It's about time to make that first exciting spring trip to the garden center to see what's new and what comes in which colors, and, of course, to look for your favorites from last year.
As you gaze at the dazzling displays, you may be thinking primarily about how things will look. But one of the great joys of gardening is that it fills all the senses, not just sight. A garden is one of the most alive places we can be, and every garden should partake at least a little of the sensual banquet.
Gardens can delight all five senses. Consider planting for aromatic as well as visual excitement. Creeping thyme, left, and lilies both give off fragrant bouquets. Mints, basil and rosemary add delicious scents, as well.
(Sandra Leavitt Lerner For The Washington Post)
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Fragrance is probably the second aspect you might think to add to a garden. What could be more wonderful than the scent of hyacinths in spring, the heady odor of lilacs, the perfume of a rose or the pungent pleasures of marigolds?
There are many ways to bring fragrance to the garden. On a hot summer day, an edging of herbaceous lavender, rosemary or thyme will fill the air with a glorious bouquet. A hanging basket of sweet alyssum can greet you at your front door. Virginia sweetspire, summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), phlox "David," a planting of lilies such as Stargazer and Korean spice viburnum draw oohs and aahs when people first catch their scent.
Aromatic plants and the oils extracted from them have been used for ornament, medicine, food and religious rites throughout history. The Chinese as far back as 3000 B.C., and the Egyptians in 2700 B.C., expressed their appreciation of fragrant plants. In the Dark Ages, other than castles and walls, the landscape was almost devoid of garden design, yet monks continued to cultivate fragrant herb gardens for medicinal use. The English carried this passion for fragrant gardens into the 20th century, and much can be learned from them about designing the garden with a full complement of fragrances.
Several plants with fragrant foliage are heavenly to work with, easy to grow, and are ornamental in the garden, such as mints, thyme, basil and rosemary.
Golden mint works wonderfully as a perennial container planting, and Corsican mint is only half an inch high, with a strong peppermint fragrance. It will thrive in any cranny you might find in the garden -- a rock wall, between patio steps or in a knothole.
Thyme comes in a wide array of "seasonings," including lemon, caraway, pine and nutmeg. There are more than 400 recognized species of thyme, and plants can be installed in spaces between walls, walks and patios.
Basil is highly valued as a culinary herb, and purple basil adds rich purple foliage to a perennial garden. The scent is strong and peppery. If you plant it where it can spill over onto a path, it will send a heady aroma up from your feet.
Rosemary is ideal to soften the sharp line of a wall, steps or patio. Lilac and rose perfume can fill the air and so work well planted by walkways and patios.
