Where did the scent go?

The anticipation leaning into a smell rose, only to draw back and declare ‘oh, it doesn’t smell’. We’ve all seen it or experienced it before and there is a reason behind it.

I will never forget the scent of one of the roses my grandma Normie grew called Double Delight. Buttery coloured centre and hot pink rim, you would take turns soaking it up between cups of tea on the verandah.

Or the stories from two gentlemen I got chatting to recently at local legend Johnny’s Bakehouse cafe. One recouned how the smell of roses would hit you visiting his grandparents as a young boy, and that the size of the roses were enormous (making a circle shape with his two ands). The other spoke of his grandfather who had a rose farm and as young boys playing football, one was always careful to not kick the ball into his precious roses!

So where did the scent go?

Over the years, consumer demand for larger blooms, colour and longer lifespan, florists demand for durability, quality and cut lifespan and growers disease resistance have seen these traits prioritised in cultivation over other traits such as fragrance. As research shows, ‘monoterpenes are the major components in the fragrance of roses and their loss has caused some rose cultivars bred for visual attributes to be odourless.’

During my Certificate III studies, we visited a number of local flower farms, including B&B Flowers and Nati Roses. At B&B Flowers, rose grower and owner, Paula Bandiera explained that most of their roses undercover don’t have a scent but many of the varities grown outside, such as David Austin, Evelyn and Claire do. At Nati roses farm, some of the fragrant varities available include Blue Moon and Eiffel Tower.

 But does it matter if roses or flowers are scented or not?

 Sandeep Robert Datta, a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, states “it’s now clear that even though our sense of smell is not as robust as that of a mouse or bloodhound, it is deeply tied to our cognitive centers, our emotional centers, and our memory centers.” “We’re dependent on it for a sense of well-being and centeredness in the world.” (Watch how smells are stored in the brain)

“Smell can instantly trigger an emotional response along with a memory, and our emotional states have a very strong effect on our physical well-being,” says Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist at Brown University who studies the psychological science of smell.

As this Harvard Medicine article concludes ‘researchers are still unraveling the full extent to which smell can be [xxx] an avenue into the mind.’ 

So, what can you do if you would like to get scented flower?

Speak with your local florist - florists are a gateway to access knowledge and source the flowers that you desire. There are so many delightful, scented flowers, from the sweet honey foliage of waxflowers, sweat peas, soothing lavender, buddleia to jonquils - a small vase of which will perfume an entire room with ease!

As The Sustainable Floristry Network suggests, opting for locally grown flowers means, amongst other environmental benefits, that you are often purchasing a high quality product. A plant grown in its natural season produces a stronger, healthier cut stem – a flower with scent, vitality and resilience

For a romantic dinner for two (or one!), I adore Australian grown garden roses, such as David Austin, en masse, in vintage crystal vase ware. 

What’s your favourite scented flower?

[References]

Lyu, J. Rose scent: Restricting methane. Nature Plants 1, 15119 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.119

Molly McDonough, Harvard Medicine magazine, The Connections Between Smell, Memory, and Health - The ability of odors to bring to mind past experiences has intriguing scientific and therapeutic implications Spring 2024https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/connections-between-smell-memory-and-health#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20citing%20myriad%20studies%20that%20link,memories%20to%20significant%20reductions%20in%20markers%20of%20inflammation.

https://www.sustainablefloristry.org/resources/better-bunch