Scent in the Garden

March 06 2024 | Garden

Throughout the year, there are not only wonderful sights to see in the gardens at Hever Castle, but also some exquisite scents that add another dimension to a visit.

For all year round aromas, the Scented Garden at the entrance to Diana’s Walk and Faith’s Garden is planted with Daphne, Viburnum, Choisya and a large variety of sweet smelling Salvias.

Other highlights at different times of the year include:

The Scent of Daphne (February/March)

Beloved by hardy gardeners, daphne shrubs produce clusters of delicate pink, sweet, spicy and soap-scented flowers in the New Year.

The scent has been described as having nutmeg undertones and some cultivars have a similar aroma to the honeysuckle.

While a gardener’s nose may often feel frozen in winter, the heavenly scent of daphne will always thaw the senses and remind the passer by that spring is just around the corner.

At Hever Castle & Gardens we are lucky enough to have Daphne Jacqueline Postill planted along the pathways of the Winter Garden, while on Sunday Walk there is a fantastic Edgeworthia chrysantha, adding an extra sensory dimension to this already glorious part of the garden in springtime.

Pheasant’s Eye Daffodils (March/April)

When you think of daffodils you could be forgiven for thinking of their colour first, their form and shape, but the pheasant’s eye Poeticus daffodil also has a wonderful scent.

Growing naturalised in the grass beside the Arbour at Hever Castle, the Pheasants Eye daffodils produce an intense scent, not unlike sweet jasmine, that stops passers by in their tracks.

Wisteria (May)

The scent of the wisteria differs from variety to variety with some emitting a pungent over-powering aroma to the more delicate and ‘wistful’ wisteria like Wisteria sinensis.

The white fragrant blooms on the walls of the Castle are courtesy of Wisteria sinensis ‘Alba’ a variety that emits a scent not dissimilar to lilac. Wisteria sinensis, is a good species to choose – it looks spectacular as it produces its flowers before its leaves in the spring, it’s also very hardy and grows at an impressive pace.

We have a very productive and delicately scented wisteria on ‘Pergola Walk’ at Hever Castle which was planted in the first decade of the 1900s, around the time the Pergola was erected. ‘Pergola Walk’, designed and commissioned by William Waldorf Astor runs for an impressive 1/8th of a mile from the golden gates beside Half Moon Pond all the way down to the Loggia and lake.  (Linkable to other content on the website/‘Wistful about wisteria’)

Scent of a Rose (June)

There are some scents that are forever linked to the garden and the rose is possibly the most sensual of all aromas. As Al Pacino exclaims in Scent Of A Woman ‘Hooah!’, it’s a real beauty.

While the roses on the red/pink colour wheel smell of the archetypal ‘rose’ scent often associated with Turkish delight, roses come in a variety of aromas from vanilla, fruit, violet, nasturtium and even lemon!

The uplifting scent of the rose is said to inspire relaxation and encourage mindfulness.

With over 5,000 roses in the gardens at Hever Castle, the aroma can be heady in June.

Candy Floss or Katsura? (September/October)

Smell is hugely anchoring as a sense – what do you think of if you smell candy-floss?

For most people, candy-floss is associated with the seaside, but for many gardeners it heralds the smell of early autumn, thanks to the incredible Japanese Katsura tree whose yellow falling leaves smell of burnt sugar.

The Katsura isn’t the only sweet or strong-smelling tree at this time of the year though, there’s a very ‘earthy’ and distinct smell to autumn created by bacteria and fungi that help the leaves of the fallen trees to decompose.  This musky smell heralds the end of a successful season, and time to pull out the winter wardrobe and plan for the coming season.

Discover more about the season at Hever Castle & Gardens here.