Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: AlaninCarlisle on May 25, 2013, 11:04
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One of my abiding childhood memories is of the glorious scent of a bank of Lily of the Valley in my grandparents garden in Merseyside. I've now got a thriving patch of my own, all in flower but no scent. I actually have a very keen sense of smell after stopping smoking a decade ago, so what is wrong?
Has the scent been bred out of these plants or is it a scent that only youngsters can detect?
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The ones I've seen in the garden centres have scent still.
Have your plants been around for a while or are they new? Or did they smell in previous years but not now?
There may be scent-less varieties, but what's the point in that! :D The idea with L-o-t-V is the scent.
Maybe they need some feed?
I'll have to have a whiff of my mothers patch of L-o-t-V and see if they're scented...
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I have noticed they smell stronger when they are warm
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They were rampant here when I first moved in, and not one had any scent.
All cosmetic fragrance scents of lily of the valley are synthetic as it's the only one they cannot get from the actual plant, and lack of can be part of the plant's problem.
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Bingo - thank you all - I could smell something in the garden and couldn't work out what it was. Just been out after reading this post to have a sniff and it is indeed LOTV - thanks :-) :D Lovely.