Summer scents

Now has the Summer passed

over your streets with
puffing cool lips
spreading the sweet smell of the lilacs’

violet-wet clusters
and the lindens scenting the air …

Gunvor Hofmo 1973

Flowers may advertise themselves through colour and scent to attract pollinators, with rewards of nectar and pollen.

This young Linden tree is by Hilly Orchard bridge and in flower June to July.

A magnet for bees, the sweet honey and lemon peel scent of the flowers can carry over the canal on a sunny day.

You are likely to see and smell numerous Buddleia ‘volunteers’ too along the canal over the summer and into autumn. Again attractive to insects and known as the ‘butterfly bush’. Once more a honey-like scent, but also sometimes described as peppery.

Not all plant aromas are attractive to insects. Herbs, for example, produce flavours and odours to deter pests like aphids and protect against microbial pathogens. Wild marjoram (oregano) was planted in 2023 at QEII field on the bank by Hilly Orchard bridge, after a year or so’s  growth it should be in flower from June to September. Despite the aromatic flavour and scent of the leaves, the pink flowers will attract and provide food for many bees, butterflies, hoverflies, moths etc.

Further information and images

WildFoodUK - Lime tree

London Wildlife Trusts - Buddleia

Woodland Trust: Wild marjoram