****************************************************************** FRAGRANT FLOWERS BY Have you ever
noticed when someone sees a flower, the first impulse is to smell it!
Lilac bushes are well known for their odor as are the Mock Oranges.
I think the old fashioned single blooms smell better and stronger
than the doubles that have developed. Another shrub that can scent an
entire yard is the Korean Spice Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii). Several
times I have had people come to the door wanting to know about that
“Gorgeous smell” as they go down the side walk. Many of our
night blooming plants are white. Bees
and other pollinators would not see much color at night but white and a
strong perfume can guide them to the nectar they need.
The first one I think of is the Moonflower vine (Ipomea alba). It
is big, it is waxy, and when it opens, it advertises.
The Moonflower (Datura) is known as Jimson Weed by farmers. (Be
careful when you go to the garden center or nursery that you get the
right Moonflower. This is why use of the scientific name is helpful.)
Moonflower (Datura), and its relative Angel Trumpets (Brugsmania)
all smell very good when they have plenty of water and sunshine. The
tall Flowering Tobacco plant (Sylvestrus) is neat to have behind a seat
so some of the smell can drift over you.
Once you have them you will probably always have them as they
produce hundreds of very tiny seeds that will come up only after the
soil warms up. Each bloom is
in a cluster of white long slender tubes.
Evening blooming Jasmine (a houseplant in Some gardens
that have been planted especially for the blind have plants with
different surfaces (smooth, fine, rough, furry, etc.) but there is
usually a section that is planted for “smell”. In spring these
include Peonies (in general the whites and light pinks “smell”
better than the darker ones), Dames Rocket (Hesperus matronalis), with
Hyacinths and Sweet Woodruff (a plant that grows in the shade and
spreads quite well after the first year). A late bloomer is the Tuberose
which likes sunshine. It is
a bulb that can be pushed a little by starting them in the home early in
the spring. All of us have
stepped on Thyme or mashed it between our fingers just to sniff.
Some of the Honeysuckles can be planted on your fence Then there are
herbs! Lavender is well known. Some are hardy in Lavender, which
doesn’t usually bloom until its second year, is not always hardy here.
It is one of the plants I cover with mulch in the late fall. Both
leaves and blooms can be used in tiny pillows to perfume your linen and
your drawers. Did you know that the roots of a German Iris (Igermanica)
are ground and the powder is used as a fixative in other perfumes? Two of my
favorite perfume factories are the Agastache and The Orange Tree
I have never grows over two feet tall and may have blooms and oranges at
the same time. The oranges are about 1-1 ½ inches in diameter and take
a year to ripen. The blooms are prolific and can perfume an entire room.
It prefers slightly acidic, damp soil and drops many bead size oranges
on the floor by a large South window. I put it on the East side of the
house during the summer where it gets only a limited amount of morning
sun and no hot afternoon sun. Copyright 2009 ****************************************************************** geranium budworm by The past few
years Geraniums and Petunias have been hit by a “Geranium Budworm”,
also known as a Tobacco Budworm. These
worms drill into the bud of the plant and proceed to eat the heart out
of the flower bud. If the
bud opens, it is all chewed up. Sometimes, they also attack the leaves.
When you see the small (usually green) worm that is the time to spray. Budworms can be
controlled with repeated applications of Bt (bacillus thuringensis) or
permethrin (Eight). Bt is an
organic biological insecticide and sold as a liquid spray or as a
wettable powder. Both need to be mixed with water and used as a spray.
Mix and use as directed on the label. Repeat weekly until infestation is
over. Bt works on most all worms and caterpillars. Remember that not all
caterpillars are destructive. Some turn into beautiful Butterflies. Copyright 2009 |