The Scent of a Geranium

So, have I told you about my addiction to the BBC?

Really???

You didn't know about my love of Midsommer Murders, Escape to the Country or my total tv crush on Monty Don?

I really don't care about the Royal wedding ... but can I see the garden????

Now mind you, I have never left the USA but I am certain I can find my way through Sissinghurst simply because of a very worn copy of a Vita Sackville-West book.

One of the reasons I love English cottage gardens is the detail to the senses. The soft touch of the leaves, the vibrant colors ..... and my favorite ... the scent.

I have been adding more scent to the garden with lilacs, planting more David Austin roses, honeysuckle vines, lavender and more herbs.  But I have been missing something important .... scented geraniums.

Scented geraniums were a staple in Victorian England.  They were used to flavor cakes and jam, steeped for teas and made into potpourri.

Last year, I bought lemon, rose and nutmeg scented geraniums. I was thrilled to find these as most scented geraniums ... other than citronella ... have been absent from garden centers for years.

As they were so hard to find ... I was thrilled to have them live through the winter in the unheated upstairs of my farmhouse.  OK ... the nutmeg scented isn't looking the best ... but I think it will make it.

Maybe.

But this year ... this year I will have more.  I will make rose cake and nutmeg scented jam because I ordered more from Colonial Creek Greenhouses.

Who knew that there were scented geraniums that smelled like strawberry or peach fizz?? Well ... I didn't!!  And Chocolate Mint??  Unfortunately, I was too late for that particular variety.

But I am most excited about the geraniums that I am calling my Stone Fruit collection.  Peach, apricot and almond scented geraniums.  Can you imagine your bouquets with a hint of peach scent?? The flowers are inconsequential but who cares when it smells like almonds!!!

So when you are in the garden .. walk over to the pots ... and gently brush your hands across the leaves. And oooooh and aaaaaah.  And dream of walking through a walled garden in Shropshire.

You know I will!!






Comments

Leaving our big farm meant leaving many of my established perennials and many smelled so wonderful. But, I now have the opportunity to start over and learning lots from your blog and Facebook posts. Thanks for sharing so much great info, your farm will be amazing this summer!
Michelle said…
Not sure I knew of scented geraniums, so am rather blown away by this post. To me the most objectionable trait of geraniums is their stinky foliage; do the scented ones REALLY smell like their "names"?
Miss effie said…
Michelle ... they really do. Their blooms are really not much but the scent of the leaves is "lemon-y" or "rosy". I haven't smelled Orange Fizz or Strawberry but I will let you know.
Michelle said…
Cathy, I googled the nursery you get them from but they can't ship to OR. So I googled Oregon nurseries with scented geraniums, and learned I drive right by one nearly once a week taking my son to his violin lesson! That won't give me much time to stop, but I plan to anyway!

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