Though one could very easily think so based on its title, this post is not about the perfumes and colognes that I adore most - though such a post may appear here one day. No, instead today on this soft and beautiful April morning, my mind is filled with thoughts of the smells of the budding season, and by extension of pleasing odours that have long - if not forever - been held dear to my heart.
With spring's return comes an almost overwhelming array of resplendent, diverse, emotion provoking scents. Verdant grass, damp with rain and early morning dew once more; the earliest new crop produce – crisp asparagus, tender lettuce leaves, the teeniest of strawberries and many more are beginning to line the grocer's shelves again; flowers long hidden under a blanket of ice and snow burst forth with equal measures of caution and enthusiasm, this is their time to shine and to fill the air with the nature's founding perfume.
It is often said that scent is the strongest of the senses we posses, and I am not one to argue with that point. Each sense can be remarkably power, but there is something tremendous amount scent that lends it the ability to transport us instantly through time and space, to reconnect with moments long gone and to make memories ever bit as powerful in the moment. Scent can offend or delight, please, entice, sooth, stir, and uplift the soul.
Not all smells are pleasant, and that perhaps is why we adore those that are all the more, why it takes but one whiff a certain small to reminds of things as diverse as our grandmother's dressing table, our first kiss, the last time we saw a cherished friend, a beach thousands of miles away, Christmastime, a new baby, and a universe's worth of other priceless memories and experiences.
I have been stopped dead in my tracks by a familiar scent, moved to tear by the beauty of certain smell, reminded of times long gone and future events I dream of bringing to life. Smells have danced through my mind with the fervor of a tango and the tranquility of waves lapsing at the sand. They have haunted and comforted me, left impressions that no amount of time could erase, and I could scarcely fathom an existence without the insight, experience and joy that scents have granted me throughout the course of my life.
As spring ushers in its symphony of smells - speaking of earth and rain, newborn animals and a renewal of the perpetual order of life as seen through the eyes of the seasons - I thought this first Saturday in April would be a wonderful time to share with you a list of ten of my absolute favourite scents, each accompanied by a beautiful vintage or modern, timeless image depicting said smells.
Not all of these scents tie directly to spring, but again, as this powerful human sense is rekindled with springs's return, it seems a most fitting and lovely time of the year to delve into this subject.
{Line-dried linens}
{The Pacific rain forest}
{Meat grilling on the barbeque}
{Freshly cut grass}
{Kitten and puppy dog fur}
{Old books}
{Lilacs}
{Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies}
{Smoke from a campfire}
{Classic Coppertone suntan lotion}
{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}
There are hundreds, if not thousands of scents that I enjoy, cherish, love being surprised by, and will forever delight in experiencing, just as I'm sure there are for most of you as well.
This list is not a "top ten", nor is it of my absolute ten most favourite. I really don't know if I could create such a list, there are simply too many magnificent smells on this vast and wondrous earth of ours to call out such a small number and tag them as my most favourite. No, what these ten odours hold in common is that I have loved them throughout my whole life (or very nearly thereabout), and thus they are all-time favourites.
What is pleasing to the nose of one person is not always so to another, but I'd venture to guess that amongst this list, you'll find one or more smells that you delight in as well. Which of these do your adore as well, and what others would make it on to your own such roundup of cherished scents?
I hope that as we glide ever further though spring, you take the time to indulge in your most beloved scents. Stop not only to smell the roses, but also the just-mowed grass, the new season produce, the cherry blossoms, and everything else you can lay your nose on in the garden.
