Life & Work

Get some scents in your garden

garden

Apart from bringing colour to your outdoors, certain flowers and plants also bring soothing fragrance. PHOTO | FILE

Plants and flowers in the garden are the source of many pleasant recollections thanks to their seemingly unending spectrum of colours and their amazing scents.

Scents do not necessarily come from flowers as there is an array of plants that have scented leaves – majority of them being herbs used in food preparation. While flowers give off scents to attract pollinators, the sweet smells also creates a peaceful atmosphere in the garden which is often relaxing.

Dawn and dusk seem to be the moments when the scents are strongest. This is also the time when insects are busiest flitting between the flower blooms.

Scented plants come in different categories, including shrubs, climbing plants, foliage, variegated leaf variety and grass-like types. Eric Maina, a flower dealer along Wambugu Road in Westlands, says it is important to master the skill of caring for the plants if you want your garden to stand out.

“Taking care of the plants is no rocket science as you only need to water them, give them manure and the required exposure to sunlight,” says Maina who has been in the business for the past 15 years.

The following is a list of scented plants and flowers which he says can do well in most weather conditions in the country.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

The plant is scientifically known as Brunfelsia pauciflora, a decorative shrub originally from Brazilian woodlands. It is a colourful plant that blooms prolifically and draws its popular name from its characteristic change of colour for its flowers.
The shrub produces blooms that open into a soft purple colour, that fades to pastel lilac and finally to white before fading away.

“Aside from its amazing scent, the flowers are interesting to watch as they are purple on day one of blooming, turn lavender on day two and finally white on the third day,” says Maina.

The plant prefers warm climate and can be grown in the ground or a large pot as its evergreen leaves can grow up to between 7 to 10 feet tall. While the flowers are plentiful, colourful and fragrant, the seeds are poisonous as is the rest of the plant.

Gardenia

The plant resembles roses and is also known as Cape jasmine. It flourishes best in indoor settings and is grown for its attractive foliage and highly scented showy flowers.

The flowers are either solitary or in small clusters of white or pale yellow with a tubular-based corolla with 5 to 12 lobes.
The challenge with growing the plant is that it needs specific soil acidity, plenty of water, cool temperatures and high humidity. They are also vulnerable to pests and root disease.

Growing gardenias in clay pots can help counter a number of these challenges as a gardener will be able to control their incidence.

Jasmine

These plants make visually engaging additions to any garden. Jasmines can either be erect, spreading or climbing shrubs and vines. Their leaves can be simple, trifoliate or pinnate and their flowers can be white, yellow or reddish.

Interestingly, jasmine flower buds are more fragrant than the flowers which let out its fragrance at night after the sun has set and this especially happens when the moon is waxing towards fullness.

There exists true and false jasmines and the two are commonly mistaken for each other because of the fragrance they release. True ones have oval, shiny leaves and tubular waxy-white flowers while false ones are considered too poisonous to be planted in the garden.

Rosemary

This is a woody perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves which can withstand severe lack of water. The plant can be a constant bloom in warm climate, producing white, pink, blue and purple flowers. The eaves are used as flavouring in foods such as pork, roast lamb, chicken and turkey.

Lemon Grass

The plant looks much like very tall patch grass and does not often produce flowers. At the base of each group of leaves there is a fat stalk, similar to a spring onion bulb. You have to rub the leaves between your fingers to feel the strong flavour of lemon citrus scent.

The leaves can be brewed in tea to give it a zesty flavour. It can also be used as a seasoning herb which can help ease cough and settle stomach upsets.

Lavender

The plant grows as shrubs and the flowers may be blue, lilac or violet. The flowers are borne in whorls, held in spikes rising above the foliage. Aside from its calming and relaxing fragrance, the lavender may be used to cleanse cuts, bruises and skin irritations. Carrying a bottle of lavender is more like having your own first aid kit, perfume and pick-me-up.