Scent in your Garden
An English Garden is famous for its wealth of plants and scents. If you love the different scents in a garden and want to know which plants have the best scents then this is the book for you.
I was given this book as a birthday present and it has been a constant companion - plus whenever it rains I have some gorgeous flowers to look at.
Stephen Lacey describes over 1000 plants which have lovely scents.
The book is well laid out and easy to use.
There are good descriptions of the plants and often ideas on where to plant them and what to plant them with.
You can also check which flowers have scent at a particular time of the year.
The photographs are inspirational and just looking at them will give you ideas about planting combinations such as the lovely Buddleja alternifolia and Allium schoenoprasum - in the chapter on shrubs.
In his chapter on "The Nature of Scent" he talks about the different flower scents - the powerful perfumes and the delicate light ones; scents that smell of vanilla, cloves, almond or pea.
Then having whetted your appetite for perfumed plants he provides a comprehensive directory of scented plants for every part of the garden.
Cultural notes are given for each plant - such as sun, growing to 1.5m 5ft and the Zone.
There is an excellent chapter on herbaceous perennials - the mainstay of an English Garden - that also includes info on bulbs and annuals.
Shrubs, including those that like the protection of a wall and climbers are covered. Andrew Lawson has taken some beautiful photos of honeysuckles that are essential in any English Garden - in fact all the photos are beautiful.
English Gardens are famous for their abundance of roses and in the chapter on roses you can find out which ones are the best to grow for scent.
Descriptions of roses and their individual scents - and again there are planting ideas and inspirational photos.
Find out more about climbing roses for your garden here .
There is always a place for herbs in an English Garden and Stephen Lacey describes the best scented ones and ways to use them in your garden.
He gives his personal views on plants and then goes on to tell you what it looks good planted next to and the best colours to have.
I recommend this book if you want to have a delicious smelling garden - it would make a good present for a gardening friend or relation - it is also just nice to dip into now and again and imagine what you could do!
Scent in Your Garden by Stephen Lacey
Enjoy your English Garden!
