On Thursday, January 6th, our class took a field trip to Fredrick Meijer Gardens. Our main objective was to become acquainted with the various odors surrounding us.
The first room I entered was the Victorian room. The room was warm and moist; the smell was dense and woody, almost like mulch. To me, the scent seemed peaceful and pleasant, reminding me of cedar. The first flower I smelled was an orchid, which had a soft, sweet smell.
The next plant I smelled was a Norfolk Island Pine, which had the deep, woody smell of most pines, but to my surprise, the scent was rather warm.
Following the Pine, I smelled a Cypress tree, which reminded me very much of the pine. However, the scent was both stronger and sharper. A Montgomery Spruce was next, which had a subtle but soft and woody scent.
After the Victorian room, I walked into the desert room. My first stop was at an aloe plant. Although the scent was soft, I was quickly reminded of the smell of lotions. Continuing to walk through the desert room, I smelled a Red Fairy Duster, which smelled rather sweet, and reminded me of the orchid.
Next up I visited the carnivorous plants room. Immediately upon entering I noticed a smell that reminded me of decaying leaves, but the smell was also rather warm. I smelled a Tropical Pitcher Plant, which had a sharp although weak odor, ever so slightly sweet.
Following the carnivorous plants room, I entered the main tropical room. Again I smelled decaying leaves. My first stop, at a Japanese Loquat, gave a rather sharp smell, but still reminded me of certain perfumes. I next encountered the allspice tree, although I did not realize until later that the tree was, in fact, the allspice tree. However, having smelled it, I commented that the smell was very gentle and soothing, very similar to several spices, particularly those that you might put in tea. Later I compared the allspice leaf scent to some ground cinnamon. The allspice smelled fresher and softer, and also a little warmer than the cinnamon.
The next plant was a Fiji Fan Palm, which smelled quite terrible, as though it were decaying. Fortunately the odor was only of a medium strength. The smell was somewhat cold, and reminded my of the smell of dirty socks.
I then approached the Crinum Lily, which was giving off a very powerful scent, which I was easily able to distinguish from several feet away. The scent was very warm and soothing, and quite sweet. The Lily reminded me of some perfumes.
Just walking through the room without pausing to sniff any particular plants revealed many scents wafting through the air, giving a very three-dimensional texture to the room. I could detect decaying leaves, some sweet smells, and some citrus (although I believe that is from some Christmas decorations).
After having gone outside to clear my senses, I returned to the main Christmas room. While I had been outside I had noticed more of a lack of smell, aside from a few evergreens that I sniffed. However, returning to inside I immediately felt bombarded by scents. Although the smell was Christmas-y, I wasn't sure what any of the particular elements to the smell were. Then I thought I smelled some cleaning agents, and shortly thereafter noticed some cleaning supplies on a cart.
I encountered a tree known as the Rose of Venezuela, which had a strong, sweet smell similar to that of perfume.
Back in the Victorian room, I sniffed the Chocolate Orchid. The smell definitely did not remind me of chocolate, but it was very warm and sweet, and called to mind the scents of certain perfumes and lotions. The smell was very powerful.
In the desert room again, an employee showed me some starfish flowers, which she said emit a pungent odor when they blossom. Sadly, the flowers were not blossoming, and so did not emit enough of a scent for me to detect.
In all, this exercise caused me to be much more in tune with not just scents but senses in general. Having a nice slow walk around the gardens allowed me to take in the beauty of the plants and also enjoy the peaceful sounds of a waterfall and birds tweeting. During the course of the exercise, however, I noticed that I was becoming more aware of various scents. Returning a second time to sniff various plants brought more observations to me - although, if I spent too much time trying to smell a plant, its scent would fade from my ability to detect it. My perception of smells seemed most keen upon reentering the building from being outside.
I had two Christmas scents - cinnamon and a mystery scent. I think the mystery scent might be Eucalyptus (due to its Menthol-like smell), but it is not a scent I associate with Christmas. The cinnamon, on the other hand, brings back three main memories. First, a Christmas ornament I made many years ago using cinnamon sticks. Second, my mom making cinnamon rolls. Thirdly, and less happily, the scent of cinnamon reminds of a non-holiday occasion where I put way, way too much cinnamon in with my applesauce. However, my perceptions of the smells around me did not seem to be altered significantly.
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