I love it!
This morning, I could still smell it. I've always loved the smell of gardenias. When I was younger I loved the scent of roses and white and yellow ginger. There was also Pikake (Jasmine) and Plumeria (Frangipani).
A long time ago, I actually found a store in Chicago that had a cologne that truly captured the smell of the ginger flower. I used to spray in on our bed. I don't know how much Art appreciated it, but I loved it. Then they discontinued making it. Art was probably glad.
My daughter found a hand cream they made later that had the ginger scent, but it wasn't quite perfect. All those bottles of floral tropical colognes that they sell in the tourist locations don't smell anything like the flower. I know because I keep trying them out to see if anything comes close to the scents I love.
My favorite time is when it's plumeria season. When I open my windows at night, the scent of the plumerias from my neighbor's tree comes wafting into my room with every breeze.
What is your favorite floral scent?
Scents are so evocative aren't they? I love the smell of honeysuckle and jasmine when they waft in on a warm breeze. In truth, I love all scented flowers - and leaves - and can't really select a favourite.
ReplyDeleteWe have a mock orange hedge next to the living room that gives off a strong scent when it is blooming. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree w/u on those two.. Have u ever smelled a magnolia blossom? or freesias? those have a tropical scent as well and the flowers are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteNone of those scents you mentioned have I knowingly smelled. I am feeling a bit deprived. I do love the scent of Orange blossoms but I have to go on memory there for oranges don't thrive in Arkansas.
ReplyDeleteScents bring back memories, don´t they? I love them too and my favorite is of wild lilac´s. We have them growing in our "bush/forest" and they have such a strong smell. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI love carnations, and I have a bottle of Bellodgia cologne by Caron that is almost a perfect carnation scent.
ReplyDeleteMy mock orange bush is almost as nice as real orange blossom, which is wonderful, as Patti mentioned.
But gardenia is another of my favorites. Lucky you to have some close to home.
I'm not commenting on many blogs as we are traveling again, but am trying to keep up with posting a few of my own while away. Easier said than done, as you know.
Hi to Art.
Luv, K
honeysuckle and lilacs are my favorites. gardenias for some reason remind me of my father's funeral when I was only five. scents do evoke emotions and memories...
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of roses. But the fake smell in cologne and perfume doesn't cut it for me. I also love the smell of gardenias, but they can be overpowering sometimes. Roses are gentle smells, almost not there.
ReplyDeleteHave a good trip, Kay! I'll enjoy you when you get back, or if you manage to get any up while traveling I'll enjoy those, too.
I love the smell of gardenias, too.
ReplyDeleteJust reading about gardenia's makes me smell it and think of my momma. She loved them and often had a plant or two she grew in the house. Mmmm.
ReplyDeleteI was smelling a lot of lavender this summer! Lovely.
ReplyDeleteRoses, of course, lavender, night scented stock, sweet peas, fresias. And then there's honeysuckle and lilac. It's difficult to decide which I like best. I rarely wear perfume as I find it too overpowering, but if they could really capture some of those natural fragrances I'd go for it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I had a gardenia plant ourside my front door when I lived in Florida, and love the scent, my favorite scent is either the Blanc Double white rose Josephine grew in her garden at Malmaison, or the lavender that grows in southern France. I use both in potpourri mixes.
ReplyDeleteI wore Channel No.5 for years (primarily a rose scent), but I stopped wearing it when my secretary complained daily about the stink of perfume which she claimed to be allergic to.
I think anyone who thinks they are allergic to perfume is probably talking about the cheap stuff they sell in dollar stores, not Coco's perfumes which are composed of pure flower power.
My favorite flower fragrances are of roses, lilacs, hyacinths, daphne, sarcococoa (vanilla bush), and butterfly bush. The butterfly bushes are blooming right now, and I'm like a winged bug hovering over them. Oh, and how can I forget sweet peas!
ReplyDeleteI love the scent of gardenias too, but have not been successful in growing them even as house plants.
I love the fragrance of roses ,lavender and jasmine .The flower in your picture is called 'Togor' in our part of India.Chandan tells me that it has a very nice smell ,even songs are written on it but it is not used in religious rituals .
ReplyDeleteAs I have aged, I seldom can smell roses or other flowers unless I have my nose right in them. Today, with the air cooler and with a bit of moisture in the air, I mentioned to my husband that I could smell my roses from the back deck.
ReplyDeleteI love the scent of gardenias, lavender, vanilla, and verbena. I think lavender and gardenias are my favorite. I must say though, that when I was in Hawaii, the entire city of Honolulu smelled heavenly. The plumerias were in bloom. I was just amazed at how I could smell them everywhere. I loved it!
Bath & Body Works has a plumeria body lotion that is such a classic it has to be special ordered. Since the fresh bloom kapoots by the time it were to be shipped to mid-mainland, Cindy's flower shop in Honolulu's Chinatown doesn't try to ship it. My mom wore Jungle Gardenia perfume for a long time, and one drink has a plastic petal/real gardenia floating in it! We had night-blooming jasmine on an overhead trellis where I grew up in Oklahoma. I've heard the roses scents have been diminishing over the last 40 years. I LOVE plumeria! DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteNothing.....I'm allergic to everything I smell.......achooo!
ReplyDeleteGardenias do smell so wonderful! My other favorite scents are orange blossom and jasmine.
ReplyDeleteHoneysuckle and gardenia both come to mind. Honeysuckle grew wild all around my grandmother's yard. We had gardenia bushes growing outside our (own) windows, that was heavenly. I LOVE them both!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories.
what a beautiful post.Wild roses thatgrew along our driveway,, I love them,
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I came to Hawaii, and Gregg bought me a lei made from Plumeria. I kept grabbing a handful of those beautiful blooms, trying hard not to crush them, and brought them up to my nose continuously. Their scent was divine. I also loved the smell of Jasmine but didn't know about the ginger plant back then.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to smell the flowers! Just bought a hibiscus. Hope it lives. Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteSorry Kay, can't quite manage to get worked up over smelling flowers. I think most guys (except Liberace of course), like me, love to smell any sort of .... food.
ReplyDeletesnif sniff... FUD. ummm. argh (sorry, me pirate nature just escapes sometime).
walt
That is such a beautiful flower picture.
ReplyDeleteWe have gardenia bushes in the backyard and I have been getting lots of them lately. We don't have plumeria in our yard, but our neighbors do.
Our favorite flower scent is from our night-blooming jasmine, which blooms every few months.