Favorite nature scents?

[mollyringle]

On the Facebook fragrance forum I like to browse (one of the only things I still use Facebook for anymore), someone recently asked: what are everyone's favorite nature (i.e., non-perfume) scents?

My answers off the top of my head:

Petrichor! (Rain on ground, especially warm ground that has been dry a while.)

Fresh cut grass but also certain varieties of grass and/or moss and/or other ground cover--I've never quite placed what it is, but certain grassy fields smell so sweet and warm. A coumarin scent, I believe; reminiscent of how the plant sweet woodruff smells. Sometimes forest floors have this scent too, or something similar, which makes me suspect it's moss.

The shores of Puget Sound: basically a seawater smell, but less wind-whipped and wild; quieter, and more mixed with rocks and evergreen trees and a hint of wood smoke from cabins.

Mint growing wild.

A summer night--no idea what the smell is, other than a hot earth cooling down for the evening.

What are yours?

Comments

[acciochocolate.livejournal.com]

Some of my faves: honeysuckle, sweet gum trees in the autumn, the ozone in the breeze just before a storm, and the wind coming off the ocean, esp. early in the morning.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Ah, my parents had a sweet gum tree, and I can smell that sharp-but-pleasant smell now that you mention it! The scent of the ocean has such an effect on so many of us; I expect we're hardwired to appreciate it.

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

Rain on a warm night. Summer nights in general. I like petrichor, too, even the smell of hot asphalt as rain sinks into it - it's not a pleasant smell, but there's something about it I find appealing. Freshly mown grass, sea air - ozone and salt. Wet greenness, like a forest after rain, the mulch underfoot. Flowers, especially lilies, stocks, strongly-scented roses (not so common here since so many varieties these days are bred for colour/endurance rather than scent), sweetpeas.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I definitely like the "rain on warm streets" smell! And yes, so many types of flowers. Alyssum comes to mind: wonderfully sweet, and carries on the breeze. Daphne too, especially since it blooms in winter when almost nothing else does.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Cardamom and rhubarb. They're great on their own, but combined, they are a total delight.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Ooh, not sure I've ever smelled them together! That sounds delicious. I love those fortunate mixes of scents. The other week I found while preparing a meal that freshly sliced cucumber smells awesome with freshly cut orange slices.

[acciochocolate.livejournal.com]

There's just something wonderful abt that sea scent. :)

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

A stormy ocean, fresh-mowed grass, and the smell of frangipani flowers.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I'm not sure I've smelled frangipani! Or rather, maybe I did in Hawaii, but that was a long time ago. The smell of fresh-mowed grass is the essence of early summer for me. That plus clover flowers. :)

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

It's in a lot of fragrances. It also goes by plumeria. I love the scent from the flowers but not so much from the perfumes.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Ah, I definitely saw (and sniffed) plumeria in Maui. Lovely! But yes, I have the same issue with the "white floral" group in perfume: orange blossom, tuberose, gardenia, and others are all fantastic in real life, and I love sniffing them, but in perfume on my skin they turn into dreadful fabric softener fakeness. Personal chemistry can be problematic.