Scent

Find a stunning bouquet on Pinterest or a carefully curated flower arrangement on Instagram and you feel a spark of joy and a sense of contentment that keeps you scrolling for more. So how much of an impact would you feel if you could also enjoy the aroma alongside the aesthetically pleasing?

Elements such as colour, structure and form play an important role in producing a beautiful bouquet. Flowers can reflect what our head and hearts are saying. Without words we can give thanks, condolences and hope to make a receiver of a bouquet feel thought of, appreciated and feel joy and peace. Meanings have been entwined with pant folklore and mythology over thousands of years, making flowers a communication tool, but scent can also play an important part of forming a bouquet or flower display. A single flower with a distinctive scent can create a sense of nostalgia or can simply be a wonderful aroma adding an extra dimension to something that is already pleasing to the eye. Walking into a florist shop or receiving a delivery of flowers creates a very welcoming and pleasant scent even before taking a close up sniff.

So why do flowers smell so pleasing? Some plants emit that summery scent to encourage pollinators to fertilise their flowers. You'd think that every flower would have a similar scent, but the variance in scent encourages different pollinators to different plants. Different plants can also emit their scent at different times of the day, again to encourage the right pollinators. Moth pollinated flowers have to work harder at night with their scent. Musty, fruity and spicy scents largely encourage beetles for pollination, whereas bees and flies are enticed by sweeter scents. Not all flowers emit luring aromas, some can be unpleasant to humans, so pick your flowers wisely.



A humans olfactory senses tend to lean toward the sweet scents for creating a pleasantly aromatic bouquet. Alongside their poetic associations and meaning, a flowers scent can evoke feelings of serenity and happiness or help link scent with memories of wonderful weddings and other significant events.

Here are a few suggestions of flowers that can produce delightful scents for a garden or bouquet.

Freesia

Freesia can symbolise friendship and has an alluring scent that's fruity. Some say they smell similar to strawberries. 

Lily of the Valley

Stunning white flowers with a pleasing sweet aroma.

Rose 

A heavenly scent that will always be a winner for gift and wedding bouquets. It's a timeless scent that's frequently captured for perfumes, soaps and room sprays.

Hyacinth

These come in a variety of alluring colours and the scent is impeccable whether in a garden or placed on a windowsill or dining table. 

Tuberose

With a minimalist aesthetic the tuberose is up there with the scents from jasmine and gardenia.

Lavender

The soothing scent of lavender is a stress buster and smells divine to most. No wonder we find it in soaps, perfumes and potpourri.

Gardenia

Pollinated by moths, Gardenia prefers to emit scent at night.

Jasmine

White Jasmine produces the most gorgeous sweet scent.

Peony

One of the most stunning flowers for bouquets the peony can have a joyful scent.

Lily

These look great for tropical themed weddings or placed in your home for a decadent scent.

Lilac

Lilacs have a vintage vibe with a soft and sweet concoction of smells.