I picked up the Toronto Weekend Star recently and this is what caught my attention-the headline: ‘Six blooms that make a lot of scents’.
It was a column by Mark and Ben Cullen. ‘We’re now at mid-summer and the flowers in your garden are competing with one another for the attention of pollinators.' They tell us that’s the real reason why Mother Nature infused many garden variety flowering plants with a sweet scent.’
It’s that scent from various perennials that attract these pollinators, such as hummingbirds. That’s not to leave out we humans who breath in what these flowers are offering us.
I can't tell one flower’s scent from another, let alone not always one flower from another. I can spot lilacs, and maybe the phlox or hydrangea. Those below are among the perennials flowering right now.
Phlox: According to the Cullens, these flowers are outstanding ‘by any standard’. The blooms can be so large they can be mistaken for hydrangea. (Hmm.) It seems butterflies and hummingbirds enjoy them too.
And what about the Bee balm, which they call a magnet for many insect pollinators. It’s a native plant blooming up to six weeks through to early fall. It is also insect and disease resistant.
We’ve seen those large purple clumps of Russian sage which can withstand long periods of drought and heat. Here’s something I can spot. Delphiniums. Those large, fragrant flowers which, when you cut them this time of year, can rebloom on their own. They grow up to one or two meters ‘depending’ on the variety.
Author’s comment: It’s while researching my blogs that I learn so many things. I write what catches my attention. Not knowing a hell of a lot about garden flowers, it seemed natural for me to write about them.