ARCADIAN ARCHIVES
Matthiola bicornis Growing from seed.
Packets of flower seeds are so alluring at this time of year. Bright, sunny pictures of flowers catch the eye, and descriptions are worded to entice. These marketing strategies are helped along with our instinctive longing for warmer, spring days and the beginning of the growing season. But while pictures represent colour, and words concisely describe the practicalities of raising plants from seed, it is more difficult to realise the delights of fragrance from just a few glances at a seed packet.
Small, urban gardens in particular are well suited for plants that begin to release their perfume as the sun goes down. Areas enclosed or partly surrounded by shrubs, hedges or walls are ideal for holding wafting, evening fragrance. Where there is less chance of air movement, scents become trapped and more concentrated.
If, as often predicted, our summers become warmer, there may be a temptation to adopt a more Mediterranean style of living where dining and socialising outdoors become more common. Evening air, enhanced by the sweet perfume from flowers, will set the scene.
Night scented stock, botanically known as Matthiola bicornis and also an unobvious member of the cabbage family, is one of the easiest evening scented plants to grow. It is fairly low in stature, reaching around 45cm (18in) in height and spread. By day, it remains almost drab in appearance; narrow, pale green foliage is unremarkable and flowers look as if they are in the process of withering. But with the arrival of early evening, a transformation begins. Flowers slowly unfurl, spreading open their lilac petals. Very soon, each plant is clothed in small, star-shaped blooms. As the sun’s rays disappear below the horizon, perfume fills the air, becoming more pronounced as dusk approaches. This plant revels in darkness; by midnight, fragrance is at its peak. Moths of all shapes and sizes are drawn to the blossom to collect nectar and, as a result, pollinate the flowers.
In theory, the seeds of this hardy annual can be scattered directly onto the soil towards the end of April. Lightly raked in and watered, seeds should readily germinate and produce flowering plants by June. This, however, is a method that does not always work as well as it should. I prefer to sow seeds in 10cm (4in) pots at the beginning of May, putting a small pinch of seeds in the middle of each pot. In a cool greenhouse or conservatory, they germinate in a few days. As soon as the first seedlings appear, the pots should be moved immediately into a cold frame or placed in a sheltered site outdoors; left under glass, the plants grow rapidly and soon become too spindly. Ideally, they should be planted outside in their final positions by the first week of June. They thrive in sunshine and are ideal for raised beds, containers and the front of borders.
There are many descriptions of the perfume from the night flowers of this easily grown plant: vanilla, rose, spice and clove are just a few. Such variation is confusing. But one thing is certain; once experienced in your own garden, the summer fragrance of night scented stock is a feature you will never want to be without.