever watched someone encounter an attractive flower? What is one of the first things they do? Usually, they lean over and take a whiff.

Yes, garden fragrance is something not to be overlooked. Grow fragrant flowers in your garden and breathe deep. But keep your ears open too, because when scented flowers bloom, conversations pften shift toward sentimental memories. I can still remember a friend strolling past my sweet peas that were climbing and blooming up some latticework behind our spa. "Ah, I'm 7-years-old again," he said, explaining that his mother used to grow sweet pea flowers along their back fence when he was young.

Some of your more common fragrant flowers are certain varieties of roses, gardenias, daphne, lilac and various vines, such as star jasmine and honeysuckle. Citrus blooms and sweet peas in the spring, and herbs like rosemary and mint are other notable fragrances. And who can forget sweet alyssum, iris, wisteria and others?

Here are some of my favorite fragrant flowers:

-- Sweet peas. These twisty, vine-type plants offer beautiful satin-like flowers that are ultra-fragrant. It's just about time to plant a new round of sweet peas for fall and winter as they prefer the cooler weather. Since sweet peas are easy to start, you'll usually have to plant them by seed. Choose from knee-high dwarf varieties to the standard types that need something to climb on.

-- Roses. Few plants have been bred an intensively as roses. One result of this breeding is that some varieties are heavily scented. while others have little or no fragrance at all. For this reason, the best time to shop for fragrant varieties is right now. Let your nose do the walking at nurseries! Some fragrant varieties include: Electron, Fragrant Cloud, Fragrant Hour, Fragrant Memory, Garden Fragrance, Mister Lincoln, New Dawn, Nymphenburg, Perfume Delight, R. rugosa Hansa, Sunspright, Suter's Gold and Mikado.

-- Daphne. This isn't the easiest plant to grow as they demand excellent drainage and not much water. However, daphne will reward you with powerful scent from their tiny pink clusters of flowers. This small evergreen shrub is worth the bother to grow.

-- Lilac. Another scent from childhood memories. My mother's purple lilac sat in the hottest area of the garden, but rewarded us each spring with beautiful fragrant clusters.

Finally, did you know that fragrance in flowers is nature's way of encouraging pollination? Just as fragrance draws us to take a deeper whiff, it lures insects to blossoms hidden by leaves and other plants!

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