ON Thursday, March 17 Rachel Salisbury came to Bidford Gardening Society to talk about Plants with Scent. She explained that the scent was not really for our benefit but to help the plants. Many attract insects to act as pollinators.

Some have unpleasant smells and act as a defence mechanism to deter attack from insect predators. Some flowers smell better at night so they can attract moths. Many of the best smelling flowers have small insignificant flowers .

She explained that the smells come from different parts of the plant—flowers/ roses, leaves / herbs, bark/katsura tree (toffee smell)and roots/orris for pot pourri.

The aroma is made from a mixture of different chemicals, each plant having a different combination.The main smells are exotic as in the white blossom of the magnolia,

spicy as in pinks , vanilla, almond, pea, rose, French perfume, honey and fruit. Many herbaceous perennials have big blousy flowers so do not need scent to attract insects.

Rachel illustrated her talk with many slides, showing plants that are around throughout the year. She also passed round a lovely selection of Spring plants that are flowering now so we could sample the smell first hand , they included

sarcococca, osmanthus and viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’.

Placing of scented plants is important . They each need to have their own space ,so there is no confusing intermingling of the different aromas.

The monthly competition of 3 Narcissi was won by John Alexander-Head, 2nd Francis Freeman and 3rd Annette Haines.

The next meeting will be on Saturday, April 9 when our Annual Show takes place at the Crawford Hall. Visitors are most welcome to come and view the displays between 2pm and 3pm. There is no charge.

Most meetings are on the third Thursday of the month. Visitors are always welcome, admission £3 including refreshments. For further details please call 01789 268974 or visit our web site www.bidfordgardens.com

TESSA WEBB