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seasonal living
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66
The mediTerranean Garden
Sweet summer
scents
a favourite perfume is sometimes
used by doctors to rouse a patient
from a coma, so the effect of scent on
our psyche should not be underestimated.
A garden is the perfect place to play with
scent, and to enjoy on a daily basis the myriad
combinations that Nature offers us.
Plants use scent for several reasons, not
only for our human pleasure! Bees and insects
are attracted to many plants by scent,
to pollinate them, in the same way that plants
with repellent smells keep predators at bay
and protect themselves from attack by birds
or creatures intent on eating them. Many living
creatures including humans use scent
to attract a mate with natural pheromones
(or, in the case of humans, sometimes by the
use of manufactured perfumes).
In our Mediterranean climate there are
thousands of scented plants that release
their perfume into the warm air of spring and
early summer. Drought-tolerant plants often
have tough, oily leaves which release their
pungency as you brush past them; others
loose their perfume into the night air as the
dew comes down upon their petals.
One of the first signs of spring in our climate
is the brilliant yellow flowering of the Mimosa
trees, bursting into bloom in mid-February as
winter draws to a close. Mimosa flowers have
| Home couture magazine
By Sally Beale
OF OUR FIVE HUMAN SENSES, SCENT
IS PERHAPS THE MOST EVOCATIVE,
RECALLING IN AN INSTANT MEMORIES
OF A TIME, A PLACE OR A PERSON,
IN-STANTLY TRANSPORTING US TO
ANOTHER MOMENT OF OUR LIVES.
a delicate, lemony scent which perfumes an
entire house with just a few branches. These
cost a fortune at a London florist, and grow
happily here for nothing, the prettiest variety
being the feathery leaved Acacia dealbata.
Plant this in a sheltered, sunny spot and
prune immediately after flowering (even
harshly), to encourage vigorous and strong
growth. Mimosa will tolerate salt air and dry
winds, and is an excellent choice for an island
garden. As spring advances we enjoy
the fragrant deep pink flowers of Daphne
odora and Syringa vulgaris, commonly
known as “mock orange”.
Then comes the glorious, heady, evocative
scent of citrus blossom, lemon, lime, orange
and grapefruit, which for several weeks perfume
the morning and evening spring air in
the gardens of the Mediterranean.
Pittosporum tobira bears very fragrant,
creamy-white flowers in spring, and can be
used as a hedge or a shrub, or grown in a
pot to line a driveway. Wisteria sinensis has a
short flowering season here, but the pleasure
its glorious scented racemes bring for those
weeks is worth every second. It will cover
a wall or a pergola with its attractive green
foliage, as will climbing Rosa banksiae, the
white form of which is the most scented in
spring.