• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Home Garden Companion

Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

  • Plant Library On The Journal
    • All Season Garden Color
    • Sitemap
  • Garden chores
    • Essential Garden Tools For Beginners
    • Garden Tips and Advice
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop
  • Privacy Policy

The Scented Garden

23.05.04 | Ilona Erwin | No Comments

It is the time of roses and peonies, two of the most beautifully redolent scents of my late spring garden. These are old fashioned plants, the roses are the varieties William Baffin, Zepherine Drouhin, Therese Bugnet. The Oenothera speciosa and veronicas are blooming, as well. The veronicas are puny this year. Due to so much rain and so little sun, although the fact that I am only now weeding out the perennial garden probably has something to do with it, too. Veronicas like sun and dislike crowding I think. They always do best for me in their first couple years… then, even though I divide them, they pout.

It has been thunderstorming so much that I am sure that everything I am replanting at this time will root and get established. The down side is that the fields are mille-lakes. My own garden is wet, but not ponded. I have been working it anyway.

I decided to circle the Prairie Fire crab with Annabelle hydrangeas. It is situated front and center of the driveway. I feel the Annabelle is obscenely flamboyant when in full bloom, so a sideshow is distracting. Center stage suits this shrubby plant much better, and I think it will contrast nicely with the purplish leaves of the crabapple. If not, I will rip it all out in a couple years. This year I had to get it away from the Hinoki Cypress, which is a choice and expensive evergreen. Annabelle just crowded into it and hung all over it. No shame whatsoever. So -with the help of my son- , I mercilessly dug out enough to surround the new tree in the driveway.

It all works out.

Honeysuckle

I should add a little something about the Heckrotti honeysuckle vine. It is blooming on the arbor now, the best it’s looked in years. I had a vine on the porch at the other house, where it always was sickly, although the flowers are beautiful two-tone when blooming. This year, it has finally come into its own and outshines the Jackmani clematis which is on the other side. I have a Belgica on the house trellis, but that blooms later. Honeysuckle smells lovely, but it does draw bumble bees. Just be warned.

I have many plants that mingle their scents and create a wonderful atmosphere. It always brightens my mood to smell certain plants. The lavenders are ready to bloom, but as I was weeding around them that was enough to lift my spirit.

Unless I find some in the nursery, I will have to do without Heliotrope this year. I was going to save it from the frost last year, but….. just one more of those things I didn’t get to. Now I am really sorry. Heliotrope is non pareil for summer sweet fragrance.

← Previous Post
KJ Gardens
Next Post →
Scenic Nursery: Bedding Plant Planting

About Ilona Erwin

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Thank you, in advance for your support! Privacy Policy

Primary Sidebar

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Visit for a Spell

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Mission

Finding your way home via the garden path

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings
Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening
What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal
Journal, Planner and Log Book
Shop Small Trees and More

Bonsai Trees
buy quality plants

You might also like

seeds

National Seed Swap Day in January

Garden advice

What Makes a Low Maintenance Garden?

Create A Child’s Garden, Grow Love For Nature

Growing Indoor Flowers In December

I Found Out About “She Sheds” And Coincidentally, About Friends

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Standouts

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

Do You Grow Herbs? 10 Reasons To Love Them

10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant

Standouts

August Gardening: Ten Suggestions

What are your ten top choices for perennial plantings?

ilonagarden

With village lights With village lights
Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄 Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄
Instagram post 17935013548845771 Instagram post 17935013548845771
Instagram post 17981374354427684 Instagram post 17981374354427684
Instagram post 17865517706595888 Instagram post 17865517706595888
Gift of flowers by my bedside Gift of flowers by my bedside
#mockorange #juneflowers #ohio #mockorange #juneflowers #ohio
Instagram post 18224713828022497 Instagram post 18224713828022497
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Topics

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Join Me

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · Your Site Name

Hazel Theme by Code + Coconut