Do you know why flowers smell? Why do flowers smell? Indoor flowers are purple and smell unpleasant

Flowers with strong aroma and beautiful long-lasting flowering - a real decoration of the garden and home flower beds. Recently, fragrant plants have also become especially popular and are widely used for home and interior decoration.

Popular flowers for the garden with a strong aroma

Fragrant annuals and pleasant-smelling perennials can be used for the garden. To get a spectacular and fragrant flowerbed for a long time, you need to know which are the most unpretentious garden plants form a fragrant flower.

The most fragrant flowers for the garden

Garden fragrant flowering crops can be annual or perennial, which allows you to create attractive compositions:

• sweet pea– an annual plant with a pleasant, distinct aroma. It is distinguished by a variety of colors, which helps to create front gardens or flowerpots in different styles And color solutions. Bush-type varieties and hybrids look impressive in flower beds and ridges;

• flowers Alyssuma or sea lobularia smell like honey and are not afraid of spring frosts, so they are ideal for growing in cold regions;
• short Lily of the valley grows well in the shade. This perennial plant produces small flowers and goes well with peonies and carnations;
• the most common daffodils white-flowered and yellow-flowered varieties have a very subtle and very refined aroma, which new varieties and hybrid forms lack;
• spring Hyacinths especially popular in early flower beds and flower beds. The plant is represented by numerous varieties with all kinds of flower colors, which allows you to choose best option for registration;

• shade-loving viols It is best to sow before winter, which improves resistance to negative weather factors. This is an ideal solution for decorating difficult-to-cultivate areas and tree trunks of garden plantings;
• many varieties Carnations They are distinguished by flowers with a persistent aroma that can effectively repel mosquitoes and many plant pests. To the very unpretentious species include lush, blue-gray and feathery carnations.

No less popular among gardeners are lilies, roses, chrysanthemums and peonies that bloom profusely with fragrant flowers.

Flowers that smell at night

The fragrant flower in the evening is popular in the design of garden areas and flower beds located in close proximity to the house. Night flowering plants or ornamental crops that smell amazing at night:

• tropical annual Mirabilis is able to bloom profusely throughout the entire summer season, and forms delicious-smelling delicate white, pink, red and yellow inflorescences that open in the evening;
• evening relatively small flowers of fragrant tobacco not only attractive, but also very fragrant. The most popular varieties include winged, forest and jasmine;
• Name Mattiola known to many amateur flower growers. This annual plant opens its flowers to smell in the late afternoon and does not tolerate sunny areas, so it is sown in flower beds and flower beds in the shade of lilac or dahlia;

• beautifully blooming Levkoy is a relative of matthiola, but the significant difference is represented by magnificent flowers with many shapes and colors;
• garden Mignonette fragrant especially highly valued by landscape designers for the beautiful shape of the leaves and a pleasant, unusual aroma that persists at night;
• night violet or Hesperis female is the most common decorative type of violet in home gardening, characterized by abundant flowering and a characteristic pronounced aroma.

annual flower Moonflower the best way Suitable for decorating an evening garden, and the delicate aroma intensifies after sunset. The plant is best suited for areas with hot and sunny climates.

Fragrant flowers for the garden (video)

Spicy herbs and fragrant plants

Spicy-aromatic fragrant plants with characteristic healing properties, are widely cultivated in most regions of our country. The most popular plants include:

• Peppermint, longleaf, curly, garden and apple are perfect for growing in garden plots, and are a valuable ingredient in salads, soups, meat dishes, various drinks and homemade baked goods;
• Melissa officinalis is a popular perennial essential oil herbaceous plant, called lemon balm, which is due to the pleasant smell of lemon that the plant retains even when dried;
• Catnip or catnip - the crop is not only useful, but also very decorative, thanks to its purple or lilac flowers, as well as grayish-blue leaves;

• Oregano or oregano is a beautiful ornamental plant with a very pleasant aroma, which intensifies on sunny days. The flowers have an attractive pale lilac or pinkish color;
• ordinary, creeping or lemon Thyme known as thyme or Bogorodskaya herb and has a delightful smell and spicy taste;
• Hyssop or blue St. John's wort refers to subshrubby spicy plants with a tart taste, blooming with attractive spike-shaped blue inflorescences;
• essential oil and decorative Monarda or garden bergamot is a medicinal and spicy-flavoring plant, and cut bright red and pink ones are perfect for making compositions.

• medium-bodied spicy-aromatic Lovage has very beautiful pinnately dissected leaves and can become a real decoration not only for garden beds, but also for flower beds;
• perennial spicy Fennel has bluish-green split leaves and a characteristic, very pronounced smell of anise, due to which it is widely used in soups, vegetables, fish and meat dishes;
• Tarragon known to many as tarragon. The leaves of this medium-sized plant are widely used in a variety of fish dishes French cuisine and when preparing poultry.

No less popular among domestic gardeners are such spicy and aromatic crops as dill and basil.

Fragrant flowers for indoor growing

In the conditions of modern indoor floriculture, not only highly decorative, but also aromatic plants with a long flowering period:

• or Stephanotis belongs to the semi-shrub vines, and prefers good lighting. The star-shaped white flowers have an exquisite aroma, but the perennial requires support and careful regular care;
• capricious fragrant gardenia needs good lighting, warmth and moisture, therefore it is most often grown only by experienced gardeners;
• exotic or Eucharis has a very pleasant and delicate aroma. distinguished by large dark green foliage and exquisite umbrella inflorescences;
• Hoya or wax ivy produces flowers with a strong sweetish smell, which intensifies in the evening. The liana is unpretentious and drought-resistant, and also has attractive leathery leaves and long shoots.

Features of growing eucharis (video)

Any parts of the following indoor ornamental crops have a pleasant, pronounced aroma:

• coniferous plant Araucaria often grown at home and is characterized by a pleasant pine smell, and is also capable of saturating the air with beneficial phytoncides;
• indoor mint or Plectranthus highly valued by indoor gardeners due to its ease of care and decorative attractiveness of foliage;
• evergreen perennial Myrtle has leathery leaves and single or numerous white flowers, collected in short racemes.

When placing fragrant plants in the house, you need to remember that fragrant crops are not recommended to be grown in the bedroom and children's room.

Fragrant ornamental shrubs and trees

This category of decorative fragrant crops is in great demand in the design of homestead landscapes. Many fragrant ornamental shrubs and trees go well with flowering and decorative deciduous annuals and perennials. The following are especially popular in home garden decor:

• tall decorative witch hazel, which in early spring produces a huge number of yellow-orange flowers with a characteristic almond smell;
• Extraordinarily attractive Mahonia Biel has a pronounced lily of the valley aroma, and reaches a height of two meters;
• short ornamental shrub Daphne the ordinary one blooms in early spring, immediately after the bulk of the snow has melted and its aroma resembles garden lilac;
• The tall, unpretentious plant reaches a height of 6-7 meters and is distinguished by early spring flowering with inconspicuous flowers that have a characteristic smell of cinnamon, vanilla and caramel;

• Medium-sized spikelet Corylopsis blooms in early spring with attractive yellow flowers with a slight scent reminiscent of primrose;
• Tall and widespread bird cherry blooms with abundant and large white inflorescences in the last ten days of spring;
• low growing shrub Fothergill the mountain one has a strong honey smell emitted by white May inflorescences;
• Medium height Skimmia japonica distinguished by white flowers with a relatively subtle lily of the valley scent;

• Common and Chinese lilacs forms inflorescences of various sizes and colors with a rich lilac smell;
• Tall Rhododendron yellow has a sweetish smell that comes from golden inflorescences that bloom in the last ten days of spring;
• The medium-sized and unpretentious ornamental shrub has a characteristic strong odor. Mock orange crown;

• Popular Honeysuckle Honeysuckle distinguished by long shoots and yellow flowers with a pleasant honey scent;
• A profusely flowering medium-sized garden plant has a spicy and very pronounced smell.
  Calicant brownish-red flowering;
• Long-lasting and very abundant flowering with a spicy aroma. garden plant, the height of which often exceeds a couple of meters.

Perhaps the most popular and widespread in landscape decoration is still the fragrant Viburnum with fragrant pink flowers.

Despite the fact that almost all fragrant flowers are among the unpretentious ornamental crops, to maintain their attractiveness and abundant flowering they must be provided with adequate care. Among other things, you need to remember that crops with a very pronounced trailing aroma cannot be planted under the windows of a bedroom or kitchen.

When to water

Errors when watering occur quite often. Many novice gardeners, overestimating the plant’s necessary need for moisture, act with the slogan: “More is not less,” while being surprised that they, nevertheless, grow poorly. But the plants themselves tell us best when they need watering. Our job is only to be able to notice this.

Test the soil by pressing your index finger so that it sinks into the soil to a depth of about 1 cm, you will feel whether it is still moist enough.

Watering should be done only when most of the moisture contained in the soil has been used up. But you shouldn’t wait for the typical signals indicating a lack of moisture to appear. When the soil dries out so much that it moves away from the walls of the pot, then, when watering, the water instantly pours out of the pot and practically does not have time to be absorbed by the soil and a small part of it reaches the roots. To prevent this from happening, try to check the soil for moisture as often as possible. The easiest way to do this is to test the soil in the pot with your finger. Press with your index finger or thumb until it sinks into the soil to a depth of approximately one centimeter. If you feel that the soil under the dry top layer is still quite moist, do not rush to pick up a watering can.

You can also lift the pot when the size of the plant allows this, and estimate its weight. If the soil contains little moisture, the pot will be noticeably light. In this way, you can check the water content of the entire soil, and not just the surface layer. This method especially convenient for plastic pots due to their low dead weight. When it comes to clay pots, you should pay attention to their walls: their dark red color indicates sufficient moisture content in the soil. When the soil is dry, the walls of the pot become light yellow.

You can also determine soil moisture using the so-called “tapping method,” although it requires some experience. To do this, take the pot in your hand and tap it with a wooden stick, pencil or the tip of your nail. If the soil in it is wet, the sound will be quite dull; if the soil is dry, it will be more sonorous.

General rules There is no watering and each plant needs its own regime, but, simplified, depending on the moisture needs of specific plant species, watering intensity can be divided into:

Abundant watering.

Plants are watered immediately after the earthen ball dries out. Most people require this kind of watering. tropical plants having thin and delicate leaves (begonia, allocasia, heliotrope, fittonia), as well as some of the plants with leathery leaves (ficus, lemon, ivy, oleander)

Moderate watering.

Plants are watered one or two days after the earthen ball has dried out. These include plants with fleshy or heavily pubescent stems and leaves (columnaea, peperomia), with thick roots and rhizomes (dracaenas, palms, aroids, aspidistra), as well as those with water-bearing tubers on the roots (chlorophytum, asparagus, arrowroot) and bulbous. For some plant species, light drying is prerequisite during the dormant period, as it stimulates the formation and maturation of flower buds (clivia, zygocactus).

Rare watering.

Plants remain dry for days, weeks or even months. These include cacti and succulents, as well as deciduous tuberous and bulbous plants that require a dormant period (gloxinia, crinum, caladium, hippeastrum).

Signs of under- or over-watering

With excessive watering, the ends of the leaves become brown with pronounced yellowing.

Based on a number of signs, it is quite easy to recognize when plants are clearly suffering from a lack of moisture. The soil dries out and moves away from the walls of the pot, tree plants the leaves droop, and in herbaceous plants, not only the leaves, but even the trunk itself. Other signs can tell us that although the plant is watered quite regularly, it still does not receive the amount of water it needs - the leaves fade, their tips and edges become brown, flowers and buds fall off.

When watering cold water Yellowish-gray spots may appear on Saintpaulia leaves

Excessive watering can cause root rot, the consequences of which can be very sad. When the roots rot, water stops flowing to the plant, as a result of which it behaves in the same way as when there is a lack of moisture. Therefore, if the plant is drooping, first of all you need to check the soil moisture, and if it turns out to be damp, try to carefully remove the plant from the pot.

The easiest way to do this is by “shaking” it out of the pot, turning it upside down and holding the pot with one hand and the soil with the other so that it does not crumble too much. If the earthen lump, however, does not easily separate from the pot, then you need to carefully knock the pot on the edge of the table. After removing the plant from the pot, carefully examine its roots. They should be light or even white at the tips. If they have Brown color and they give off the smell of rot, then, in this case, it is necessary to cut off the affected areas and replant the plant in fresh soil.

Flowers are the embodiment of beauty, tenderness, fragility; Each flower is unique, not like the others. Although everyone has their own preferences when choosing fragrances, you can hardly find a person who does not like the smells of fragrant flowers. It is difficult to find something more beautiful in the world. Why do flowers smell?

These gentle creatures of nature smell thanks to essential oils, or rather, to the substances contained in them. phytoncides - special substances that are contained in the cells of the petals or in the perianth, and in some plants are produced by special glands. These volatile substances play an important role in plant life. First of all, they contribute to the flow of metabolic processes in plant organisms. When released, essential oils immediately evaporate, enveloping the plant in a fragrant cloud. This curtain protects the plant from overheating during the day and from hypothermia at night.

The smell of flowers attracts various insects for pollination. Each species of flowering plant adapts to its pollinators. For example, flowers pollinated by moths and nocturnal mice open only at night and have a very strong scent.

Predatory plants use scent to lure prey. Essential oils prevent infection of plant organisms by harmful fungi and bacteria. The smell of some flowers repels herbivores and prevents them from being eaten. Therefore, livestock avoids strong-smelling herbs. Thus, smell allows plants to win the competition for existence.

It has been noted that plants with light-colored flowers have the most fragrant odors. Most often, their petals are white or light yellow. And vice versa: plants with bright, variegated flowers have a less pronounced odor.

People have discovered since ancient times unique properties essential oils. Currently, they are widely used in medicine, aromatherapy, perfumery, for flavoring drinks and food products, in household chemicals, and also as solvents. For example, the aroma of bergamot fruit is effective means getting rid of depression and difficult mental states. Everyone’s favorite roses have similar properties. Jasmine, iris, violet, and citrus fruits also increase vitality.

The fumes from some plants are poisonous, which must be taken into account when decorating the interior of your home. For this reason, it is not recommended to keep plants of the aroid family in the room: monstera, dieffenbachia, spathiphyllum (popularly called “women’s happiness”), etc. On the contrary, the oils of geranium, chlorophytum, begonia, and orchids purify the air and calm the nervous system.

Scientists have calculated that all the plants in the world evaporate into the atmosphere from 100 to 150 million tons of aromas per year.

In addition to the pleasure of inhaling the aroma, “communication” with flowers also brings aesthetic pleasure. In Japan, for example, girls are taught the art of arranging bouquets from an early age.

Flowers are best gift for any girl or woman. When they give her a bouquet, they usually express their warm feelings, as if they are saying that she is just as beautiful. Many cultures have even developed a language of flowers. A presented bouquet can tell a lot without words, depending on how many flowers it contains, what color and variety they are.

They are one of nature's greatest scented gifts and everyone loves to enjoy their fresh scent. You can give them as gifts, decorate them to add a delightful scent to your home, but why do flowers actually have such an attractive scent?

The scent of flowers is usually a complex mixture of low molecular weight substances and is a critical factor in attracting pollinators. Although flowers may be similar in color or shape, no two floral scents are the same. Thus, scent is a signal that directs pollinators to the flower. Individual floral scents attract specific pollinating insects. Flowers with fragrant and sweet scents are pollinated by bees and flies, while flowers with spicy and fruity scents attract beetles.

As with all life forms, it is a process that allows reproduction. Pollinators are animals and insects that come into contact with flowers and then, moving from flower to flower, transfer pollen, which is how new plants appear. The intensity of a flower's aroma can depend on temperature and the degree of lighting, and there are types of flowers in which the aroma can be intensified at certain times of the day or night. Snapdragon, for example, is more fragrant during the day when pollinating bees are more active. Sweet tobacco is more aromatic at night and attracts moths with its aroma.

As you may have noticed, the scent becomes stronger after rain when the air is humid, this is because the scent molecules spread much more easily. One of the sweetest-smelling flowers, the most popular scent, often used in products such as candles, perfumes, soaps, lotions, and creams. The scent of lilac is often associated with spring, and the flower has a fairly strong, sweet aroma, although the degree of sweetness may vary depending on the type of lilac. Known for their rather strong, fragrant aroma, a bouquet of such flowers will fill the room with a delightful aroma. However, if you are sensitive to scents, opt for other, less fragrant flowers.

Flowers decorate our home, plants with their wonderful aromas and a variety of shades are used in landscape design and as a gift, as one way to express love and respect. What could be better than a fragrant bouquet!

The main reason for the appearance of a particular aroma in a flower is the high content of essential oils in the petals. The set of elements differs depending on the plant variety, so the smell of different flowers differs from each other. Under the influence of air temperature or due to the moistening of the petals, essential oils begin the process of evaporation. Thanks to this process, a characteristic aroma appears.

Particles of essential oils swirl around the plant for a long time. That is why people prone to allergic reactions try to avoid close contact with flowers. Otherwise, tiny droplets of evaporating substances enter the Airways and cause tears, runny nose or even suffocation.

Essential oils are found not only in petals, but also in leaves and even tree bark. As a result of the interaction of existing components, different ones are obtained.

Effects of flower odors

People divide the smells of flowers into several categories - pleasant and unpleasant, sweet and tart. Some plants are very popular precisely because of their aroma. The function of smell is completely different.

The main purpose of scent for a flower is to attract the attention of insects. According to statistics, the majority flowering plants pollinated precisely thanks to winged helpers. Only a small number of them are able to self-pollinate or transmit their pollen through the air.

Essential oils not only cause odors, but also play a role reliable protection flower. The fact is that their particles remain around the bud for a long time in the form of a thin veil, which prevents overheating or hypothermia of the petals. Volatile oils are complex chemical compounds with different compositions and properties.

Features of the smell of flowers

The smell of some flowers changes throughout the day. There are plants that, for example, have a particularly rich aroma only at night. This is due to the lifestyle of the insects necessary for pollination.

Some flowers have a completely unattractive aroma. However, for a certain category of insects it is the most effective beacon, and bad smell they mistake for foods from their main diet.