Combating local stink

As much as my region of the world is lovely, it is stinky. People are only here in significant numbers because of the local heavy industry that pays for the local economy.

Praise aside, the steel works stink. The chemical works stink. At muck spreading time of year (a few weeks ago up until more or less now) the farms stink, and at harvest time with all the resulting dust, the farms stink

We could whinge and whine. Or we could grow stuff in our front gardens that mask the stink. Already we have a curry plant by the front door (which stinks). I'm thinking of planting nice smelling plants for year round pleasant fragrance to mask the local stink. Any ideas please?

 

Lavender, rosemary, honeysuckles, roses, jasmine

 

For Jan/Feb - Sarcococca Confusa (winter flowering, ie Jan/Feb in Manchester). Heavy perfume even on a small plant. Good plant for a shady position

Daphne x transatlantica Eternal Fragrance - heavily scented flowers from April through to October. Likes a sunny spot.

Roses - David Austin's Lady Emma Hamilton, Jude the Obscure, Gertrude Jekyll or Sceptre'd Isle have the strongest fragrance out of mine. Repeat flowering from early summer through to Autumn (mine are still producing lots of buds)

Climbers such as Wisteria, Jasmine, Honeysuckle.

Broom - I have one in a planter which smells lovely when I walk past it. Not everybody likes the smell but I do. It flowers in Spring.

 

Thanks all. Do we think a scented garden would mask other smells, or might they all mix together into one horrid smell do we think?

 

Yes, not sure scented plants are really scented enough!!!

Val

 

I think the plants would cover the stink if you use those which people have suggested which are heavily scented

Have a look at the suggestions on that thread and use plants such that you have scent all year round. It may take a couple of years until the plants are bigger for the scent to get very strong though.

 

How about night scented Stocks or Nicotiana for the summer.

 

I've been informed today that our area doesn't really smell, and it has been suggested that my nose is too close to my, erm, behind.

However, I in any case I'm going to start placing lots of emphasis on scented plants in my gardens.

Mostly, what I was pondering was if it would be possible in some way to get lots of people involved. I have no idea at this point how, but I think it would be great if we could unite a community to make a significant difference. Sure, I could fill my garden with scented plants, but the effect would wear off once you get a few yards away from my house. Lots of people around here whine about the occasional smelly burp from the works (which is harmless unless the call goes out, in which case you stay indoors, but this has only happened once in my entire life so far). Last year we even nearly had a mass lawsuit against one smelly company (that company has since invested millions in a new piece of kit meant to remove the cause the smell). Other communities have the same issues. I'd love it if instead of just whining, people collectively did something that improve things for themselves. Imagine, for example, if visitors to Redcar went away with strong memories of the lovely fragrance of say lavender. Or another example, one of my holidays somewhere in the med, I can't even remember which one it was, I just remember the gorgeous smell of the orange groves that were just outside the town we were staying at.

 

I'd plant a pink bunkadoo.

 

Lets face it, NO flowers are going to cover the smell of a Petro Chemical works

"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning" :-)

Jack McH

 

How about Febrezeii

 

I agree, we have some bad stink here too, but fortunately it amounts to maybe 2 weeks in the year - but it's of a kind that no plant can disguise.
Sometimes I thought whether it would make sense to do sth agains the stink, but I am convinced that it would involve lots of effort to mobilise other locals and lots of time and it just wears you down...

 

No flower scents are going to come near to covering the stench from the 200 tons of Chicken litter about 30 metres from our house.
And being Widnes bred and buttered believe me I know about SMELLS!