Fragrances and music have a tendency to seep right into your head and stay there.\u00a0 This past week, as the predicted \u201csnowpocalypse\u201d turned into a \u201csno-vereaction,\u201d the scent of a particular primrose took up residence in my brain.\u00a0 Now I am on a quest for similar scented beauties for my spring garden.<\/p>\n
The brain take-over started with a magazine article about converting a small outdoor birdbath into an indoor centerpiece.\u00a0 Planning ahead for the snowpocalypse, I went out to find the plants for the project and happened on a magenta-flowered primrose at the garden center. \u00a0It was a medium size\u2014no more than seven inch\u2014specimen, with whorls of half inch flowers rather than single blossoms.\u00a0 The color was compelling, but it was the strong hyacinth-like fragrance that threw me for a loop.\u00a0 I have never smelled such a luscious primrose.<\/p>\n
Like far too many objects of horticultural desire, the primrose had no plant tag.\u00a0 The counter clerk could not enlighten me either.\u00a0 After returning home and making up the birdbath arrangement, I turned to the internet, plus my catalog and reference book collection to find out more about the sweet-smelling primrose.<\/p>\n
Its configuration marked it as something other than the common Primula vulgaris that all of us see at the end of winter in retail outlets.\u00a0 These plants feature a rosette of lettuce-like leaves accented by brightly colored, single flowers.\u00a0 My primrose bears basal leaves, but the stems are taller than many of the vulgaris types and the flowers are bunched together.\u00a0 Since the Primulaceae family is home to about 400 species and even more cultivated varieties and hybrids, identification can be a little like a needle in a haystack.\u00a0 The good news is that relatively few of those species, varieties and hybrids are widely available in commerce.\u00a0 Taking all of that into account, I think my primula is probably a hybrid or variety of Japanese primula or Primula japonica.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Japanese primrose is native to Japan.\u00a0 It was first described by the great nineteenth century American botanist and Harvard professor, Asa Gray.\u00a0 In the species, the flowers are usually purple-red, perhaps somewhat close in color to the blooms on mine.\u00a0 Popular varieties include \u2018Apple Blossom,\u2019 which stands up to 18 inches tall and features the same whorls of small flowers in pale pink with darker rose eyes.\u00a0 Some vendors also carry Japonica mixtures, which combine shades of white, red, pink and purple.<\/p>\n
On the road to identifying my new Japonica, I came across some other particularly fragrant primrose varieties.\u00a0 As often happens in such situations, I fell in love.\u00a0 The object of this affection was an old-fashioned-looking, double Primula vulgaris or common primrose, dubbed Belarina by its modern German breeders.\u00a0 As with many plants today, the Belarina series encompasses a large handful of fragrant, double primrose varieties in an array of colors including \u2018Cream,\u2019 \u2018Pink Ice,\u2019 red-flowered \u2018Valentine,\u2019 \u2018Yellow Ruffle,\u2019 \u2018Buttercup,\u2019 \u2018Cobalt Blue\u2019 and the absolutely stunning \u2018Amethyst Ice,\u2019 featuring narrow white petal edges against a blue-purple background.<\/p>\n
The flowers on each of these extravagant little gems look like small roses, with ruffled petal edges, making the small plants look like flower-encrusted lettuces.\u00a0 Planted in consistently moist soil in light shade and well mulched, both the Japonicas and the vulgaris primulas are completely undemanding.\u00a0 Best of all, if deadheaded, they will bloom more than once a season and are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8.<\/p>\n
Primroses tend to be less attractive to deer than some other species, which is a plus in about two thirds of the gardens I know.\u00a0 They are also a good investment plant.\u00a0 Every couple of years they can be easily dug up with a trowel, divided with the fingers and replanted or given away.\u00a0 Doing the latter will definitely endear you to friends with shade gardens.\u00a0 The best time to divide is right after the plants bloom, but if you are busy when that time rolls around, do it whenever the opportunity presents itself.\u00a0 Just make sure to water the new divisions thoroughly and regularly.<\/p>\n
As far as using the plants in the garden, the sky is the limit.\u00a0 Both Japonicas and vulgaris types work well in all kinds of containers and the edges of flower or vegetable beds and borders.\u00a0 The fragrance makes them perfect for highly trafficked areas, but if you can stand to put them out of reach of your nose, they will also bring bright spots of color to woodland landscapes.<\/p>\n
Since I am now officially besotted with scented primroses, I have adopted a two-pronged survival strategy.\u00a0 The Japonica that started me on this passion is scenting my dining room at this very moment.\u00a0 I many purchase a friend for it, if I can find one.\u00a0 While I regale my nose with that fragrance, I will order a few of the Belarina series of double vulgaris primroses.\u00a0 I think I will start with \u2018Cream\u2019 and \u2018Amethyst Ice\u2019 for a nice contrast.\u00a0 Any group of plants that can simultaneously banish winter blues and stale smells in the short term, while warding off the prospect of deer and shade come spring, has my fullest support.<\/p>\n
Local garden centers will carry selections of primroses in the spring.\u00a0 In the meantime, try Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Rd \u2022 Madison, OH 44057, (800) 852-5243, www.bluestoneperennials.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Free catalog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fragrances and music have a tendency to seep right into your head and stay there.\u00a0 This past week, as the predicted \u201csnowpocalypse\u201d turned into a \u201csno-vereaction,\u201d the scent of a particular primrose took up residence in my brain.\u00a0 Now I am on a quest for similar scented beauties for my spring garden. The brain take-over … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3,5],"tags":[1096,257,1097,259,282,550,549,1098,1099,126,480],"class_list":["post-1257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","category-winter","tag-belarina","tag-deer-resistant-plants","tag-double-primroses","tag-fragrant-plants","tag-indoor-plants","tag-primroses","tag-primula","tag-primula-japonica","tag-primula-vulgaris","tag-shade-plants","tag-winter-flowers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1258,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1257\/revisions\/1258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}