Aromas Of A Spring Garden, Or What Plants And What Smells In Spring? Photo

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Aromas Of A Spring Garden, Or What Plants And What Smells In Spring? Photo
Aromas Of A Spring Garden, Or What Plants And What Smells In Spring? Photo

Video: Aromas Of A Spring Garden, Or What Plants And What Smells In Spring? Photo

Video: Aromas Of A Spring Garden, Or What Plants And What Smells In Spring? Photo
Video: Top 12 Most Scented / Fragrant Flowering plants on Earth 2024, March
Anonim

Nature gave me a sensitive nose, probably with a hint of life among plants. But I did not understand the hints, and for a long time I lived in an ecologically unhealthy city, among chemical odors that were very unpleasant for me. The only joy in the city streets was the abundance of Siberian berry apple trees (the most frost-resistant in the world!) Blooming in spring. A very, very former mayor loved the apple blossom smell. Now everything has fallen into place - we live in the Kuban, in the foothills, where I create my fragrant garden. I'll tell you about why scents are needed, what they are made of, and how to breathe in the spring.

Aromas of a spring garden, or What plants and what smells in spring?
Aromas of a spring garden, or What plants and what smells in spring?

Content:

  • Why are scents needed?
  • What are smells made of?
  • What does a spring garden smell like?
  • Safety engineering

Why are scents needed?

Essentially, smell is information. Dogs could tell a lot about this. Smells are as informative as sound or pictures. For example, by smell, you can identify some diseases without testing: diabetes, kidney disease, oncology, Alzheimer's disease. These are noticeable smells that many people feel quite well, just do not know what they mean.

For primitive people, the world of smells was an open book, but then they shifted the responsibilities of reading it to dogs, as their constant companions. Now dogs understand and know how to use, but we do not. For example, dogs leave scent marks, and people are forced to paint with paint "was here …"

Pet owners also know how fear smells - an animal under stress smells strong, no matter what shampoo it is washed. People, by the way, smell no better in this state. That is why ill-bred dogs rush to those (people and animals) who are afraid of them. The smell gives out.

In the world of plants, it is even more interesting: smells are not only information, but also a means of communication. The plant, which has been attacked by pests, releases signal substances into the air and into the soil, permeated with mycorrhiza of symbiotic fungi, "notifying" the neighbors to get ready. Neighbors begin to accumulate substances to fight the pest. Of those that we can smell, these are phytoncides of conifers, mint, lemon balm, thyme, lavender, etc.

It's no secret for gardeners that the smell of a disturbed plant becomes stronger, so this alarm goes off. The plant does not know that the gardener, out of the kindness of his soul, weeds the grass under him, and regards the actions as wrecking.

The scent of flowers is also information for pollinators - "everything is ready, the pollen is ripe, there is nectar, we are waiting." That is why many plants have an imperceptible aroma for us, and some even unpleasant. This is not designed for the human nose, but for the attractiveness for specific pollinators: bees, flies, butterflies, every little insect.

It can be noted that bee-pollinated plants, which have a pink, red color, smell especially strong: bees do not perceive red colors and shades, they must be attracted by the smell. But for bright yellow dandelions, the smell is special and useless - bees with the recognition of yellow color are doing well, they will not fly past a dandelion.

Flowers pollinated by flies have odors unpleasant for humans (many arum, kirkazon). For beetles, plants with colors do not bother, it is often white, but the smells are strong, sweet, sometimes with a tinge of fermentation.

At the same time, in damp and cold weather, even blossoming bee-pollinated flowers smell much weaker - the bees do not fly, there is no one to signal. Flowers pollinated by nocturnal insects begin to scent in the evening. This technology has been developed for thousands of years.

Fragrant bow
Fragrant bow
Fragrant irises
Fragrant irises
Fragrant lilac
Fragrant lilac

What are smells made of?

The scent of a flower in nature is never perceived in isolation. To it is added the aroma of leaves, stems, other plants growing nearby, earth, surrounding objects. But if you extract essential oils from flowers and decompose them into components, you get a very interesting picture.

For example, lavender essential oils contain linalyl acetate, linalool, terpineol, coumarin, cineole. Sage essential oil contains linalyl acetate, linalool, limonene and other terpenes. That is, the base of the smell is one, and shades are added to it. As in perfumery, which, however, borrowed the idea from nature. The carriers of the fragrance are from 1 to 3 fragrances, the rest are supplements.

The base of the lily of the valley smell is linalool. He also participates in the formation of the smell of orange tree, acacia, mahonia, magnolia, jasmine, lavender, ylang-ylang, geranium and many others.

The base of the lemon scent - citral, limonene, decyl aldehyde - is present in the flowers of mint, lemon balm, laurel leaves, geranium flowers, magnolia, etc.

But the basis of the smell of wet earth is geosmin, and it is produced by soil bacteria from the genus streptomycin (from which drugs are obtained) and blue-green algae.

The number of simple smells in nature is not so great, everything else is a combination. About how more than 150 thousand words are formed from 33 letters. And music, in general, consists of 7 basic sounds. And there are only seven colors of the spectrum.

In the shady corners, the lungwort smells of honey
In the shady corners, the lungwort smells of honey

What does a spring garden smell like?

Spring is the most "fragrant" time of the year: it smells of thawed earth, rotting foliage, tree bark, blossoming buds, first flowers. Plants and all micro- and macro-inhabitants of the garden signal the beginning of a new stage of life.

Among other things, at the beginning of growth and at the beginning of flowering, plants release a huge amount of phytoncides into the air, trying to protect themselves from the awakening pathogenic microflora. The spring air of the garden is also healing.

The very first spring flowers do not have a scent noticeable from afar, you need to stick your nose directly into the flower to feel its delicate aroma. These are bright blue woodlands, modest white snowdrops, multi-colored crocuses, graceful kandyks, bright primroses, shaggy crested beetles. But for the most part, these little lovers of life will give a unique touch to the aroma of a waking garden.

If there are conifers in the garden, passing by, it is not bad to touch them - they will respond with a portion of phytoncides and a wonderful coniferous aroma.

In those regions where sage and thyme overwinter, it is an extraordinary pleasure to handle bushes after winter. We have both ordinary thyme with a rather strong pungent odor and variegated lemon thyme with a more delicate fresh aroma.

A little later than the primroses, the blossoming fragrant violet has a more noticeable smell, it is not necessary to poke your nose into its curtains, you can inhale its smell at some distance.

Early flowering shrubs are catching up to flowering: daphne, fragrant from afar; forsythia with an unobtrusive smell and catchy flowering, willow with a very delicate aroma of fluffy inflorescences, Mahonia with lily of the valley shades of bright yellow caps.

Regions with a mild climate, of course, have more opportunities to grow fragrant shrubs and trees that bloom in the spring - skimmia, witch hazel, corilopsis, fragrant viburnum, sarcococcus, magnolia.

Then comes the time of daffodils - a delicate, fragrant miracle - and sweet-smelling hyacinths. It's like the height of spring. Poplar buds are showered, adding bitterness to the fresh spring air.

Tulips bloom, brightening the garden with bright colors. Their smell, of course, is weak, but in bulk it will be noticeable. Shading them with bright blue aromatic muscari organically complement the bouquet. White and pink haze with a slightly bitter aroma are supported by steppe almond tulips and steppe cherry.

In shady corners, the lungwort smells fragrant with honey, in sunny areas - the white caps of alyssum.

By the end of spring, the aromas of the orchard enter the general chorus: cherry plum smells like bird cherry, flowering plum and cherry fill the garden with the smell of tenderness. I don't want to describe the apple scent, they just want to breathe.

The bird cherry itself, bringing with its bloom "bird cherry chills", fills the air with a light sweetness with bitterness. But the smells of pear and hawthorn flowers do not seem attractive to me at all. I endure pears because of the fruits, and a healthy hawthorn tree hanging over the fence because of the bees. They are delighted with the blossoming tree.

Ornamental onions smell very attractive, if you do not touch the stems and leaves, which will immediately give out a portion of phytoncides with onion smells. Spring flowering rhododendrons add to the scent of the garden. Spring closes with lilies of the valley, fragrant in all the surroundings, wide-spread phlox, bathing suits, fragrant dwarf irises. And, of course, lilacs with chubushniks - the enchanting finale of the spring flower riot.

Spring garden gives every new day new aromas and compositions, celebrating the beginning of a new life.

Despite the amazing smell, you need to be very careful with fragrant wolfberry
Despite the amazing smell, you need to be very careful with fragrant wolfberry

Safety engineering

Populating the garden with fragrant plants requires compliance with certain conditions. Not all fragrant plants are perfect "in every way." After all, nature does not care about our sense of smell and comfort, but solves some of its own problems.

The mentioned daphne has a different name - wolf, which in the Russian tradition speaks of danger. Everything in the plant is poisonous - bark, leaves, flowers and fruits. So, despite the amazing smell, you need to be very careful with the plant. If you have small children, it is better not to have Daphne at all.

Insidious and lily of the valley, despite its fragile beauty. The plant is also poisonous. At the same time, as often happens, and curative: lily of the valley tincture is used for neuroses of the heart. But a bunch of lilies of the valley in the bedroom can provide a persistent and severe headache. The plant itself grows rather aggressively - its place is not in a flowerbed with other flowers, but somewhere in a forest corner, limited, for example, by a path.

In Galanthus (snowdrops), daffodils and hyacinths are poisonous bulbs - if someone comes up with the idea to eat them. Rhododendrons are poisonous in their entirety, it is also not recommended to eat them.

Perception of aromas is very individual. In addition, different species and varieties of plants smell differently. Therefore, when choosing fragrant plants for your garden, it would be good to smell them first.

Plants with a strong aroma and flowering at the same time are very undesirable to plant nearby - the composition may turn out to be completely disharmonious. Better to enjoy each scent individually.

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