Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Summer Ramblings - Lilacs and Roses

It's summer! 

As I switch focus on my Wednesday feature from Spring Things to Summer Ramblings, I want to blog about one our senses, the sense of smell.

Not everyone enjoys the scent of flowers that are supposed to smell nice.  

But since my sense of smell has started to deteriorate some, hastened, apparently, by a wisdom tooth surgery a couple of years ago that resulted in a sinus communication (now healed), I'm more aware of problems in smelling things.

Also, my son and I, apparently, have a genetic issue with the scents of certain flowers.  To us, several sweet scented flowers smell not so sweet.  To be more exact, they smell like garbage.  My son has it worse than I do.  He can't even enjoy the scent of lilacs.  I can, but certain lilies, magnolias, and many paper whites fall into the category of scents I can't stand.

My mother, who would have been 98 in June, loved a talcum powder called Lilacs and Roses.  If only I still had some of her tins.  At least those scents I can still enjoy.

But the next best thing, perhaps, are some current flower pictures.
West side of Binghamton taken 6-18-16
Korean lilacs are finishing their blooming where I live in upstate New York.

And, at our local botanical gardens, the heirloom roses are finishing up their bursts of bloom.  Many of these are so fragrant, they really make me wish for smell-o-blog.

The ones I am featuring today had name tags.  Yesterday, I featured a couple of pictures of those that didn't.   And, fortunately, my genetic issue doesn't affect my ability to enjoy the scents of roses.

Belle Poitevine, above, is a "classic old rugosa" with a "strong fragrance".
Leda damask - or is it?

Mme Hardy - a classic old rose.

So beautiful, and so full of scent.

Does anyone else remember the talcum powder Lilacs and Roses?

16 comments:

  1. Lilacs and Roses- sounds like a band....
    But, they are certainly appealing to the eyes.

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  2. I didn't know about this sense of smell issue. I'm glad it only some and not all flowers!

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    1. So am I. I found some references to it online, so I'm not the only sufferer (nice to know).

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  3. Certain flowers bother me when I'm having a migraine. Not just flowers, but certain smells. Curious that you can't stand the smell of some.

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    1. Migraines really mess your senses up (I had them, but never commonly - am so fortunate).

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  4. Haven't used Talc powder for ages. Didn't Avon sale something like that.
    Coffee is on

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    1. They may have. I stopped buying Avon years ago.

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  5. OH! I thought I lost my smell after the babies were born ( just as well when it came to changing poopy nappies!) and never thought it could be due to my dental work which had increased after the babies....Lovely roses. I can smell them!

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  6. Not really, but my choice of fragrance is floral :). I love the smell of flowers. My favorite is Lavender

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    1. I enjoy lavender, too. So calming. For me, anyway.

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  7. My sense of smell takes me for trips down memory lane all the time! Beautiful pictures!

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  8. I've often wished for smell-o-blog, when the woods are being richly fragrant -- but maybe it's just as well there is no such thing. What if what smells wonderful to me gives somebody else a migraine?

    I can't smell sandalwood or most roses. I don't know why some roses other people can smell are unscented to me, but other roses are super-fragrant.

    Thanks for the beautiful pictures, anyway!

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    Replies
    1. You're right - a great fragrance for some could make another reader sick. Just as well, although I understand they are actually working on something like "smell-o-blog".

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