Noted gardener and garden writer Ken Druse has published a delightful piece in The New York Times this week on incorporating scent and fragrance into one’s garden. It follows the publication of his latest book, ““The Scentual Garden: Exploring the World of Botanical Fragrance,” which won the top honor of the American Horticultural Society for writing, in March. He calls the scent dimension of horticulture the “invisible garden” — not seen, but sensed as a key element of any garden’s appeal and design.
My garden holds many of the plants he mentions; right now, the most fragrant ones in bloom are the roses and gardenias. I also grow rosemary, mint, and basil — all very aromatic, and useful in the kitchen.
I have so many gardening books that I haven’t bought a new one in years, but I may have to make an exception for this one, given how much I love both gardening and fragrance!
Have you read it? Plan to read it? What are your favorite fragrant flowers, and which do you grow at home?
One of my daughters and I recently enjoyed a long weekend in New Hampshire. The fall foliage was at its peak, but days were still warm and sunny, and butterflies were still out seeking nectar. The Lakes Region is so beautiful this time of year!
I devoted today’s “Fragrance Friday” on my other blog to David Austin, OBE, creator of the English Roses, about which I have written before: Fragrance Friday: David Austin Roses. I just got the latest catalogue in the mail, with its usual tempting array of spectacular roses old and new.
Do you grow any of his beautiful roses? Which ones?
I’ve just discovered a fragrance that is perfect for any gardener! It is called Gardener’s Glove and it is made by an artisanal dairy farmer called Diane St. Clair, who makes some of the finest butter in the world at her farm in Vermont. If you’re not already charmed by now, I don’t know what to tell you. Her fragrance company is called St. Clair Scents.
I always appreciate a quality fragrance that is also affordable, and I appreciate other writers alerting me to those, so here’s my contribution to the “bang for the buck” list of fragrances. The mid-price chain Target has launched a store exclusive line of fragrances called “Good Chemistry” in January; the line is a division of the company Illume. They must be selling well, as the shelves were almost empty when I wandered over to my local Target to check them out. According to the promotional copy:
… the niche fragrance brand includes four collections inspired by different personalities: Confident and Charming, Good and Grounded, Vibrant and Playful and Cool and Collected. Each collection then includes four unique scents that come in perfume, body sprays and rollerballs.
I tried a few from the testers in the store and came home with two rollerballs: Brainiac and Apricot Bloom. (Full…
While I was in the UK with my family, I tried for the first time the most divine drink: Fentimans Rose Lemonade. It is delicious on its own — it really smells like roses and tastes the way roses smell! And it’s pink! Just lovely.
Fentimans Rose Lemonade; image: Fentimans
When we got home, I found a local store that carries it. Hurray! Bought two large bottles and promptly started to think, what else can I do with this yummy beverage? Aha — a summer cocktail! So I made one up. I am posting the recipe on my “Old Herbaceous” blog because Fentimans refers to its Rose Lemonade as “botanically brewed” and describes its composition as “fermented botanical lemon drink with herbal extracts”; and because the cocktail is based on Hendrick’s Gin, a small-batch Scottish gin infused with rose and cucumber extracts, plus other botanicals: “Hendrick’s wondrous botanical signature consists of flowers, roots, fruits, and seeds from the world over. They function to complement and set the stage for our delicious duet of infusions: rose petal and cucumber.”
Hendrick’s Gin; image from us.hendricksgin.com
So here is the recipe for what my daughter calls “Rosie the Riveter”, although I’m trying to think of a more romantic, ladylike name to match the pale pink color with light green accents; and there is already a different cocktail named Rosie the Riveter, which I only discovered after I came up with mine and Googled the name. Maybe I’ll call it “Scepter’d Isle”, after Shakespeare and the gorgeous David Austin English Rose of that name, inspired by Susan Rushton’s beautiful photographs! What do you think?
Old Herbaceous’ Rosie the Riveter Cocktail (or Scepter’d Isle):
Fill a tall glass halfway with ice (cubes or crushed).
Add one jigger of Hendrick’s Gin.
Fill the rest of the glass with Fentimans Rose Lemonade.
Add five drops of rose water, 1-3 thin slices of cucumber, one sprig of fresh mint leaves.
Enjoy!
Next stop: the bar “Fragrances” at the Ritz-Carlton, Berlin, which serves cocktails inspired by legendary perfumes. I’ve never been there, have you?
Today’s Saturday Snippet is not a text, it is a gallery of beautiful flower photos by The Teddington Gardener, Martin Ogden: Back together again – explaining a near two-month absence…. . I am so happy to see more of his lovely photographs!
