13 y Grace Tabor 
T HERE is no bit of garden in the 
world that is not scented, I sup¬ 
pose we may say—for earth has its de¬ 
lectable odors, and so has all vegetation. 
But for our human nostrils, which are not 
overly sensitive, a veritable sweet-smelling 
garden must he planned with due regard 
for this deficiency in our olfactories. 
Faint flavors are not enough; we must 
have a weight of heavy fragrance that 
shall rest upon us and penetrate: we must 
be drenched in perfume. The scented gar¬ 
den that has to be sniffed is a failure. 
We must not he obliged to go after the 
scent; it must pervade all the atmos¬ 
phere and come after us. 
There are many flowers with such 
odors, of course; but they are not very 
often assembled with their fragrance 
as the principle motive for gathering 
them together. We plant honeysuckle 
and enjoy its lovely breath as it comes 
stealing in on the night wind; and the good, old-fashioned day 
lilies of many a dooryard pour from their golden chalices most re¬ 
freshing odors that saturate the air all about; and a sweet briar 
rose stings pleasantly with its delectable pungence if it is given a 
pillar to climb near which we may sit. But these and other sweeter 
flowers are almost never brought together into a harmony ar¬ 
ranged for the nose as color harmony is arranged for the eye. 
The scented garden aims to do just this. All fragrance will 
mingle and combine into delicious pot-pourri, of course; but, to 
get the best out of each fragrant flower, it should be brought into 
a place distinctly its own, and not left to fight a battle for suprem¬ 
acy with others stronger than itself or more pungent, or for 
some reason or other more assertive. Each plant in its season 
should rule; and throughout the season, 
odors of delight should assail the nostrils, 
even from afar. 
Beginning the season’s fragrance with 
hyacinths, it may be carried 
through the summer with 
perennials or with these and 
annuals mixed — or altogether 
with annuals, after 
the bulbs and fra¬ 
grant shrubs have 
gone by. Annuals, 
indeed, have some 
of the sweetest- 
smelling flowers 
among them, and I 
personally feel that 
without stocks, for 
example, the 
scented garden 
out of fashion, it is a garden practice would lack one of 
The work entailed is simple its mos t delightful 
odors. There is 
phlox, however, to take the place of many things less permanent— 
for phlox extends over a long period if properly selected, and has 
a spicy fragrance that charges the air as definitely as the odor of 
hay, fresh cut, upon a hay-field. And, of course, annuals alone 
will leave a gap, unless some have been made ready for setting 
outdoors in blossom or ready to blossom as soon as the weather 
grows sufficiently settled. 
In selecting fragrant flowers, bear in mind that many which 
have the sweetest smell when held to the nose, are yet not air 
perfumers; that is, they do not give off odors that remain in the 
air, saturating it; while others that are not so delightful when 
sniffed, do give off a rich and heavy fragrance into the air, where 
it remains suspended. Many very sweet roses, for example, do 
Though the making of rose pot-pourri seems to have gone 
that deserves reviving. 
After iris, comes the roses 
The Anemone rose has a pungent perfume 
CHOOSING PLANTS AND 
FLOWERS FOR FRAGRANCE 
AND PERFUME 
THE HOMELY VIRTUES 
OF POT -POURRI AND 
ROSE BEADS 
290 
