Scent Journal - Hedera

Taking note of the scents that inspire us

So. It’s early autumn and things have just gotten cooler. The sound of drying leaves rustling in the breeze and under foot is comforting and cozy. You expect all things bright and sunny to recede into the backdrop and for outdoor scents to take more somber notes associated with the late seasons. Nope.

Hedera Helix - Tuscany

Here comes the flowering ivy (hedera helix) to reawaken our nose with its sweet scent. The common ivy plants that we walk by without noticing (or appreciating) fill the air with an intoxicating fragrance. Honey! Rich, velvety honey like something you’d expect to find from a more showy flower in the early summer. In fact, at this time of year, you may think your mind is playing tricks on you. “Where is the scent coming from?” thinking forces you to look around for a more obvious, flamboyant source. And yet, creeping on the shoulders of its hosts, the quiet, pervasive ivy is all around you.

With dark green leaves shaped like a boring houseplant it goes mostly unnoticed. The green pin cushion flower heads aren’t much more interesting even after opening up to little yellow-white flowers at their heads. But it’s all about the scent. Swoon. Again.

Up close, beyond the strong honey scent, you can get hints of metallic, aldehydic notes, maybe some citrus for brightness, and even a little powdery spice. Nutmeg? Like all flowers, it’s complicated and will change as the flowers mature and take on some bitterness.

But, for now, one of the season’s last floral holdouts is magic to the nose and, more importantly, a final pollen harvesting ground for local insects and bees before the winter slumber.