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| Photo Credit: Fir Trees Nursery |
| Try your scented geranium in a mass planting for a wonderfully fragrant show of blooms! |
If the fragrances of nutmeg, lemon, apple and roses appeal to you, maybe it’s time you added some scented geraniums to your garden. There are more than 100 varieties of scented geraniums (in the genus Pelargonium) to choose from. While they’re really grown for their wonderful scents rather than their blooms, they’re still sure to put on a visual show that won’t disappoint!
Scented geraniums have been around for quite some time. In fact, these particular pelargoniums have been used for centuries as ingredients in perfumes, food recipes and herbal medicines. But gardeners didn’t take to them until Robert Sweet, a nursery professional and plantsman, published a series of articles from 1823-1830 that highlighted these beauties. Once they learned about them, gardeners strategically placed scented geraniums throughout their Victorian gardens so their wonderful fragrances would filter through the air as visitors strolled through and brushed up against them. In fact, the full skirts in fashion during that time often aided gardeners in their goal, as ladies’ crinolines would release the aromas as they swept against the plants along garden paths.
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