08-Sept September Scents

Other non-native evening primroses found in gardens can have more complicated scents such as tuberose and lemon. Tansy flowers have among the most powerful of all scents, especially at the moment they are picked. The plant’s name comes from an ancient word meaning immortality referring to the length of time we are able to see its flowers. Although its scent is camphor-like and a little strong for modern tastes it was popular enough in the past to be used as a food flavouring. It was used for this purpose at the banquet held to celebrate the coronation of James the second.

The spicy scents of spring and the thick heady perfumes of summer are now almost over and more earthy, fetid and medicinal smells are taking over. Many that we notice are not so much from the flowers as from bruised leaves we have either handled, brushed past or trodden upon e.g. snapdragon (musky) or restharrow (balsam).

Black horehound can be detected from its smell from some distance, especially on warm still days. It is also called the Fetid horehound on account of its strongly disagreeable scent which for some is reminiscent of stale perspiration. Wild celery is so pungent some people can detect it fifty yards away. Stinkweed Diplotaxis muralis is probably the most common yellow crucifer to be seen now across the whole of London. Its bruised leaves smell of bad eggs.

Rather more pleasant odours are still be found, especially among the foliage of mints and calamints. The latter is minty but with a little camphor making it pleasantly medicinal. Consequently it is not surprising it was used to make a tea for people who suffered from flatulence. Rather more surprising is that many other people believed the tea would also remove facial marks, including scars. The leaves of plants such as galingale, pennyroyal, balm and germander all tend to release their agreeable odours as they dry. These tended to be species that were collected at the end of summer in medieval times to be used as strewing herbs later. Roseroot is a rare native plant we only now tend to see in gardens. In this case it is the root that smells of roses. This was used to make a cheaper substitute for rosewater. This water was then sprinkled on clothes to scent them or dabbed on the face hopefully to improve the complexion. One of the most attractive flowers to be seen this month is the flowering rush Butomus umbellatus which has pale carmine flowers and if you can get near enough to smell them, a soft almond scent.

On downland, marjoram is producing a fresh flush of scented leaves even though there are no flowers. The dried leaves of one of its close relations, wild basil Clinopodium vulgare with which it often grows were included in Elizabethan nosegays. Much rarer, but found in similar situations, is the last of the summer orchids, Autumn lady’s-tresses Spiranthes autumnalis which has almond-scented flowers. On heaths there is less of interest except perhaps for the autumn-flowering gorse Ulex gallii which has a much softer, sweeter scent than its close relative the much larger common gorse Ulex europaeus.

Mugwort Artemisia vulgaris is a large, ugly plant we see a lot of in September, especially on waste ground. Despite its ugliness it has a pleasantly agreeable spicy odour. In its close relation Chinese mugwort A. verlotiorum which flowers a little later, this smell is stronger, so much so its leaves were used in pot pourris.

Finally there are still some really unusual scents to be found now among garden flowers. There is a Clerodendrum which has flowers that smell of jasmine but leaves that smell of cooked meat. Bruised walnut leaves can give off a surprising smell of balsam and, oddest of all, is probably borage. This has completely unscented flowers but if they are cut they exude a juice which smells of cucumber.