Flowers and Fragrance

As of last month, I have been looking forward to the new Garden Blogger's Fragrance theme, but I am not sure exactly when it is to come off.  In the meantime, it is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day with Carol at May Dreams Gardens, a meme for which this will be my first post.

For which reasons, I will go ahead and combine the two themes today.  The search for fragrant flowers has, not surprisingly, induced some curious gymnastics around my garden since most of my plants are still very small and can only be smelled by getting down on hands and knees, or by standing on one's head.

The photo below is a case in point.  At perhaps 12 in/41 cm high, the young lavender "Blueberry Ruffles" has finally begun to bloom; in fact, it is loaded with buds.  It had a difficult start, needing quite a bit of watering and general fussing over, but it is holding its own now, and the bees have discovered it.

 I like it very much though I have to admit that I don't see much difference yet between it and my other Spanish lavender, Lavendula stoechas "Madrid", which also still has some flowers although they are at the other end of the bloom cycle.  In "Madrid" the colour is a little darker.

Lavendula stoechas Madrid

 I still cannot smell the flowers so much as the foliage, but that is undoubtedly fragrant!

Another flower that I have spent some extra time attempting to smell is the recently bloomed Berlandiera lyrata, with its elusive chocolate scent.  Smell or no, it is a wonderful addition to the Dry Corner by the acacia.

I was happily surprised to find how sweet a smell there is in Armeria.  No wonder the bees like it; I do too!  (No bees in this picture - only a small garden spider...)

Nearby, Salvia greggii "Autumn Moon" is beginning to bloom again after a brief rest, while S. g. "Flame", on the other side of the bed, is just starting for the first time.  Here the flowers seem simply to carry the fragrance borne by the leaves.  I am liking this scent more and more - not to mention these plants as a whole, though Flame does show a tendency to sprawl across the ground...

Salvia greggii "Flame"

Salvia greggii "Autumn Moon"

Just beside the pink and white of S. g. "Autumn Moon", there is the wonderful miniature rose "Daniela", with a sweet rose fragrance in blooms that are actually quite large and sturdy on this little plant.

And finally we will go just beyond the garden - as presently laid out! - to where the apricot tree opened its first blossoms this morning.  Several are just at nose-level; scent is light but sweet, the fragile beauty of the flowers is unmistakable.

So there are the blooms, in particular the fragrant blooms, to be found in my garden now. 

ed.  And now I can also link to the Scent in the Garden theme at Wellywoman's blog!