Issue No. 71 December 2007 - January 2008 Page 20
General Information 3
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Scent is the most potent and evocative substance in the gardener’s repertoire and yet it is the least understood. It can be to overwhelming or it creeps in to your consciousness slowly and evaporating almost the moment it is detected. Each fragrance, be it sweet or spicy, light or heavy, comes upon you in its own way and evokes its own emotional response. In garden and garden design, scents come into their own. But although scent adds such a pleasurable layer to our enjoyment, very few would treat it at all seriously; it remains an addition to a garden but not a major factor. Fragrances themselves are highly complex. Flowers are adapted for pollination mainly by wind or by animals. Some kinds of flowers rely on pollination by water. Wind pollinated flowers produce abundant pollen in non showy flowers. Animal pollinated flowers are usually showy or are strongly scented. Insect pollinated flowers may also secrete strong fragrances. Many kinds of brightly coloured flowers look like targets to insects because, in ultraviolet light, their petals are darker toward the centre of the flower. Such targets, or nectar guides, are made by UV-absorbing pigments called flavanoids, which are visible to insects but invisible to other kinds of animals. Although bees pollinate more kinds of flowers than any other type of insect, flowers can also be pollinated by wasps, flies, moths, butterflies, or beetles. There is no single set of characteristics for insect pollinated flowers, because insects are such a large and diverse group of animals. Rather, each plant may have a set of reproductive features that attracts mostly one kind of insect. Some moths for example, are attracted to strongly scented, night-blooming flowers, which are usually white or cream coloured. Such flowers are often tubular or trumpet shaped, which prevents all but the long tongued moths from reaching the nectar. Attractiveness and sweetness of fragrance are relative terms. Some attractive flowers are reddish-brown and drab, and their fragrance is like that of rotting fish. These flowers are referred to as carrion flowers and are pollinated by carrion flies or beetles that are attracted to their foul odours. Although we no longer rely on our sense of smell for survival, we do make use of it constantly as the flavour of our food and drink comes from our sense of smell. If you hold your nose while you eat and drink, you only receive general impressions of sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness through the tastes buds in the mouth. It is because of this close relationship between taste and smell, and because most of our smelling is done through our mouths, that when we do attempt to describe a scent, it is so often in terms of foods such as Honey, mint, raspberry, curry, chocolate, and vanilla to name just a few. Some people can catch the most elusive scents, while others have a relatively weak sense of smell and appreciate only the stronger and more pronounced scents. We all have scents we like or detest; sometimes our reactions can be inexplicable, sometimes they are associated with places, people, and events in our past. In Part 2: I will describe planning for scent in the garden. Regards and good gardening, Plantsman Hello to you all, it’s very quiet down at the lake at the moment, the fish are there but the “big ones” are not too keen to be caught. We think that there is too much natural food in the lake at this time of year or just the cold weather so we have decided to add somewhere in the region of 500 F1 carp at about the 2lb mark to help eat up all that extra food and make the lake fish better at this time of year as F1’s feed all year round. F1’s are a carp hybrid and disease resistant and are often found to be a mix of crucian and one of a relative species such as goldfish. At present the fish are on order and should be going in before Christmas, so by the time spring comes along there will be a lot of carp in the lake as we put 2500 this year already. Tight lines, Malcolm Meetings held 2nd Tue in each month at the Sawtry Working Men’s Club at 8pm 2007 Membership Rates Adult £35.00 / Senior (60+) £15.00; Junior (8 up to adult licence age) £15.00; Family membership (2 adults & 2 juniors) £40.00
Day tickets - £5.00
from Sue @ Jeffery Mills Solicitors the village from 16th June JOHN DITTON 830926 / MALCOLM SELMES 832410 sawtryfish@cartman.globalnet.co.uk / www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~cartman |
Scent
& Pollination in the Garden (Part 1)