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A Rose for Your Nose
A while back, Girl About Town Rita posted about an amazing perfume lab in Nolita - Le Labo. I was intrigued. I love perfume. I'd rather wear a great scent than carry a great handbag (not that I like to have to chose) I'm always looking for a fragrance that smells like a garden and not like a chemical soup, so I sent away for some samples and struck olfactory gold.
Le Labo's Rose 31 is a wonder. Never would I have imagined myself loving a rose perfume! Just like a hybrid tea in my garden, I've always found classic rose fragrances cloying, overly dramatic; just too much. Not this baby. The first thing that hits my nose when I spray it on is a warm peppery tingle; cumin as it turns out, and then the rose joins in - but it never steals the show. The rose dances with all the other notes in this fragrance, just like it would in a garden ... a warm woodsiness and a little musky quality sealed the deal for me. This is the most modern, wearable rose perfume - it is my new 'signature scent'.
Fragrance is an important thing to consider when making a garden - it is the sense of smell that informs our memories the most. Play perfumer when choosing your plants, and think about how their scents layer, as well as their textures and colors. Close your eyes and let your nose be your guide...
Hi Germinatrix,
This is seriously a Gardening 101 for People who can't Garden, but here goes: Is there a rose that will grow well in a pot outdoors in very hot weather (90s in the summer) in all sun or partial shade with no more than once a day watering, while looking good, smelling good and giving pedicures?
Casapinka! Hi! Have I got roses for you ... there are a special kind of roses hybridized by a man named David Austin ... these are called 'David Austin Roses', and a couple of these fit the bill. One is a pink (!) beauty named 'Gertrude Jekyll that fits in a pot, loves the sun but can take some shade, only requires one deep drink a day, and smells as yummy as a pink rose should. Another rose, 'Munstead Wood' has the pot/water/sun qualities you're looking for, smells like a classic old rose with a strong hint of berries, and is a beautiful deep crimson. Both of these roses have been trained by Marcia Kilgore of the famed Bliss spa in NYC to give you the best damned pedicure you've ever had!!
Hi Casapinka, just a note, with 40,000 roses in commerce, it's easy to get confused! Gertrude Jeckyll indeed has a wonderful fragrance. It also can get to be a large shrub and is known to be a notoriously poor repeat bloomer for many. Also, Munstead Wood is not yet available in the US, possibly in 2008 but David Austin has not yet released next year's list yet. I will tell you, Noble Antony, an Austin Rose, has a great fragrance and stays a compact size. You may also want to check an old garden rose with a fabulous fragrance, Frances Dubreuil. It stays short for me and is a deep rich red. Austin's The Prince is wonderful too, rich, deep, purple/red blooms with a great fragrance. Be sure to fertilize the roses and cut them back once a year in the winter if you are out west. They will reward you with many new blooms. Remove the spent blooms too as they die off so you get faster rebloom. Roses are fantastic.
There are so many fragrances of roses, some of which are very fresh and fruity, even grapefruit like, some that perfumy type and others with a sort of licorice scent and on and on.
Of the David Austins, "Fair Bianca" would be an option too - stays compact, good repeat blooming, glossy dark leaves. Mine take the heat and half-day shade quite well, though they were slower to establish than some others because they get less sun.
Thanks for the tip, Susa! I think you are the Vice President of this blog..." if for any reason the Germinatrix cannot fulfill her duties..." or is that the runner up for Miss America? Whatever it is, your garden knowledge is always very appreciated!