As soon as we step outside the back door, we are greeted with the most beautiful smell of oranges, wafting on the breeze. Philadelphus coronarius “Aureus” is performing once more.
Our bush is planted in the back garden in the shade of the woodland – this prevents the leaves burning in the sun and turning brown. It contrasts well with the rhododendron on one side and a blue conifer on the other.
Clusters of 4 petalled, very scented flowers cover the bush at this time of year and the perfume can be detected at least 100ft away, if the breeze is coming in the right direction.
When walking past the bush, the temptation to bury your nose in the flowers is so great, but for me, the perfume is so much nicer when it steals secretly round the garden and catches you unawares. As long as you have a good sense of smell ( alas, my husband hasn’t, he misses out on so much in the garden ) you really can’t ignore such a lovely shrub and we all have our favourite plants which perfume the garden. I can never have too much of a good smell , it adds another dimension to the garden, another of the senses is involved – do you agree ?
I don’t have this shrub, but it is very tempting to get one…because I enjoy having pleasant aromas in the garden. Right now, the roses are sending out their sweet smells. And when I stroll by the wooded areas, there is the most pleasant odor of honeysuckle.
Its a lovely time of year isn’t it with the various perfumes in the garden, especially first thing in the morning, thats when my honeysuckle is at its best, thanks for visiting.
Oh, I agree! Fragrance is an intangible that adds soul to a garden. Your philadelphus is gorgeous. It is wonderful that it has such a nice smell, too! My own philadelphus was nearly consumed by bugs overnight and hardly a single blossom survived! Sadly it had no fragrance this year.
Oh Deb- nature can be so cruel one minute and so wonderful the next. Hopefully yours will be back to full perfume next year.
I too love aromas, fragrances and perfumes around that’s partly why I have so many herbs, I love running my hands along to spring the fragrances in the air and frequently pick leaves just to sniff, Frances
Frances, by running your hand through your herbs, you are using the sense of touch as well as the sense of smell, gardening enables us to use all our senses, maybe thats why we feel so good when in our gardens.
Dear Pauline, I quite agree about the sense of smell. I have a philadelphus outside the bedroom window but I find it doesn’t waft as well as the honey suckle that is further away on the fence. Your garden bed looks wonderfully grand and very well established. cheers, catmint
Dear catmint, you have made me laugh saying that the border looks grand, I can assure you it isn’t ! Those 3 shrubs were among the first that we planted 20 yrs ago so they are quite mature now. I agree with you about the honeysuckle, ours is a summer flowering one, so I’m looking forward to its perfume later in the year when it is quite amazing.