In just a few weeks, a “fragrance battle” will rage in my sunny, hot and dry front yard: tuberose vs. milkweed.
I trust most perfume fanatics know the scent of tuberose; if not, either smell Robert Piguet Fracas or Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower or go to a florist and purchase a few stalks of fragrant tuberose and let the blooms perfume your home.
Many years ago, I ordered some milkweed seeds from an organization that advocates the planting of flowers beloved (utilized) by Monarch butterflies. Those few milkweed seeds thrived, and now, milkweeds would take over my front yard if I let them. Milkweed flowers have a strong, tropical, pollen-rich aroma: there’s a hint of its rival tuberose, a fragrant “flour” note and an interesting mingling of green and “damp loam” aromas. When milkweed blooms, you can’t miss its penetrating, soulful perfume; the fragrance throbs. I categorize milkweed flowers’ scent as ‘poignant’ and ‘spooky’; it follows me like a spirit from my yard into my house and lingers, whispering:“Remember when….”
As I smelled Astier de Villatte Eau Chic by perfumer Françoise Caron for the first time, I was shocked…
