Scent Magic: Notes from a Gardener

by Isabel Bannerman

In Scent Magic, a book which is at once romantic and extremely practical, plantswoman, designer and garden-maker extraordinaire Isabel Bannerman immerses the reader in the luscious smells of the fragrant garden through a warmly written account of her year’s gardening; and combines this with an encyclopaedic reference work of the best aromatic plants to grow throughout the seasons. Whether evoking the freshly baked sponge smell emanating from wisteria, describing "Stanwell Perpetual" as "the kind of rose that would taste of apricot and raspberries swirled together," or championing the magic of the Himalayan cowslip, "scented profoundly and deliciously like the dark vault of a Damascus spice merchant" the glorious poetry of her descriptions is here joined with personal memories and a lifetime’s experience of gardening and plant cultivation.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. So calming with such beautiful photographs.

[Deborah Makarios · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. Lush and lavish descriptions of how certain plants smell to the author, with journal and personal reminiscence mixed in. Each to their own; I found there was rather more of it than I had the appetite for.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bannerman takes the reader through a year in her garden via smell described through recollections, first encounters, chores, historical, & botanical information. In many ways, this is a book of class & priviledge, but it is also a book that educates & shares, encourages the reader to bend over old friends in the garden to learn about them in another way.

I read this book month by delicious month until November, which only has 10 pages, followed by 3 for December. The author says smell is greatly reduced during the last part of the year, but also admits she prefers to be a fireside gardener during the wet & cold. Whatever her reason for 2 such short chapters, the book is so engaging that both were read by 5 November.

This is a book I shall start again in January, following her year & learning, planning, & certainly sniffing sniffing sniffing.