These delicate plants can smell of rose, coconut, cedar and more. One head gardener shares tips from her 25-year-old collection
On open days at Offham House in Lewes, East Sussex, the greenhouse is a sea of competing scents: mint, rose, citrus and spice. “Most of the time it smells perfectly lovely,” says head gardener Jo Crispin. “And on open days we encourage visitors to rub the leaves of the scented pelargoniums, to find their favourites so they can buy cuttings to take home. They are constantly brushing past them as they walk around, too.” Crushing and brushing releases the essential oils that are held in these plants’ leaves and allows clouds of scent to rise.
Scented pelargoniums (often known as scented geraniums) are distinct from bedding pelargoniums, their gaudier, bolder relatives, commonly seen flowering from hanging baskets and window boxes all summer long. The scented types are descended from species that use strong scent to see off grazing animals and draw in pollinating insects. Those descended from Pelargonium cordifolium give off a scent of apple; those from P. crispum smell citrussy; and there are species with cinnamon, coconut, hazelnut, ginger, camphor, balsam, peach, pineapple, myrrh and rose scents. All can be used to flavour food. Eighteenth‑century breeders crossed these plants and selected the most interesting and clearest scents that arose – hence the great number of varieties and scents now available.
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