MAD ABOUT geranıums

Geraniums are having a moment in the sun. (Which is where they like to be, actually)

In our gardens, fragrances and bathtubs: as horticultural fashion goes, these are the ‘it plants’ of 2023 – not least thanks to Cath Kidston. Frankly, Cath deserves to be made Honorary President of The Pelargonium & Geranium Society, having made a huge, geranium-scented splash in the beauty world with the launch of her C.Atherley body care brand, showcasing Pelargonium radens in the debut Geranium No.1 collection.

Strictly, for botanical accuracy, we’re talking scented pelargoniums, not geraniums. But whatever you call them, these plants can be sleuthed out in literally dozens of different varieties: strawberry, lemon, nutmeg and cinnamon geranium, as well as the particularly well-loved and really rosy Pelargonium graveolens (it means ‘strong-smelling), which is the type most often harnessed in perfumery.

To quote Experimental Perfume Club founder Emmanuelle Moeglin, ‘When you think of scented geranium, you’ll probably conjure up images of flower boxes on windowsills, with beautiful pink and red flowers sitting elegantly, their scent filling your nose as you walk by. But in reality, it’s not the flowers that carry its scent, but the leaves; if you crush a geranium leaf between your fingers, you’ll smell citrus and fruity accents, perhaps a hint of spice – and a rose smell... but with a less powdery and more lemon, herbaceous aroma. A soft but potent, warm green scent.’ c-atherley.com

Distillation of the stalks and leaves gives us geranium oil: herbaceous, green, aromatic. (A pricier absolute oil is also used.) Traditionally, it’s been used in more masculine fougère and Chypre accords, but this summer – ‘The Summer of the Geranium’, we’re calling it – has seen geranium woven into many different launches that have landed on our desks, at The Perfume Society.

Here are a few of our favourite geranium creations. Just don’t be surprised, once you’ve fallen for one, if you find yourself building a collection.

Just as gardeners passionately do, with the plants themselves.

The Pelargonium & Geranium Society thepags.org

CRAZY ABOUT GERANIUMS?

Indulge your obsession with these (left to right)…

0 EDENISTE Rose Fatale

0 TORY BURCH Mystic Geranium

0 C.ATHERLEY Geranium No.1 Bath Oil

0 BVLGARI Le Gemme Kobraa

0 EXPERIMENTAL PERFUME CLUB

Rose Rhubarb

0 SISLEY L’Eau Rêvée d’Hubert

Burnt Cedar Rainbow Doves, which is wonderfully smoky’

The 12 Most Spectacularly Scented Plants

In spring this year, Jo (Fairley) was a guest on the top-rated podcast ‘Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange’, in conversation with Sarah Raven. You can find it on Apple podcasts, Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), but below, we list the divine dozen plants that Jo and Sarah discus.

l Scented geraniums – see previous page l Trachelospermum Jasminoides (star jasmine) l Sarcacocca varieties l Sweet peas l Rosa ‘Double Delight’ l Rhododendron Fragrantissimum l Daphne Odora ‘Aureomarginata’ l Eau de Cologne Mint l Polyanthes tuberosa ‘The Pearl’ (tuberose) l Tomatoes l Stephanotis floribunda l Convollaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley) sarahraven.com

Jo also recommends several books for would-be fragrant gardeners: Perfume in the Garden, by Roy Genders (find a vintage copy on eBay); Scent Magic by Isabel Bannerman; and another vintage volume to seek out, Gardens of Fragrance, by T.W. Henslow Geoffrey.

‘I’ve only ever found one perfume that I really love, which is Perfumer H Patchouli. It’s grounding and earthy, and I love Lyn Harris’s artisan approach to perfumery’ worn Terre