The nose
How they smell
A stillroom is a nose as much as a cup. Crush a leaf. These are the scents of this cupboard — petal, hay, camphor, lemon, musk.
Powder, honey, the fade of violet.
4 plants
Petal
Rosehip
Rosa canina
The flower of this plant is the classic sweet rose — powdery, rich, or honeyed by variety, with soft fruity, spicy, or green nuances. The hip is quieter: fruit and tea-leaf.
Petal
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Fresh floral-herbaceous with a soft sweetness and a mild camphor or woody-balsamic undertone. Clean, slightly green.
Petal
Violet
Viola odorata
Sweet, powdery, a delicate floral with a soft fruity or green note. It seems to vanish as you smell it — the nose tires of ionones, then comes back.
Petal
Rose geranium
Pelargonium graveolens
Rosy-floral with green, minty, citrus-lemon, and a slightly spicy herbal edge. Sharper and less purely sweet than true rose.
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.