The Nose Knows

Ask any gardener what their favorite plant is and I bet you will find they can’t name just one.  Count me in that group.  I love plants.  But there are a few stand-outs that are worth mentioning. 

For me, what captures my interest is either the color or smell of a plant.  I love bright colors.  Mostly oranges and blues.  But I think that fragrance is the top attribute I look for in plants to add to my yard.

When I was attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, I learned of this plant called Psoralea pinnata also known as the Scurfy Pea or the Kool-Aid® Bush.  I had never encountered such a plant before.  This was way back when I was just getting in to Horticulture, I was a late-bloomer with respect to learning or loving plants! (yes, pun intended) What caught my attention is the smell of the flowers.  They smelled like grape Kool-Aid®! Seriously! The plant is somewhat ugly and rangy, but the blue and white flowers made up for that.

Since then, I have found a prettier substitute for the Scurfy Pea.  This plant is in one of my favorite genuses, Salvia.  The plant is Salvia melissodora known as the Grape-scented sage.  It is a shrub that can get to 8 feet tall.  It is native to the upper elevations of Mexico. The leaves also have an interesting smell, but not as good as the grapey fragrance of the violet/lavender flowers.  To enjoy the smell, you have to avoid bruising the leaves, so don’t touch, just sniff.  But be careful, as the carpenter bees and other bees visit this plant frequently.  You don’t want a sting on your sniffer!

I have two of these salvias planted just outside my window.  In the warm evenings of the summer, you can smell their delightful grape scent as it perfumes the neighborhood and of course, inside my home.

I recommend you open up your senses and try picking out plants with interesting fragrances to add to your own yards.  You’d be amazed at what’s out there.

Grape-scented sage. (photo by Jennifer Baumbach)

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