scents

a word on roses

Yesterday, on our weekly half marathon jogging tour, we passed by the cemetery to visit two graves. The cemetery was still, or rather: again, full of blooming roses. This summer was very special, wet, not too hot, and it seems to have been an ideal rose summer. The roses on the graves came in all colors and sizes. An amazing arrangement of roses. Some of them were without perfume.

Others were full of perfume. I smelled a lot of them. Some were incredibly rich in citronellol, a terpene alcohol, that smells a little bit lemony, rosy, green, floral. Some roses were like citronellol pots. Others were Phenylethanol rich. Another molecule that you find in roses, hyacinths and geraniums and more flowers. Some of these roses smelled like opening a bottle of phenylethanol with a hint of geraniol, another terpenoid alcohol.

Others where freshly ground white pepper. Others smelled like bay with a good dose of eugenol. Others were green apples. Others were crisp and minty leaves.

One rose actually smelled like a mirror copy of an experimental soap I made in November 2010 that I stored to test its long time stability. It is a crazy soap in the sense that it is quite expensive to pour. When I discussed a few issues of the rose CO2 extract with EcoMaat back then in November, telling them that I plan to use it for a soap, they talked about 7 star hotel rose soaps. Thus, this rose out there smelled like the rose soap. Or the other way round. Which made me happy.

Maybe the soap rose is a hint more on the peppery side, a little bit more woody. But the goal is not to copy nature anyhow: I pick a flower out there in nature and try to transform it into something different. Or I pick a molecule out there and try to transform it into something different.

When we finally continued jogging, bringing the mind and body in some sort of euphoric state, I continued thinking roses, not in order to come and create, but just enjoying the memories of the roses smelled a moment ago.

And now I wonder: When have you smelled your last rose, out there?

Today’s picture shows you a rose fruit, right after bloom, scanned this morning, picked all resh in the wet garden today.