Sometimes, just around dusk, I wander out into the garden.It's a perfect time to appreciate things that arent always obvious during the day. The smells of the garden are different too. The earth is damp, the lavender is stronger, roses are sweeter.
I have a lot of white in the beds, and the flowers seem to shimmer in the dusk in a way that I don't see during the day.
Orlaya is one of my favourites, delicate, lacy, frothing its way through the roses.
Scent is an amazing sense. So many memories are attached to particular scents. For me, Nicotiana takes me back to my first cottage in Berkshire, in my twenties and knowing little about gardening. I planted Nicotiana around the front door and was entranced.
The most poignant scent for me, and I don't even know why, is Feverfew. Straight back to childhood I go. Maybe it was in the war years when my mother and I were in Wales. I wish I had asked her about it, but it will remain a lovely mystery.
I understand how Mole of the Wind in the Willows felt on nearing his old home.....
He stopped dead in his tracks, his nose searching hither and thither in its efforts to recapture the fine filament, the telegraphic current, that had so strongly moved him. A moment, and he had caught it again; and with it this time came recollection in fullest flood.
White petunias trailing from their pots, mingling with pink geraniums. White Astrantia, white pelargoniums......I'm beginning to sound like a garden catalogue!
The odd thing is that the whiteness was unplanned
but still so lovely.
Especially in the dusk of the evening.
All photos taken from catalogues.
Orlaya is one of my favourites, delicate, lacy, frothing its way through the roses.
Then there's Nicotiana, so incredibly scented at night. I could stand and breathe in the scent for ever.
Scent is an amazing sense. So many memories are attached to particular scents. For me, Nicotiana takes me back to my first cottage in Berkshire, in my twenties and knowing little about gardening. I planted Nicotiana around the front door and was entranced.
The most poignant scent for me, and I don't even know why, is Feverfew. Straight back to childhood I go. Maybe it was in the war years when my mother and I were in Wales. I wish I had asked her about it, but it will remain a lovely mystery.
I understand how Mole of the Wind in the Willows felt on nearing his old home.....
He stopped dead in his tracks, his nose searching hither and thither in its efforts to recapture the fine filament, the telegraphic current, that had so strongly moved him. A moment, and he had caught it again; and with it this time came recollection in fullest flood.
White petunias trailing from their pots, mingling with pink geraniums. White Astrantia, white pelargoniums......I'm beginning to sound like a garden catalogue!
The odd thing is that the whiteness was unplanned
but still so lovely.
Especially in the dusk of the evening.
All photos taken from catalogues.
12 comments:
Scent is so evocative as you say. Last night I walked down the road in the early evening just after a shower. The perfume of the roses in a neighbours garden transported me back to my childhood home...
Hi dear Barbara, such beautiful gardens when lots of white, fragrant flowers are blooming - evening walks are lovely. We have a long fence covered in jasmine and sometimes I just stand out there breathing it in.
Still under the weather here - brought back such a nasty cold/bug from Ireland.
Hope Cornwall is warming up for you and M.
Mary X
Oh how lovely. I'd love a stroll in your garden. The scents from your flowers sound enchanting. And what a lovely quote from Wind in the Willows.
Wishing you much joy in your garden as summer days unfold.
Brenda xox
White flowers are wonderfully charming and those that also have a scent are doubly so. I chose purple Petunias; now I wish I'd have chosen white ones to go with them. There's always next year ( isn't that what gardeners are forever saying?)
Your garden sounds like an enchanting place at twilight. White flowers stand out so well against dark foliage. You've chosen a lovely way to end your day - with a stroll in the garden, filling your eyes and nose with beauty.
How lovely your garden is! I have night scented Jasmine, yet to flower,looking forward to it... I remember you recommending I plant nicotiana some time ago for its scent and I still haven't!I will look out for some. Betty
Sounds wonderful, such an amazing stroll you took us on a feast for the senses.
I walked out of my back door the other day and the scent of peonies wafted into my nostrils. Beautiful! Love the different scented things of this time of the year.
Yes, scent is powerful! I love the quote from The Wind in the Willows!
Such a beautifully written post. Just last night, I noticed a white gladiola had opened up about dusk. I commented to my husband about how the white was so lovely in the evening light. Lilacs and lavender bring sweet memories of my late mom. Blessings to you this day. Mildred, GA, USA
I also adore white flowers. There is something about them at dusk, they seem to not want to let go of the light! In England, I had a fit over a small white flower, I was told it was snow in summer, used as a ground cover. What?! It was was beautiful!
Oh I love this post and feel the same way about my garden in the evening.
We often have a barbecue in summer and stay outside until late. The table is lit with candles in lanterns.
I’ve got two large terracotta troughs which are planted with a mix of annuals which always include white petunias - especially for their fragrance at night!
One of my earliest memories is of our annual beach holiday.
My darling father would rise early in the morning and walk me down the metal road to the farmers cowshed, with a billy in hand to get some milk. No shops at the beach in those days (war years). There must have been Feverfew growing on the side of the road because whenever I smell it, Im immediately transported to that time! Like Mole it evokes wonderful memories of a special place and time.
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