Of all the senses we are lucky enough to possess, I believe the ability to sniff and receive the gift of scent is akin to a miracle.
—
Let’s Talk Nature, May 2026: Following My Nose Through Spring and (Slightly) Beyond
In this month's column, Shannon shares the multi-sensorial experience of the natural world as blooms open and the seasons shift.
Click on image to listen to Shannon read the column.
May 2026 – I love the spring nights in my yard. Cool nights are best, not cold and certainly not hot. I’ve always loved the darkness but, in the spring, I especially love the scents.
From late April, starting with the queen of scents, a Korean spice viburnum (that’s Viburnum carlesii) offers up captivating clusters of pearly white, jasmine-scented flowers. A slow intake of air through my nose fills me with such olfactory pleasure that I can believe, for a few seconds, that everything is okay and all is perfect.
That’s how powerful scent can be.
What can you smell in the spring?
As spring progresses, my yard becomes a cacophony of scent, if you will. So many delightful spring bloomers are jostling to be noticed. They probably don’t care much about me but are instead appealing to pollinators. Still, the pleasure is all mine.
Of all the senses we are lucky enough to possess, I believe the ability to sniff and receive the gift of scent is akin to a miracle. Or perhaps it is a full-blown miracle.
What does it look like to sniff?
I learned the art of sniffing from a dog. Her name was Buffy and she was a blond beagle blend, our childhood dog. I remember lounging in a leaf pile, pre-kindergarten, watching Buffy sit next to me, sniffing silently as dogs do.
I was intrigued by her twitching nose and the miniscule puffs of air she expelled and then took back in. I mimicked her, practiced a bit, and soon, a whole new world opened up to me.
How many scents can we smell?
I’ve wondered over the years if I could have made a career being a professional sniffer. However, when I remember photos of women in lab coats sniffing men’s underarms, the thought immediately goes away!
I consider industrial scents, exhaust, rancid oil in dumpsters behind restaurants, hot city sidewalks and the like to be an affront to my sense of scent. It throws me off, negatively affects my mood, and makes me desperate to be somewhere else, somewhere quiet, somewhere cool with a little moisture.
Like my backyard.
What does spring smell like?
That’s actually a pretty good description of spring. Cool, with a little moisture. Some people feel that our Cape Cod spring is long and cold and wish fervently for the heat of summer. I wish for an extended spring because spring is when sniffing becomes high art.
In my memories, I am walking to school in a northern town along a sidewalk festooned with lilacs. I’m transfixed by the scent and I breathe it in, trying to hold as much of it in my memory to take to school with me.
As I got older, I imagined my dream house with a clump of purple lilacs off to one side. I did manage to bring that image to life and although I do not possess what I’d call my dream house, I do possess lilacs that have bloomed better this year than in the previous 25 years. I suspect the cold winter helped, much like it appeared to encourage other shrubs I once thought lazy bloomers.
What plants are blooming?
In my yard, floral scents start in February when the strappy, ancient-looking blooms of the Witch Hazel (Hamamelis) emit a welcome sweetness in the winter air. April brings on the daffodils that offer a soft scent that hints of spring.
But the scent parade – different from the bloom parade – starts its joyful journey to summer in early May. Following the Viburnum are the multiple crabapple trees that erupt in masses of fat wands of pink buds that open to white blooms, humming with visiting bees and the occasional hummingbird.
Closer to the ground and less obvious is a moody shrub called Daphne x burkwoodii “Carol Mackie” with small variegated yellow and green leaves and clusters of deeply sweet, white blooms. Daphne always says, “hey, slow down and notice me.” So I do, and I never regret it.
Next are the pale purple lilacs that bloom above a large bed of lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis). This is where I want to be, where I want to sit, where I want to linger right around Memorial Day.
Why is the night air special?
I’ve sat on my front stoop many an evening with dogs, and also alone. My dogs read the night air with interest, as I take in the floral scents and feel a kind of intoxication, an ethereal hallucination, savoring the evening air. I would like this particular week to last forever, but in days, it will only be a memory.
What’s so special about evening scents, you may wonder?
It’s not in my imagination that scent is strongest in the cooler hours. Scent molecules are volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that remain more concentrated closer to the ground where we can access them. Cooler ground surface, less air movement and humidity enhance evening scents.
Our ability to use our sense of smell, or “olfactory perception,” may also be tied to our circadian rhythms, according to a scent study on teenagers at Brown University. They found that 9 PM, or the beginning of biological night, was the peak of smell sensitivity for the teens. There are suspected evolutionary reasons for this, like needing to scan for nearby threats before heading to bed, for instance.
As interesting as the science is behind our ability to perceive scents, I’d rather just sit outside in the darkness and sniff. And listen to the night sounds in my woods, and the gurgle of running water in my fishpond. All around, there is sound, but it feels like silence and with my sense of smell otherwise occupied, there is peace.
How long do spring scents last?
Our cool, lingering spring is over in a heartbeat, and then we contend with pollen, mosquitoes, summer with its heat and dryness or super humidity. The scents will become less gentle, less sweet, and the sounds of the night more prevalent.
If you missed the scents of spring this year, or if you have never taken the time to enjoy them, make it a point next year to wander outside after dark, sit in your yard, and see what spring offers up in the evening air. Or better yet, plan for it now and plant some lovely things that will give you great pleasure.
What plants will bring a full season of scent?
Here’s a VERY short list for scents from early winter to autumn:
- Convallaria – Lily of the Valley but watch out! They will outlive you and take over your yard.
- Clematis paniculata/Sweet Autumn Clematis – a vigorous vine
- Daphne sp. – a wonderful small shrub that sometimes dies for no good reason
- Deciduous Azaleas like Rhododendron ‘Weston’s Innocence’ and others
- Hamamelis/Witch Hazel – a great small native tree
- Roses – sniff before you buy
- Syringa sp./Lilacs
- Viburnum carlesii/Korean spice viburnum
Indulge your sense of smell. I guarantee it will enrich your life. Happy sniffing!
