Where did the fragrance go?

     Have you ever bent down to sniff a bouquet of roses, only to find that they had very little or no scent at all? What a disappointment. Or maybe you have fond memories of a particular flower grown in your grandmother's garden, and years later decide to grow it in yours, only to find it doesn't smell quite the same.

    One of the things that plant breeders have been focusing on is the longevity of flower blooms, whether they are grown for cut flowers or for how long they bloom on the plant itself. So why would this affect the fragrance of our beloved flowers? For most flowers, aroma production and length of life are linked by a plant hormone called ethylene. More ethylene makes the flower fade sooner, but it also creates more scent. So while plant breeders have been prolonging the life of blooms by tinkering with this hormone, they have also weakened and in some cases removed the scent altogether. 

My grandmother was an avid gardener and every year she grew Sweet Williams (dianthus barbatus)

in her yard. I always liked them, even when I was a child, and l loved their scent. For the last two years I've had them in my own yard, but they don't have nearly as much fragrance. In my opinion it's not worth the trade off, so if  you are like me, find yourself some old-fashioned varieties and enjoy their scent once more.

Sweet Williams

June Blooms

Hello happy gardeners! I'm sharing my June blooms along with Glenda at Tootsie Time for fertilizer Friday.  Once again I am delighted with the blooms of my favourite rose, a rugosa rose by the name of Hansa.  It started blooming in May this year, a little earlier than usual, put on a big show, and will continue to bloom to some degree on into the fall. The fragrance never ceases to captivate me. The sucker I dug up two years ago from this plant had its very first bloom this year, and I am excited to see how it will balance out my original plant. I   must admit I am a little OCD when it comes to achieving balance in my gardens, or anywhere for that matter, ha ha.

Hansa

                                                                

Allium Unifolium

I tried to wrangle all these little bulbs together in one area, but alas I have given up and let them be.

Sanguineum 'Max Frie'  Geranium

I started with just one of these plants years ago, but with a bit of division and some self-seeding, I now have quite a few. They bloom from May until frost with deadheading.

Aquilegia alpina Columbine

I find columbines difficult to photograph as their heads are always facing down.

Iris 'Blue Ribbon'

A closer look

Argyranthemum Madeira Deep Pink Marguerite Daisy

These are growing in my little green wagon, and once they fill out, I will take another picture with the wagon and all.

Redvein Enkianthus

These are the flowers on a very slow growing shrub I have in the front bed. 

Sambucus nigra 'Eva'  Elderberry

Please try to ignore the ugly fence and shed in this picture :)  This elderberry was such a pathetic looking little thing when I bought it in 2009,  but  now it needs some serious pruning. I am ever hopeful it will attract American Robins when the berries ripen.

Plum

This is my first attempt to espalier a fruit tree, never mind that it's an annoying sucker that keeps coming up right underneath the fence from our neighbour's harshly pruned plum tree.

So what is blooming in your garden this June?

What's Blooming Now

Some Late Summer Blooms in my Garden

               First Sunflower to Finally Grow & Bloom       

   

Monarda

Lavatera