The joy of a garden is not only in how it looks – the fragrance of plants and flowers can have a massive impact

WHEN walking round the garden, it’s not just the bright colours of the various flowers and trees, but also the beautiful aromas that accompany them that truly capture my attention. A beautiful smell can transport you back in time. For me, the smell of bluebells instantly returns me to my childhood; taking walks with my mum in the woodland near my house. For many, the smell of freshly-cut grass is a favourite.

Although there is a great amount of beautiful scents provided by nature, as a human race we have learnt to combine these various ingredients to create more alluring fragrances which we now know as perfumes. The word perfume derives from the Latin word “per fumus”, which means “though smoke” – this comes about from burning sweet herbs and incense by early civilisations in ceremonious burnings.

The first people to make perfumes were the ancient Egyptians. They were then further cultivated by the Romans, the Persians and the Arabs. The Egyptians believed that perfume should travel with the spirit on the journey to the heavens. It is said that on the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb, the fragrances could still be detected 3,300 years after his death.

In 2005, an archaeologist team in Cyprus discovered 4,000sq metre perfume factory that dated back to the Bronze Age, this suggested perfume was produced on a large scale and was in demand.

Islamic cultures contributed significantly to the modification of western perfumes. They introduced the extraction of fragrances through stem distillation. Also as traders, Islamic cultures had access to new plants and spices, many of which they managed to cultivate and grow outside of their native climates.

Citrus and jasmine, which originally came from south-east Asia, were popular, and continue to be used today.

It is believed the Greeks were the first to produce a liquid perfume, although they would have consisted of heavy oils and fragrant powders.

Until the discovery of extracting oils from flowers by an Arabian chemist, perfumes were usually made by crushing herbs and oils.

He did experiment with roses and actually created “rose water”. This perfume had a very light and delicate smell so was immediately favourable.

In the 14th Century, the Hungarians were the first to introduce modern perfumery in Europe. It then flourished in renaissance Italy.

By the 1600s it had made its way to France by the way of Queen Catherine de Medici’s personal perfumer, Rene le Florentin. They were so precious to the queen that Rene’s laboratory was connected with her apartments by a secret passageway so that no formulas could be stolen en route.

Today’s perfume still uses a wide range of the plant life you may see around the garden, such as pine needles and a number of herbs such as mint, thyme and sage.

Exotic plants are important too, such as jasmine and ylang ylang (Cananga odorata). This provides a floral/Oriental smell, and is actually found in the popular Chanel No 5. Vanilla (vanilla planifolia) is also a major source for perfumes.

So next time you’re applying a splash of perfume to smell nice or to maybe help you attract that special somebody, please take a moment to appreciate the history of what goes into that little bottle.