'Led By The Nose'

Long before I had a garden, I used to treat myself sometimes at this time of year to a little posy of snowdrops, from a local florist which was on the way home from work. They were tightly wrapped in a large deep green ivy leaves. When I bought my very first bunch home and placed then in a small jug, I was amazed to discover that these little flowers are quite highly scented. In the garden the scent of snowdrops can be elusive unless it is a particularly still, warm day or you can still perform the contortions needed to bring your nose to the flowers. Although I have my own garden now, I still pick a few snowdrops each winter to bring indoors so that I can  appreciate their scent at close quarters - to my nose it is a subtle but delicious honey scent. Some snowdrops are said to be more scented than others and exude their own distinct perfume e.g. galanthus 'Ginns' Imperati' smells of bitter almonds.

The title of this post was inspired by Jenny Joseph's (she also penned that well known poem 'Warning : When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple') book 'Led By The Nose' which takes you through the year in terms of the smells that you encounter in the garden, not only through plants but also through the various cyclical activities that go on in most gardens. There are various lists towards the end of the book including one of the twelve months and what you might be smelling in each. The list for January is thinner than many other months but there are still a surprising number of pleasures to be savoured.

This is my first entry for Blooming Friday over at Katarina's 'Roses and Stuff' blog - the theme this week is scents.