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Anyone with even a passing knowledge of plants knows that daphnes have wonderfully fragrant flowers. And because some of them - usually the most scented - flower in winter, they’re the sort of must-have plants that are usually among the first planted in any new garden.

There are around 50 species of Daphne, many of which are choice garden specimens. They are widespread lot, ranging from Europe and North Africa to temperate and subtropical Asia. Most of them are evergreen or nearly so, but a few are deciduous, often flowering before the foliage expands.

The plant everyone calls daphne is Daphne odora, particularly the cultivar ‘Leucantha’ , which is often misspelt ‘Leucanthe’ . This shrub, a native of China and Japan, sells in vast numbers, mainly on the strength of its perfume, but also because it’s a reasonably hardy evergreen bush. It grows to around 1.5m tall with leathery, deep green leaves up to 80mm long. From mid-winter on into spring it produces clusters of small, starry, pale pink flowers. Several flower and foliage forms are available and the variety with yellow-edged leaves, ‘Variegata’ (sometimes called ‘Aureomarginata’ ), is often hardier and easier to grow than the species.

Daphne odora can be quite particular about soil conditions and is slightly frost tender in cold winter areas. It does best in cool, moist, humus enriched, well-drained, acid soil in sun or light shade. Work in plenty of compost or similar organic matter - it’s impossible to use too much - and feed regularly with liquid fertilisers and an occasional side dressing of acid fertiliser. Kept healthy, D. odora develops quickly and is attractive even without flowers, but it isn’t a long-lived bush. You can expect to have to replace it at least every 8-10 years.

Because daphnes are so popular, nurseries propagate thousands of them every year. For many years the plants were nearly all cutting-raised and with repeated propagation by this method the cutting stocks declined and became badly infected with viral diseases that were transmitted to their progeny. Around fifteen years ago Daphne odora ‘Leucantha’ was refreshed by producing new plants by tissue culture, thereby eliminating most of the disease problems. At the time, the improved appearance of these virus-free “high-health” plants was remarkable. Although since then new batches of tissue cultured plants have been introduced, many of the original high-health daphnes were used as cutting stock and now these plants are showing viral problems. When buying ‘Leucantha’ try to ensure that you get a tissue cultured plant or a first or second generation cutting from cultured stock.

Several other species are similar in appearance to Daphne odora and are well worth growing as slightly different alternatives to what everyone else has. Of these, Daphne bholua and Daphne laureola are the most commonly available.

Daphne bholua occurs in both deciduous and evergreen forms, but here they all seem to behave as semi-evergreens (or semi-deciduous if you like). It is shrub up to 3m tall, sometimes rather narrow and open in habit, that like Daphne odora flowers in winter and spring. The flowers are strongly scented, white-tinged-pink and open from deep pink buds. Black fruits (drupes) follow the flowers.

First classified in 1825 but slow to enter cultivation, it is one of a group of four species known as paper daphnes because in their home range paper and ropes were made from their bark. It was first recorded in gardens in 1938, but didn’t really become at all widely grown until the late 1960s to mid 70s.

Native to the eastern Himalayas, it is somewhat tougher than Daphne odora under New Zealand conditions. Though strangely, British references often rate it as slightly less hardy. Whatever the reason for its local success, just be happy to know that in most of our gardens it thrives.

Daphne bholua is difficult to raise from cuttings and although it can be grafted, seed is the best method of propagation. The seed germinates well and while the seedlings are slow to start into strong growth, they gain vigour with age and usually flower in their fourth year.

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You love great smells but just can’t seem to find one to stick around. Wouldn’t you just love to eliminate those tough odors once and for all and create the perfect ambiance to die for!

Whether riding in your car, relaxing in your home or at the office, challenging odors sometimes come out of nowhere. Day old food in your car, the smell of smoke from your husband’s cigar or cigarettes or those musty office smells just won’t escape you. Don’t you just hate when you can’t get a nagging odor out.

Using the perfect air freshener can help eliminate those challenging odors for good. It can also give you a new identity and add positive energy all around you. You could even give your car a new identity. Sit back, relax and feel as if you owned the road with the right scent. You may know of someone whose car smells great all the time. Wouldn’t you like for that to be you?

There are several ways you can try to get the most out of your air freshener.

1. Spray the fragrance out of the bottle for a nice long-lasting aroma.
If the smell doesn’t last for a couple of days, switch brands. You will eventually realice that you may spend less today but will spend more in the end when purchasing those cheap, watered-down air fresheners.

2. Add the air freshener to your mopping solution on your tile or linoleum floor covering for heavy duty smells in your kitchen or bathroom.
Purchase a good concentrated liquid air freshener. For every 3-parts water, add 1-part fragrance.

3. Spray the freshener on cotton balls and put the cotton balls in your air conditioner vents.
This works great around the holidays. Keeps you in the holiday mood.

4. Pour the fragrance air freshener into your favorite potpourri pot.
Make sure that you use a 100% concentrated air freshener if you are trying to burn it. This process makes your home smell great for days to come. What’s more invigorating than to come home after a hard days work and soothe your mood while catering to your soul with an ambiance to die for. It sort of makes the hard day worth it. Be careful if you have allergies.

5. Refreshen the fragrance sachet in your lingerie drawer by squirting it with your favorite fragrance air freshener.
Give a little spice to your undearwear. Men, there is hope for those “tightie whities” afterall.

6. Add water, if the air freshener is concentrated, to create a mist for those gentle odors and spray it whenever and wherever needed.
This works best for those not so challenging odors.

7. Mix the concentrated fragrance with your steam cleaning vacuum for tough, nagging odors like pet, smoke and other chronic odors.
I am sure that you probably can identify with the frustration you may have experienced when your pet urined or defacated on your carpet. You probably thought that you would never get the odor out. In addition, when your husband walked around the house with his cigar and the smell lasted for days. I have found that most people who smoke, do not like the smell of smoke because the smell gets into their clothes, hair, etc. and lasts for days. Simply pour 1-part fragrance to 3-parts water in your vacuum and your carpet, home, etc. will smell fresh and clean for several days.

Go ahead and have fun while experimenting. Create the perfect ambiance just for you. After all, life is full of smells. It is up to YOU how YOU choose to handle them.

www.jazzyfresh.com

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Most of us have so many fragrances these days that we tend to get bored and tired of them very easily. We want to get rid of them, but don’t know how we can do that, as we feel bad chucking it in the bin or just disposing of it. However, there are many ways in which one can utilize their old boring perfumes, instead of wasting them.

The most common way to utilize your old perfume is by using it as a room freshener. You can either spray it all over the room, or add a few drops of perfume in boiling water over the stove. The steam of the perfumed water will infiltrate all over, thus spreading the fragrance all over the house. You can use as much as perfume as you like, depending on your choice. If you do not want a light room freshener, then be sure only to use a few drops.

Potpourri is a very popular feng shui and decorative item, used in most houses today. But the fragrance of the potpourri doesn’t last for a very long time, so you can use to your old unwanted perfumes, to revive the potpourri. The wooden leaves absorb oils and liquids very easily, making it easy for you to pour a few drops of perfume and revive the smell.

Writing notes or sending handwritten letters has nearly become extinct these days, thanks to technology. However, you can revive the tradition in your own unique way. You can spray some of your old fragrances all over the stationary, or note pads, and write small notes or letters and send them out. These will give a very good impression of you and everyone will know it is a note from you as soon as they smell the fragrance. You can also use the perfume on other stationary items like your pens and pencils to enhance the pleasure of writing.

Another unique and excellent way of using your old worn out perfume is by pouring a few drops into your bath water. This can help make your bath more pleasurable and will invigorate you completely. Using perfume in your bath can be very cost effective, as you do not spend money on buying expensive aroma or bath oils. By using the old perfume, you can enjoy the memories attached with it, making your bath more enjoyable. If you like a strong fragranced bath, you have the choice of adding as much perfume as you like.

Most of the time, we do not like parting with things, which have special memories or sentiments, attached to it. Women especially do not like discarding their favorite perfume even it has become very old and stale. Now you have many ways in which you could use your favorite perfume, instead of discarding it.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as women’s perfume at http://www.perfumeandcolognedirect.com.

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