Below: Annuals, Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) and Alyssum (Lobularia)

About Franklin Park Conservatory

Franklin Park Conservatory offers unique botanical collections, gardens, waterfalls, and educational programs designed to foster lifelong learning and appreciation of plants. The Conservatory features an original Victorian glass house built in 1895 and 73,000 square feet of greenhouses and classrooms situated in a 90-acre urban park just minutes from downtown. As part of its unique focus on combining fine arts with horticulture, the Conservatory is the only botanical garden in the world to own a signature collection from the internationally acclaimed glass artist, Dale Chihuly.

Franklin Park Conservatory is located at 1777 E. Broad St., Columbus and is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $5 for age children 3 to 17. Members and children under 2 are free. All exhibitions are included in the general admission price. For more information, visit the Conservatory’s Web site at www.fpconservatory.org

Above: Catmint (Nepeta), perennial

Below: Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis), perennial

the fragrant garden

By Barbara Arnold

In the garden, all our senses are used, but the one most often forgotten is the sense of smell. A significant part of the overall sensory experience, scent is also linked to memory and can quickly conjure up the past. For many plants, fragrance is indispensable and can be found in the flowers or in oils in the leaves. Scent is a way to attract pollinators, be it a sweet scent for honeybees or the decidedly less pleasant odor of carrion used to draw flies. The use of scent is distinct to the desired pollinator; for example, Yucca only emits fragrance at night because it attracts moths. Some plants have bad odors, alerting potential predators that they are poisonous or inedible.

Proper placement of fragrant plants is a must as the leaves of many plants have a wonderful smell but must be touched to release the odor, like lemon verbena or lavender. In order to reach them, these plants need to be in accessible places, like along the path from the garage to the house or in pots on the deck or patio. For some plants, like basil, their fragrance is set off with the heat of the sun. The sun’s heat can also send off the fragrance of flowering plants. This effect is enhanced with an increase in the number of flowers, though an individual flower is not without its merits. A container garden can be used to place fragrance in different spaces as needed. Subtle scents should be found where you might linger, like next to the seating area on a deck or patio. Placing plants near the front door will treat visitors to a pleasant smell and delight them with your gardening skill. Why not use fragrant herbs in window boxes, where as the wind blows the scent is caught on the breeze into the house? The garden outside the window is also a great place for fragrant flowers, as their perfume can float right into the room. Plant low growing herbs along the path or in the path, where they’re wonderful fragrance is released each time they are stepped on.

The following list is not all-inclusive, but it’s a start:

Spring

Spring bulbs

Annuals

Perennials

Summer

Annuals

Perennials

Trees and Shrubs

Fall
Perennials/Annuals

Winter

Many gardens are created without even a thought about fragrance and it is by luck that these gardens even have a scent at all. Change that! Look for plants that suit your garden situation and conditions. Fill the garden with fragrant plants that produce year-round by planting spring bulbs, flowering trees and shrubs, evergreens, perennials and annuals. However, be careful when planting fragrant plants, as too many can turn disastrous, becoming overpowering and uncomfortable. Mix and match the fragrance of flowers with those scents that come from leaves, while varying the bloom times. Many fragrant flowers are very small, such as lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) and need to be planted in mass. By doing so the flower display will be more impressive while there will be more fragrance in the air.

Address any questions or concerns about planting your own fragrant garden by e-mailing Barb Arnold at info@ourohio.org

Photo Credits: Istockphoto.com, Convallaria majalis/zastavkin, Tobacco Plant/RMAX, Nepeta/constantgardener, Sweet Alyssum/Pleio

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