The Sweet Smells of Spring

Despite the cold, slow start to our spring, flowers are blooming all around us. Many of the flowers I've planted this year were selected for their scent in addition to how they look, and now it's clear that this was a great decision: Catching the scent of flowers on the breeze is one of the best parts of being outside in the springtime.

Here's what's blooming now:

Irises, which smell like violets.

Actual violets (which, unsurprisingly, smell like violets).

Chamomile, which smells like apples.

Stock, which smells like cloves and baby powder (which is to say, they smell wonderful enough to make me break my rule against fuchsia flowers).

A close-up of the white stock shows how nice they look, too.

The lilac is a bit past its prime in the looks department, but still smells great.

Sweet woodruff, which smells like vanilla and fresh-cut hay.

Heliotrope, which smells sort of like grapes or fruit punch.

Sweet alyssum, which is rich and heavy like lilies, but isn't overpowering outdoors.

Peonies, which smell sweet and floral, and occasionally a bit lemony.

If we could just get a stretch of weather that allowed for lounging on the porch or eating outside, we could enjoy all these flowers more regularly — hopefully before they fade away!