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Trees and shrubs can have many different
forms, for example many conifers are conical, pyramidal,
or powerfully vertical. Some are prostrate and spreading.
To some degree these are scented and everyone is familiar
with the scent of pine, but it is only if you rub or brush
against the tree, which can be a prickly experience! Weeping
trees have a very attractive romantic form and scented
varieties include weeping Cercidiphyllum (Katsura Tree)
Pendulum, which is quite spectacular. It has thrilling color
in the fall and is scented like caramel. Also the weeping
Silver Lime is an attractive choice for scented gardening. A
shrub that looks like a small tree is Buddleja Alternifolia,
and it has lovely flowers with the scent of honey in early
summer. |
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Eucalyptus |
Trees can affect the character of a garden and all gardens,
however small, should have at least one. They make such a
strong outline against the background and the sky. A number
of conifers have scented needles, such as juniper and
cypresses. Some of them have slender columnar forms which
are used in gardening to create a formal or contemporary
feel. The more spreading, horizontal conifers like Cedar of
Lebanon, (scented of blackcurrant in summer weather), Blue
Atlas Cedar or Scots Pine,
create a less formal look for a gardening design, but still
have a distinct aura of grandeur about them.
Primarily we tend to choose trees and shrubs as gardening
subjects because they fit architecturally into a given
space. Scent is often the last criterion we would use to
select a large feature such as this. Trees and shrubs are
such significant gardening features that eventual size and
the shade cast may be of more importance than scent. Shade
is desirable to some degree, but if trees and shrubs are so
big and planted on the southern side of a garden they may
cast everything into gloom! Scented blossoms may be
considered a bonus in gardening terms once the other
considerations have been met.
For low, formal hedging you really can’t beat the neatness
of Box. It is not as
fast growing as
privet. If your idea of gardening is about clipped
topiary, Box is ideal
for designs such as Box Balls or Pyramids on the simpler
level up to Elephant, Peacock and Teddy Bear shapes for the
more experienced topiarist. Low box hedging can bring a
formal look to your gardening, even if other areas are less
so: it can bring the garden “into line” so to speak, by
creating straight lines of dense green. Of course you can
make a curved hedge from it too. One of its less attractive
features is its smell, but that is a matter of personal
taste. For me it smells too strongly of cat’s urine! I
experience this pungent odour every time I walk by it, but
many people learn to live with or even love it simply by
associating it with happy summer days pottering around
gardening. If you really can’t handle the smell then
consider using Lonicera
Nitida instead. This shrubby honeysuckle has sweet, fruity
cream-colored flowers.
Trees and shrubs can of course be used to make a windbreak
screen. In order to create the still, sheltered microclimate
in which other scented plants can thrive, this may be
essential, depending on the situation of your plot. Trees
and shrubs can make better windbreaks than walls, as they
don’t offer the wind a “full stop” barrier which the wind
can then leap over and cause problems due to eddying on the
other side. If your region is reasonably mild for gardening,
Eucalyptus can grow
very fast to create an instant hedge or tree in a selected
spot. They have beautifully minty-scented foliage, flowers
with the scent of honey, and are fast growers. They can be
hard pruned if you don’t mind a modicum of gardening,
especially if you don’t want them to grow so big and if you
want to keep the prettier, juvenile blue leaves coming back
year on year.
A number of gardening writers seem to ignore trees and
shrubs when they write about scented gardening; perhaps
small and pretty annuals spring to mind or of course roses.
In fact a huge amount of scent can be generated from
gardening with trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs can give
such a variety of powerful scents that it is a shame that
most of us don’t have the space to use more of them in our
gardens. The architectural effect of trees and shrubs is
undeniable.
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