Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania will present Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance from April 10 to November 21:
An intersection of flora, fashion and science, the exhibition will transform the Gardens’ gemlike conservatory into a museum for the senses. Visitors to the exhibition will experience the actual plants and flowers behind iconic perfumes, explore the mysterious power of the sense of smell, discover the unique combination of creative artistry and intricate science behind perfume composition, and have the opportunity to compose a basic fragrance.
“Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance will inspire and educate guests about the storied history and evocative power of scent,” said Longwood Gardens Director Paul B. Redman. “This exhibition is so perfectly suited to the setting of Longwood, where guests can experience first-hand the fragrant plants and beauty of nature that are at the heart of the fragrance story.”
The exhibition is divided into four major sections: Into a Fragrant World, The Art of Perfume & Fragrant Gardens, The Science of Fragrance, and Your Fragrant Garden. Upon entering one of the country’s largest conservatories, Longwood guests will encounter an 18-foot tall sculptural trellis in the shape of a perfume bottle. Specially crafted for the exhibition, the structure will be interlaced with changing, fragrant plantings that vary with each season. [...]
More than 260 different Genera of aromatic plants and flowers have been added specifically for the exhibition, joining more than 5,500 types of plants from around the world already housed in the historic conservatory. Yellow freesias, Oriental lilies, hyacinths, gardenias and lilacs are interspersed with the exhibition. The delicate white blooms of jasmine, which emit a sweet and rich scent featured in many notable perfumes, will be contrasted with fresh-scented lavender, popular for centuries as an ingredient in soaps and potpourri. Ylang ylang, a yellow flower of the cananga tree that grows in Indonesia and the Philippines, is highly prized for its rich and complex fragrance and is used by perfumers to add depth and intensity to several important perfumes. [...]
Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance also will explore the sense of smell and how scent molecules send signals to the brain that trigger moods, emotions and memories. The interpretation of scents can guide actions, influence behavior and affect feelings. The exhibition will describe the biological processes of smell, including how olfactory neurons in the nose are stimulated by approximately 10,000 different odor molecules. Human beings are instinctually hard-wired to respond to smell, but individual reactions to particular scents can be experiential, based on culture and personal experience, such as the sweet and spicy scent of cinnamon evoking joyful memories of family gatherings, or the potent fragrance of lilies acting as a poignant reminder of a loss.
Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance will showcase the technical processes behind perfume creation, from traditional harvest and extraction methods to chemical combinations of synthetic fragrances. Visitors will be able to experience and describe the scents of mystery perfumes, determining whether they can be classified as Floral, Citrus, Fern (fresh and aromatic), Woody (warm and opulent), Oriental (soft and sensuous), Leather (smoky) or Chypre (mossy or earthy). After identifying their favorite scents and exploring possible combinations of notes, visitors can create a scented card featuring their own personal fragrance.
The exhibition will trace key moments in the history of perfume, beginning with the earliest recorded Egyptian scent around 1800 B.C.E. and culminating with Coco Chanel’s release of No. 5 in 1921, the first perfume for the modern woman...
Special events will include talks with Avery Gilbert, author of What the Nose Knows (Sunday, March 21st at 2 pm), Richard Stamelman, author of Perfume: Joy, Obsession, Scandal, Sin (Sunday, April 25th at 2 pm), and Dr Roman Kaiser of Givaudan (Thursday, May 13th at 7 pm).
For more information, see the Longwood Gardens website.
(via press release)
I’ve never been to Longwood Gardens and it’s not that far from where I live. Funny thing, just last night a friend of mine told me I should take a day trip there. Now that I know they will be having this exhibition, I will definitely go in the Spring.
It’s not that far from me either…and very definitely worth a trip regardless of the exhibit.
It’s wonderful place. It’s 45 minutes driving so we visit garden few times a year. Beautiful any season! I want to go and see this exhibition for sure.
Too far away from me.
Sounds so fun!
That picture of the tulip field is amazing. I want to put something like that up by my desk for my “happy place.”
They do amazing bulb displays in the spring, and the conservatory really is amazing, esp. in winter.
Is that picture actually from the garden? It’s incredible! I thought it wasn’t real. Oh! I want to live there!
Yes, and if you go to flickr & do a search on longwood or “longwood conservatory” you can see some wonderful shots.
Jealous…….
I’d like to see Stamelman, he’s smart. And I’d like to ask the guy from Givaudan some pointed questions.
Looks like a lovely place, Robin — hope you go!
P.S. Laughing that they END with No. 5!
LOL — did anything of import happen after?
I finally managed to snag the Stamelman book, but haven’t finished reading it yet.
I just finished reading this great book. Aren’t the photos wonderful? I took me a few months to get through, as there is so much rich and thoughtful writing. I put it down every few pages and just pondered for a while.
The photos really are wonderful.
OHMIGOSH —I want to go sooo badly! Not that far….maybe take a long weekend and drive out…..might stop to visit my mom up in Scranton……nah….maybe not!
Daisy? You have a MOM in SCRANTON??? Um, if you are ever over this way, let me know! I just live nearby in the boonies.
not actually Scranton….she lives in the boonies as well…my mom the mountain-woman. We homesteaded in the Kootenai National Forest area not too far from Libby Montana when I was a kid…..my mom was born in the wrong century for sure. Forced back into civilization….the mountains in PA. will have to do for wilderness.
Aw, poor mom!
you haven’t met my mom……she’ll make me muck out stalls the whole time I’m there….
Well, maybe we can sneak out and go to NYC for some sniffin’! I can help muck out- did that when I was a kid. Where *are* those rubber boots?
those rubber boots have most likely gone the same way as mine….in the dumpster years ago!!!
Oh, yes! I will definitely make the effort to get down there for this exhibit. It sounds sooo interesting! I’ve wanted to visit there for many years now. Now so far away from me. They had a tremendous orchid exhibit there a few years ago that I missed.
Hope you’ll make it!
Hi I think it is only GOD Hand’s is Working
Sorry, you lost me (?)
i think maybe it is so beautiful it is G-dly?
LOVE Longwood Gardens and this sounds like an amazing exhibit! I hope I get back east again before mid-November. Please report on it if you visit!
I will!
Longwood Gardens is absolutely beautiful. I haven’t been there in years and have been wanting to go again. I’ll definitely check this out.
Oh, and I forgot to say, I have a little mini replica of that Lalique perfume bottle – there were three in that series, I think. I have two – gave one to my mom.
It’s a great bottle. I think there’s a vintage bottle exhibit of some kind w/ this event.
I just fainted.
Make room on the floor….I’m right there with you. Oh myyyyy…..that bottle is beyond gorgeous.
Longwood Gardens –wow!! That’s a blast from my past. I went to college nearby and actually performed in the summer on stage in the gardens (they had a theatre “curtain” made from water shooting up)! One of my friends remarked, “It’s amazing what God can do with DuPont money!” Will have to take a sentimental journey to this exhibit.
And that theater is still there…they do “fountain shows” to music.
Oh, I haven’t been there in probably 20 years, but I am going to check it out! Sounds like an ambitious exhibition, for sure. BTW, the Avery Gilbert book is good for anyone in the area. (His blog is interesting too.)
Thanks!
oh..i want to go there….can put up the pic together with the gorgous eau de soir turquoise /coral bottle!!!
oh yeah and tania s’s gorgeous blue bottle logo!!
You know, I don’t even know what that gorgeous blue bottle is!
I think they are Guerlain Coque d’Or. There are two on ebay right now! Those are mostly gilded, but the glass is blue. I’ve seen others in the last couple of months, always selling for more than $300 but less than $1,000 empty.
Great post – thank you!!!
Thanks! Sounds like I’ll never own one
I guess I won’t either – where are those Arabian Princes when we need them?
I want to go there and visit every week while it lasts to see all the flowers! What a great exhibit!
Hope so…really looking forward to it.