The Scent Garden
Patterned
after a London herb garden, this garden was first built in 1958 as a project
of the Marianne Scruggs Garden Club. The Scent Garden was originally designed
to be used by the blind. In
2002, the city of Dallas renovated this garden using bond funds. Today we
encourage you to explore this area with
all your senses.
*
Just as you enter the garden, on both sides, you will find
the Rosemary plant. Rosemary is a bushy, pine-scented herb and was
considered sacred by the ancient Romans. They believed it brought happiness.
They braided it into hair wreaths for special occasions and put it into
pillows to ward off nervousness and headaches. Today rosemary is used in
cooking, and as a scent for perfumes and hair preparations.
* Lemon Grass, a native of India, is widely used in Thai
and Vietnamese cooking. In Asia, Lemon grass is a perennial, which means once
you plant it, the grass comes back year after year.
Here it dies in the winter, or it can be potted and kept indoors. Lemon
grass is also used for medicinal purposes.
*
Look for the Cardoon plant with its long, spiky leaves. Cardoon is
prized by people in the Mediterranean countries for the unique flavor of the
young tender leaf midribs and immature flower stalks.
* Looking straight ahead under the Cedar Elm tree are many
species of the Mint family. The Romans used mint in their food, and
wore it in wreaths around their heads for scent. Women chewed a paste of mint
and honey to sweeten their breath. Peppermint leaves were used for
toothbrushes. Early doctors kept a wide variety of mints to help cure watery
eyes, sore gums, upset stomachs, bad breath, bee stings, bad dreams, and
dandruff.
* Walking to the right find the Butterfly Ginger. In
India, this is considered the prettiest of all gingers, with its clusters of
snow- white, fragrant butterfly flowers.
Pacific Islanders wear the flowers in leis or in the hair.
*
In Greek myths, Thyme stood for courage and activity. Thyme was thought
to cure flu, gas, hair loss, and bad moods. The many varieties of domestic
thyme have different scents, such as lemon thyme.
* Marjoram contains vitamins A and C, plus protein. Long
ago, before there were vacuum cleaners and other ways to clean houses, people
scattered marjoram leaves on the floor. As people stepped on the small leaves,
the sweet smell released would perfume the air.
* In ancient Rome, strong-tasting Chives and other members
of the onion group were fed to racehorses, wrestlers, and workers to make them
strong. Because many people believed that a strong-tasting plant had greater
healing powers, tangy chives were believed to improve appetite, kidney
function, and blood pressure. Chives have been used to relieve sunburn pain
and make a person's throat feel better during a cold.
Although
many people believe certain herbs have some health benefits, today herbs are
generally not used for true medicinal purposes. Now grocery stores carry
herbs, fresh in the vegetable section, as an ingredient in canned or frozen
foods, as tea bags, or dried seasoning.
Now that you know something about herbs, try growing some of your own.
Herbs make an excellent choice for container gardening.
Look for herbs in our other gardens!
