FRAGRANT PLANTS

The group of trees, shrubs, and perennials whose flowers or leavesare fragrant is an important group in the development of an inter-esting variation in landscape plantings, especially on the larger places.There are certain varieties of shrubs, such as the common mock orange,the flowers of which are extremely fragrant, while the flowers of some ofthe other varieties have no odour whatever. This is a peculiarcondition which has not been fully explained, but one which makes amarked difference in the effect of plantings from the standpoint of thefragrance of their flowers. A garden possesses greater charm if fra-grance is one of its attributes. In older times many plants weregrown for their sweet odours, both of flowers and leaves. Thisfeature has not been given its due importance in the landscape plant-ings of to-day, and a little study will convince one that a wealth offragrance can be easily obtained in any planting of trees, shrubs, andperennials, by the proper selection of a few types of plants. Thefragrant honeysuckle has a very attractive odour, while the tartarianhoneysuckle has flowers with no fragrant odour whatever. Thehorse-chestnut has flowers with little or no odour, while the falseacacia and the black locust fill the air with fragrance. Violets, trailingarbutus, and lilies-of-the-valley add a certain fragrance to the garden,which odour is entirely lacking in many other varieties of perennials.