On February 7th, immerse yourself in the world of scented flowers. Discover the delightful fragrances that fill London's gardens in February, from the delicate mossy scent of wild primroses to the sweet aroma of paper white narcissus. Learn about the unique scents of garden crocuses, irises, and the heady perfumes of Daphne and Wych hazels.
Explore the fascinating history and stories behind these fragrant blooms, including Shakespeare's favourite violets and the musky scent of grape hyacinths. Whether you're a gardening enthusiast or simply love the beauty of nature, this article will captivate your senses and transport you to a world of enchanting scents.
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Scented Flowers
The scented flowers of January continue into February, with a few additions. Most new scents are now to be found in London’s gardens as so many wild plants being wind pollinated have no need to produce any smell. Wild primroses are famous for their delicate, mossy scent. Their double-flowered garden cousins can produce much stronger scents, some even smelling of honeysuckle.
Similarly, wild crocuses are not known for their scents but the typical crocuses found in gardens vary from light honey and mossy fragrances to more unpleasant ones. Small irises e.g. the blue forms of Iris reticulata throw a light violet scent on warm days, especially if they have been planted in numbers, as do spring snowflakes Leucojum vernum. The colour variants of the former produce less scent. The first narcissi have strong, sweet scents e.g. paper white narcissus Narcissus papyraceus which can occasionally be found at this time of year outside at Kew.
It has a clone, Ziva, which is a popular indoor plant. There are always unpleasant smells. Stinking hellebore Helleborus foetidus, a common garden plant in February, is supposed to have the odour of ‘smelly feet’ when roughly handled. Wild red deadnettle Lamium purpureum has a pungent smell whereas that of white deadnettle Lamium album is sweeter. More interesting scents include the muscat scent of wild moschatel in woods and the musk scent of grape hyacinths. The less commonly planted white forsythia Abeliophyllum distichum has such a deep, sweet, penetrating scent it is said to fill the largest room. It can be found at Kew.
Among the shrubs Daphne spp. are still producing their heady scents, often with a touch of clove and Wych hazels produce a range of scents, varying from spicy and fruity among the yellows to less sweet and more pungent odours among the reds. One or two trees are also now scented e.g. Headache tree Umbellularia californica and the Bay tree Laurus nobilis both of which have similar bay leaf smells and can both be found in Battersea park. The large buds on balsam poplars are still producing a strong smell of balsam and a tree worth seeking out is Azara microphylla whose small yellow flowers smell of vanilla. It also can be found in Battersea Park.
The star scent of February is that of violets. Supposedly this was Shakespeare’s favourite scent and he mentions them in several of his plays. Their colour is referred to in The Winter’s Tale, their brief flowering period in Richard II and their disappearing scent in Hamlet. This scent has been justifiably famous for thousands of years. In ancient Athens the flower was the symbol of the city, much as the rose is England’s symbol today.
Napoleon gave Josephine violets for anniversaries and when banished to Elba, he threatened to return with violets in the spring, and did. Later, it is said, he picked them from Josephine’s grave and kept them in a locket which was found on his deathbed. Nearer home, Queen Victoria regularly gave bundles of violets to her courtiers, requesting they were not just worn with evening gowns but also during the day. Four thousand plants were grown at Windsor for the purpose. The first violets are said to have grown where Orpheus laid down his lute and for many people the scent of violets is the greatest scent of all.
