Antique Botanical Prints -
Fragrant Garden Flowers

Background:

These prints are from a late 1890s guide to the scented flowers and leaves found in British gardens.  As the author's noted, up to that time there was no general reference for the gardener on these scented plants and their characteristics.  The following poem from the guide best summarizes the appeal of scented flowers:   "Who that hath reason and his smell / Would not midst Rose and Jasmine dwell / Encompass'd round with such delight / To ear, nose, touch, the taste and sight" (Cowley).