Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - until 10 PM EST

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 Ask the Perfumer is open for questions.  To give you some inspiration, here are some photos from this morning:


Another wet day in Miami - I thought we had started our dry season, but I'm not complaining.  Every dry that flows into our aquifier and replenishes our supply is welcome.  I wasn't ambitious enough to walk out in the front garden yet, since I still need some more coffee and a change of shoes, but I wanted to share the fragrant vision that lies outside my front door.
At the end of my driveway is a HUGE jasmine azoricum vine in full flower that covers a hibiscus bush underneath!  It must measure 10' high by 15' wide, and you can see it's full of flowers.  The candlestick like branches in the foreground are my deciduous frangipani tree.  The little bush between them is Tahitian gardenia..
A nice fragrant quintet of plants.

The tiny, tiny yellow aglaia flowers are filling the front garden with their beautiful scent.  I'll be harvesting today!

Comments

  1. Christi Meshell, House of Matriarch11/20/2011 10:48 AM

    Thank you, Anya for sharing these amazing photos of your garden!

    Do you have any suggestions for exotic fragrant plants that would fare well in hardiness zone 7b? (Seattle, WA area)

    I love making tinctures, but have been confined to mostly herbs due to our climate here. I'm not complaining, our herbs are great! Pacific NW lavender is among the world finest, so living in this zone has it perks, but I would love to grow something with a tropical aroma and welcome any of your suggestions!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnyasGardenPerfumes11/20/2011 11:54 AM

    Hi Christi:

    That's a tough one! Here are some ideas: if you have big, south-facing windows, you can grow citrus trees indoors in the winter, and move them outside in the summer. The aglaia tree pictured in my garden does very well indoors, and like the citrus, will perfume your house.

    Other than that, I can't think of many that would be a good ROI for the space/sun/time required. As an organic gardener, the first thing is to grow the appropriate plant for the right spot. Otherwise, the time and energy required to trick nature are just too much.

    I know Andrine tinctures balsam buds and lots of other northern plants. She's in Vashon, WA. She also grows cistus - labdanum - for tincturing. HTH.

    xoxo,
    Anya

    PS your perfume arrived for the project, and it's beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lily11/20/2011 3:55 PM

    Dear Anya:

    That aglia looks so pretty! Is it really possible to grow it indoors in New York?

    Lots of Love,
    Lily

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnyasGardenPerfumes11/21/2011 3:05 PM

    Sorry I'm late in replying, Lily. Yes, it will grow indoors anywhere!

    hugs,
    Anya

    ReplyDelete

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