THE CHANGING SCENT OF THE COUNTRYSIDE

Walk through the countryside in September and you'll notice that summer is still there, but it is no longer quite the same summer.

The days can still be warm, the fields are still green in places and there are flowers along the hedgerows, but the air feels different. The grass has dried in the sun, leaves are beginning to fall and the earth is starting to hold more moisture. Even the scent of the countryside begins to change.

FROM WARM GRASS TO DAMP EARTH

During the height of summer, a country walk can smell of warm grass, wildflowers and sun-baked earth. On a warm September afternoon, those scents can still linger, but there is something deeper underneath them.

The mornings are cooler and the ground stays damp for longer. Fallen leaves begin to gather beneath trees and the smell of soil becomes more noticeable after rain. It is a subtle change, but one that becomes more apparent with each passing week.

It is one of the things that makes walking through the countryside at this time of year so different. The landscape may look familiar, but the scents beneath your feet and around you are slowly changing.

THE HEDGEROWS

The hedgerows have their own scent as summer comes to an end.

There are still plenty of green leaves, but amongst them are ripening blackberries, elderberries and rosehips. Bramble leaves, grasses and herbs become warmer and drier, while fallen leaves and damp ground add something earthier.

Fruit has a particularly distinctive scent at this time of year. Fresh, green and slightly sweet when it is still ripening, becoming richer as the berries mature.

This is part of what inspired our Fresh Fig fragrance. It has the juicy character of ripe fig and blackcurrant alongside leafy green notes, with eucalyptus, sandalwood, cedar and amber bringing warmth and depth. It has the feeling of late summer moving towards autumn without becoming an obviously autumnal scent.

THE LAST OF THE HERBS

There is still plenty of life in the garden in September.

Herbs that have been growing throughout the summer are still releasing their scent as you brush past them. Rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano become particularly noticeable when the leaves are warmed by the sun or lightly crushed between your fingers.

Our Herb Garden fragrance was created around this kind of experience. It combines tomato leaves, lemon and orange with rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano, alongside aromatic woods. It is fresh and green, but with the savoury, slightly earthy quality you associate with a garden full of herbs.

There is something particularly enjoyable about these scents because they are so familiar. They don't need to be sweet or heavily floral to make a home smell fresh. Sometimes the most natural scents are the ones growing just outside the door.

BOTANICAL SCENTS

Not all botanical scents are distinctly English, of course. Plants and gardens can take us to completely different places through fragrance.

Botanical Garden brings together orange blossom, yuzu and kumquat with juniper, rosemary, sandalwood and vanilla. It has the freshness of greenery and citrus, balanced with softer floral and woody notes.

It is a reminder that our relationship with scent is often tied to places. A particular plant, garden or combination of leaves and flowers can bring back a memory of somewhere we've visited, even years later.

WHEN SUMMER FRUIT DISAPPEARS

By September, some of the abundance of summer is beginning to disappear.

The soft fruits that filled gardens and hedgerows through July and August are becoming less plentiful, while apples and other later fruit begin to take their place. The scents become less floral and more grounded.

This is perhaps the point where the countryside starts to feel properly transitional. There is still warmth in the landscape, but the freshness of early summer has passed.

THE WOODS BEGIN TO CHANGE

Woodland is another place where the change can be noticed gradually.

The smell of damp bark, moss and earth becomes stronger as the weather cools. Leaves begin to lose their freshness, and the first fallen ones collect amongst the grass. On a dry day, you can still smell the warmth held by the trees, but after rain everything feels deeper and more earthy.

This is where woody fragrances begin to feel particularly fitting.

Fireside is one of our fragrances that works beautifully through this transition. Despite its name, it isn't simply a winter scent. Lemon leaf, bergamot and eucalyptus keep it fresh, while lavender, geranium, spices, red cedar, amber and musk give it a warmer, woody character.

It has that balance between freshness and warmth that suits the countryside at this time of year.

THE LAST TRACE OF SUMMER

There are still reminders of summer around us in September, but some have already been gathered and brought indoors.

Lavender is one of them. By this time of year, much of it has been cut and harvested, with bunches being dried and brought into the home. Its familiar aromatic scent becomes part of the transition into autumn, carrying a little of the summer garden indoors even as the days begin to change.

White Lavender captures that fresh, herbal side of the season, combining aromatic lavender with Sicilian lemon, white jasmine, neroli, rose and woods. It feels clean and botanical rather than heavily floral, making it a natural fit for this time of year.

NOTICING THE SEASON THROUGH SCENT

We tend to notice seasonal changes through what we can see. The colour of the leaves, the fields being harvested, the first berries appearing or the changing light in the evening.

But scent is just as much a part of it.

The smell of warm grass tells you that summer is still holding on. Damp earth tells you that the weather is beginning to change. Crushed herbs, ripening fruit, fallen leaves and woodland all mark different points in the year.

Perhaps that is why scent is such an important part of what we create at Botanic & Wild. th

September sits somewhere between two of them. Summer hasn't quite gone, but autumn is beginning to make itself known.

And if you take the time to notice, you can smell the difference.