In a message dated 13-Apr-04 11:46:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time, johngrimshaw@tiscali.co.uk writes: > I have no objection to the stinks of aroids and frits, but what I really > hate is the scent of lilies and hyacinths. A bed of trumpet or oriental > lilies pumping out their sickly pong pollutes the air about it, and I have > to leave - much though I admire the plants and their flowers. John ~ Fragrance is a funny thing, to say the least! What is fragrant to one, can be nauseating to another. Then there are folks who can't smell anything! I grow a great many lilies (and specialize in L. martagon and hybrids; to my nose, they have a musky and unpleasant fragrance that others find appealing), and, while I find most lily fragrance wonderful on a warm afternoon, true, it can be overwhelming if from a large bouquet in a closed room. I just cut fewer flowers and often put the vase outside overnight where it is cooler; makes the flowers last longer along with cutting the fragrance load indoors! However, I must say that I find your dislike of the fragrance of hyacinth to be unusually severe. To my nose, the fragrance of hyacinth represents the very essence of Spring!! I couldn't have a garden without waves of hyacinth. I will often sit near them just to inhale deeply of that fragrance distilling itself on the edying currents of air. I do have to say, however, get the fragrance when the flowers are fresh because, like a good brie when mature, the odor deterioates to intolerable as the flowers fade. Many daffodils with jonquilla, tazetta or poeticus heritage can be intensely fragrant. It's not common to find appealing fragrance in the large hybrids (to my nose, they often have a sharp and acrid stink!). There is one, however, that I would recommend to anyone with an interest in this flower: 'Fragrant Rose.' Like it's namesake, this white with rose-pink corona daffodil has a light and appealing tea rose fragrance. Many can readily detect the aroma but for others, alas, they perceive nothing. Dave Karnstedt Silverton, Oregon, USA Cool Mediterranean climate; USDA Zone 7-8