Tuesday 2 July 2013

The Scent Of Roses

Photo Copyright: Maggie May

Just now, there are so many different flowers giving off such sweet fragrances.......roses, honeysuckle, and alyssum to name a few. Not so long ago it was wallflowers and violas giving off their lovely scent. 

As I pass different gardens when out walking and I smell the sweet aroma of a variety of flowers, I am taken back to my childhood experiences of them. I can remember always finding plants attractive and on one occasion when I was only about five years old I crept up a neighbour's path and thought I would pick some flowers to take home. We didn't have any like that in our garden and they smelled so beautiful. Suddenly, there was a rap at the window and the irate neighbour shook her fist at me. I ran, terrified that I would be punished and I realised that I had committed an offence.

Smells can evoke such powerful memories. Some beautiful and some not so pleasant, like the strong smell of disinfectant in hospitals and the scent of boiled cabbage at nursery that fills me with horror even to this day. Probably because I had my nose held while it was poked down my throat at nursery school while I was gagging and struggling. It wouldn't be allowed to happen today, thankfully. 
I hate the smell of pineapple because when I'd had my tonsils out at twelve years old, this was also poked down my throat in hospital because I didn't want to eat it as the juice stung my throat horribly.

I can remember that I loved the smell of wallflowers and to this day when I smell them, I'm taken back to a very young child marvelling at a neighbours flower bed before I had to run away.
The smell of roses takes me back to when I was a tiny child, at a June fair, dressed in crepe paper dress and throwing rose petals from a wicker basket in front of the May Queen, who we all thought was really beautiful.
What smells bring back vivid memories for you?


13 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

Jacaranda were a summer heading perfume all over our neighborhood! Add cicada sounds and thunder in the distance, and those are the sensations of summer in my childhood.

Irene said...

Freshly cut grass does it for me every time and takes me right back to my childhood and unconcerned summers when we stayed out late playing because the sun went down so late. The cut grass was left on the fields to decompose and had a wonderful scent.

Celia said...

The smell of the Jasmine growing over my grandmother's back porch. Especially on a warm summer's night. Brings back powerful memories.

Jackie said...

Smells and memories do go hand in hand, my friend. I am just happy to have memories left...the older I get, the more I tend to forget.
Lovely photo of the flowers on your blog.
Hugs to you,
Jackie

dianefaith said...

The smell of earth, newly plowed, after rain. That's what I think of every spring and what I look for. Brings instant relaxation.

Hilary said...

Smell is a very strong memory-evoker. For me, the smell of roses brings me back to when I was a child.. my sister and I each had small cone-shaped potpourri baskets filled with dried roses. I guess they were meant to keep a drawer or closet smelling wonderful. I was always sniffing it, marvelling at how they could get so much scent into one little space.

Akelamalu said...

The smell of Alyssom is just heavenly. I so agree with you about various smells evoking memories, be they good or bad. I love this time of year when everything is blooming in the garden, the smells are just so beautiful.

Rose said...

The sense of smell does provoke so many memories, more than any other of our senses. Honeysuckle is the smell that takes me back to my childhood, and I don't even grow honeysuckle today! Of course, I'm talking about the sweet-smelling invasive kind, so I don't think I'll be planting that:)

Your story of picking the wildflowers also reminded me of years ago--my daughter brought me a bouquet of tulips and was so proud of herself, knowing I'd like them. Of course, they came from a neighbor's garden, who wasn't any too happy about it:) It was a learning experience for my daughter as we went over to apologize.

Sueann said...

For me it is the sweet odor of a lilac in full bloom
Hugs
SueAnn

Gail said...

So very true about smell and memories.

I have three smells that still trigger the standard "morning sickness" forty years after the fact.

Thanks for visiting.

Wisewebwoman said...

Wild roses (called dog roses in Ireland) bring back my granny's garden.

Beets, smell, sight, make me gag as I was force fed them as a child.

XO
WWW

Secret Agent Woman said...

Smell is the most primitive of our senses, and elicits powerful memories!

I do love sweetly scented flowers.

Sally Wessely said...

You certainly painted a vivid picture here with your description of the smells and the memories they bring to mind. I am thinking of the new smell of my baby doll when I was a child. I loved her smell. I then think of the smell of my now deceased daughter's hair and I feel the tears form in my eyes. Everyone remembers the smell of her beautiful hair. For a long time after she was gone, I could still smell it on her robe, but now the smell is gone. That breaks my heart.