The scents of most flowers are volatile oils, most fully appreciated in a sunny, wind-free corner as dusk falls and the fragrance wafts on the still, warm air – so a comfortable seat is the first essential of a perfumed garden, preferably in an arbour of roses, Zephirine Drouhin and honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica halliana. Surround your seat with heady smells by raising around it a 2-3 ft. elevated bed to lift scents closer to you and stock it with musky flowers – nepeta, stocks, wallflowers, sweet William, nicotiniana, Madonna lily, and evening primrose, as well as aromatic herbs like lavender and rosemary. Herbs like thyme and pennyroyal (Mentha) give off their best bouquet when crushed, so set them along paths to be trodden on.

Shrubs and trees that savour sweetly are Buddleia globosa, Sambucus canadensis, Viburnum fragrans, Mahonia japonica, Magnolia soulangeana and mock orange (Philadelphus ‘Beauclerk’). the rustling leaves and canes of the bamboo (Arundinaria murieliae), Japanese wind chimes, a tinkling fountain and pool and – above all – the contented humming and buzzing of bees and other insects drawn by the incense of the perfumed garden.

Preserve the perfume of your garden and refresh your home with lavender bags (cotton or muslin bags filled with lavender heads dried in the sun or airing cupboard) or with a simple pot pourri: dried wallflower petals mixed with dried rosemary sprigs and 30 grams of Orris root, and 1 tsp, nutmeg. Pot pourris are ancient preparations used to sweeten rooms, lightly scent clothes, and give freshness to linens, and pomanders contain the mixture. There are innumerable recipes, many closely guarded secrets, but flower petals are their principal base. Every mixture needs a fixative like Orris root which prolongs the life of the scents of these pot pourris.