Saturday, June 15, 2013

The Scent of Summer


The garden is very fragrant with the herbaceous scent of the native, white sage at the moment. On days when the air is clear and I am working in the garden I can perceive the aroma of the sage in the soil, which reminds me of the sand at the beach.

Fragrance is a very personal experience, most often tied to our memories. As I ponder "Scents of Summer" I think of childhood when I would go to beach regularly or trips to Catalina Island on my best friends sailboat.  For someone leaving land locked, in say Missouri, they most likely won't have any ocean related scents, and thus a completely different list from mine.

What would go on your list? Here's mine, botanical origin, pulled from my scent palette:

Seaweed absolute
Choya (seashells) which smells of smoke, like summer campfires
Galbanum, green, fresh cut leaves
Citrus: lemon (lemonaid), orange (Orange Julius in Newport beach)
Herbs: Thyme, oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary
Flowers: Plumeria, lavender, tuberose
Fruity: Berries
Not of botanical origin:
Sunscreen
Chlorine


Here's a selection from the Illuminated Collection:
SEA: GreenWitch
BEACH: Page 47
GREEN: Hedera helix
CITRUS: Blossom Cologne (returning June 22nd)
HERBS: Vera
SMOKE: Chaparral, Terrestre, Aumbre and Q
FLOWERS: Chiaroscuro, Rosa, Gracing the Dawn
FRUITY: Cimbalom





3 comments:

Maggie Emm said...

The smell of freshly mown grass (home and school lawns) canvas and seaweed from our seaside camping holidays, and a warm garden smell - don't know how to describe that!

Maggie Emm said...

oh yes, and the smell of hot suburbia - that creosote smell that people paint their fences with...

Ada [The Duchess] said...

Cimbalom <3333