•^ The Scents of Early Summer $£ 



essential to supply it in some form. Old mortar rubble 

 is excellent. 



One of the most attractive leaf scents at this time of 

 year is that of the scented poplar (Populus trichocorpa). 

 A young tree fills the air around it with a strong fragrance 

 commonly described as ' balsamic' I asked an artist 

 friend (the painter of the delightful ' Piper of Dreams,' 

 of which one sees reproductions everywhere) how she 

 would describe the scent of this leaf, and after sniffing 

 it for a few moments she replied : ' Walnut, faint musk 

 and the skin of a sweet pear,' which seems to me a far 

 more accurate description than the vague * balsamic.' 

 In winter the slender buds are coated with a gum, which 

 has the same scent. It is the quickest grower of the 

 balsam poplars and the finest of them, but except in the 

 early stages of its growth it is only suitable in a very large 

 garden. In its native habitats in the north-west of 

 America it is said to attain a height of 200 feet. The 

 greatest fascination of the leaves to my thinking is not 

 their delicious scent, but the exquisite veining on the 

 underside. There may be leaves with lovelier veining, 

 but I cannot think of one which is such a miracle of 

 loveliness as this. As in all the countless instances in plant 

 life of the infinitely beautiful and faultless workmanship 

 of the Divine Hand one realizes how impossible it is for 

 our finite human intelligence to apprehend the mystery 

 of even one leaf. 



The leaves of Drimys Winteri are also pleasantly 

 aromatic. D. Winteri is one of the most interesting 

 shrubs, for it is, I believe, the only plant we grow in our 

 gardens associated with the name of Sir Francis Drake. 

 Captain Winter (after whom it is named), and who was in 



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