Garden Scents for Every Season

 

We often think of gardens as sensory experiences for our eyes. But gardens can also be sensory experiences for our sense of smell. Here are a few flowers that you can incorporate in your garden to enjoy their beautiful fragrances throughout the year. 

Winter 

Daphne Odera pictured above, is a real treat. It flowers in January and February when the weather is dreary and cold. It has fragrant, white to pink flower clusters and grows on an evergreen woody shrub. It likes part sun and part shade. 

Spring

Star Jasmine is an intensely fragrant, evergreen vine with white flowers, opening in late spring. It is excellent on trellises or fences. It prefers four hours of morning sun.

Summer

Gardenia comes in a variety of sizes and is perfect for the front of a border or along a sidewalk or pathway. All are evergreen and have white flowers that come in a variety of shapes with a recognizable aroma. An added bonus is that deer don't like the smell. I have found that gardenia are terrific for planting around hydrangeas (that deer like). It helps keep those oversized rodents away. 

Fall

Sweet Autumn Clematis is a vigorous vine with masses of small, white fragrant flowers. It's perfect on a trellis or fence.

Of course, depending on where you live, you can find many more fragrant flowers to enjoy throughout the year. Do you have any favorites?

And now for the ISWG question of the month: If you have a playlist that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what songs are on it?  Well, I honestly don't write to music. I prefer silence so I can hear the voices in my head. (Does this mean I'm crazy?) But, if I were to have songs, I'd listen to Sia music. Like Titanium and Unstoppable.  What about you? Do you have a writing play list?

 

Lotusland

 

If you want to see a rather eclectic garden, visit Lotusland in Santa Barbara, California.  This 37 acre garden was created by Madame Gann Walska, a polish opera singer and socialite.  She started the garden in 1941 and worked on it for the next 43 years.  The garden was open to the public in 1993.

Visitors will see all kinds of interesting things, such as a forest of dragon trees, avenues of succulents, weird little garden gnomes , a huge clock made of flowers, and a lotus pond.

The two-hour tour of the garden is by appointment only.  These are given Wednesday through Saturday between 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM.  Admission for adults is $35.00.  If you would like to schedule a tour, call 805-969-9990.

Today's IWSG question of the month is, "What elements  do you include in a book launch?" I always do a social media (and email) promotion which includes a cover-reveal and a countdown. Sometimes, I'll have a cover vote to spark interest. I also do an online book tour. I've used Silver Dagger Tours and The Children's Book Review Awareness Tour. The first is inexpensive. The second is expensive, but more effective in getting the word out and getting reviews. I also contact reviewers to try to get pre-publication reviews. I've been doing Authors in Grocery Stores book signings at Kroger. That's been a great way to get my books out there and make sales.

What do you do for a book launch?

Where Did Those Flower Names Come From?

 Dogwood. Bee balm. Fox Glove. Forget-me-not. Did you ever wonder where those names came from? Well, let me enlighten you.

Dogwood: What in the world does Dogwood have to do with dogs? Most likely, this naming has to do with the hardness of the wood. There is an old English word, "Dagwood." The slender stems from the tree were used as "dags." Daggers, skewers, and arrows. Sometime in the early 1600s, dagwood was changed to dogwood.

  Bee balm: Sounds like it's something for the bees themselves. But if you notice, this plant doesn't attract bees at all! There is a resin derived from the plant which can be used for soothing bee stings.

Foxglove: This one actually comes from a fun story—a fox was having a hard time sneaking into the henhouse to grab a quick meal. A naughty fairy decided to help him out by slipping his paws into the glove-like blooms so he could silently sneak up on the chickens. (Look at the flowers, and you will see the fox's paw prints.)

 Forget-me-not: This is from a rather sad story. A lover trying to cross a river to reach his sweetheart gets swept away by the currrent, but manages to grasp some flowers on the bank to throw to her as he calls, "Forget me not!" 

What do you think of these names? Are there any other flower names you're wondering about?

Today's IWSG question is, "Have you ever read one of your books a long time after it's been published? What was the experience like?"

I read my picture books all the time. I think overall, I'm happy with all of them. There are a couple of things on the first one I might do differently. I actually have not read my Bubba and Squirt books carefully since they've been published. I've made teacher guides for all of them, and I've skimmed over them while producing those. I should really read them all in a row and see how the story flows, especially since they were written over a long period of time. What about you? Have you read stories you published long ago? What did you think about them?

 

Villa d'Esta

 

If you like fountains, the gardens at the Villa d'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, are a must-see.  The gardens are on the grounds of the former residence of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este.  They were built in 1572.  Today, this garden is part of the UNESCO world heritage list.

The garden is organized in terraces and steps.  Visitors will see numerous fountains, grottos, and ponds.  The Neptune fountain, pictured at the top, is the largest and most spectacular fountain.  There's also an organ fountain, which, yes, plays organ music with the sounds of the falling water.  If you'd like to hear it, the first playing is at 10:30 every day, and then it occurs every two hours.

The garden is open daily from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM.  Admission is 10 euros for adults.

January 7 question:  Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

I honestly didn't do much writing in 2025. Mostly it was because of the grieving due to the death of my son. I wrote some in a memoir. Maybe I'll finish that. I will continue marketing my newest book, Happy Birthday to US! which I wrote in 2023 and was published in December. I have a picture book manuscript that I might clean up and see about getting published. I also have some ideas I came up with in 2024. Maybe I'll work on those. This is the year of recovery. To rest and to feel I'm on my feet and can keep marching. 

What about you? What are your writing plans for 2026? Anything you need to finish from 2025?

 Speaking of Happy Birthday to US! there's a tour going on. If you'd like to have a chance to win an Amazon gift card, visit one of the stops and enter the drawing.