Bois de Jasmin

Scented Geranium and Spiced Arancello : Perfume Beyond the Bottle

By Elise Pearlstine

Sometimes the leaves, not the flowers, tell the story of an aromatic plant. I fell in love with the fragrant leaves of the scented geranium from my first sniff. From the rich, lemony smell of the citronella type to the green, floral, minty smell of a peppermint one, it is a wonder to rub your fingers over the rough, intricately shaped leaves to test the scent. There are many varieties--spicy ones, minty ones, as well as a beautiful pine-scented type with hints of rose and nutmeg. There are several hundred species in the wild. I once had a lovely chocolate mint variety that I worked very hard to keep alive in southern Florida but it did not make it through the hot summer months. It had a lovely, deep minty smell (the chocolate was mostly in my imagination) but it was a striking plant with purple streaked leaves. I gave up on scented geraniums for a number of years but recently bought six small plants – rose geraniums and attar of roses geraniums. Within a few weeks, the rose geraniums seemed to realize they were in Florida and quickly withered and died. The attar of roses plants, however, have stayed with me. I recently moved them into my office to get photos and just the act of moving them and putting them in a smaller room served to bring out the scent. They filled the room with a heady scent of rich rose with a lovely touch of green herbs.

Fragrant Antique Roses : Perfume Garden

by Elise Pearlstine

Close your eyes and imagine smelling a rose. Now imagine where you are and who you are with. My first memory is the warm, dewy, pure rose smell of roses along my back fence in my desert garden first thing in the morning. The next impression is the smell and sight of a mixed bouquet of rosebuds cut from my mother’s garden. I remember how the bright colors and subtle hues of different blooms contrast and how some roses stood tall while others gently bent over the edge of the vase. The smell of each was unique. The pleasure of walking in the garden, watching for thorns, cutting the perfect roses, finding an old treasured vase and arranging them for display is intimately mixed in with the scent of roses.

Freesia : Fragrant Flower for Scented Garden

by Elise Pearlstine

Very fresh, very light, and yet pervasive is the initial impression I got from a potted freesia (Freesia sp.). As I put my nose to the deep orange blooms and concentrate, I get more nuances. Floral? Yes, light and lovely. Green? Maybe a subtle green like violet leaves. Cool? Definitely, but with a touch of richness like a pure floral sorbet melting in a bowl with a touch of chilled caramel at the edges. Before I bought this plant I tested all of the potted freesias at the market for smell and chose the deep orange-red one for its strong, sweet scent. There were also pale lilac and white varieties; both with a light, sweet floral scent but it's the orange-red one that I brought home. For days I smell the faint sweetness it gives to the air as it sits in my kitchen by the window.

Herbes de Provence and Escalivade Recipe : Scented Plants

by Elise Pearlstine

There is limestone all around shoving its way up through the grasses, shrubs and trees of the surrounding mountains and valleys. A breeze blows by with the scent of aromatic plants, clean, herbal and slightly astringent. Rosemary hangs over a rock wall by an old olive press that is preserved in a small roadside park. The large, lacy white flowers of Queen Anne's lace (wild carrot) poke their showy heads above the vegetation of the fields and sway in the breeze. I am disappointed that the lavender fields are few and far between along the main road but we spot a few and enjoy the hazy purple view.

Fragrant Plants & Perfume Garden : Hyacinths For Spring

By Elise Pearlstine

The bee bumbled out of nowhere in the early morning light, heading straight for the intense purple of the hyacinth. Not the white and not the pink but the dark, luscious, spicy, intense color and scent of the purple hyacinth. I had a selection of pink, white and purple beauties lined up for the photograph you see above; as I arranged the shot the bee was getting drunk on “her majesty of the dark purple”. A comparison of the scents reflects the three colors. Purple hyacinths are in-your-face floral, spicy, sweetly green yet with a bite. White is floral, slightly elegant and refined, while pink is pretty with just a bit of spice and quite lovely.