Variegated Foliage Essential for Long-Term Landscape Color

Color in the Landscape

LS Color draws attention

Human response to color in flower, fruit or leaf is deep and emotional. Color is therefore one of the most compelling plant characteristics used to create interest in the landscape. While landscapers use many design tools such as texture, form, repetition and symmetry as well as hardscaping to create dynamic landscapes, a colorful container, a brilliant annual bed or an appealing bright rosebush loaded with flowers automatically draws attention to that particular spot. This means of creating interest is useful in landscape design to direct visitors to the leasing office or to indicate the way to the pool or recreational area. Heads turn as people are drawn to color.

Colorful plants distinguish themselves from the background mass of greenery in most landscapes, emerging to take front stage. However, vibrant flower color in plants is often short-lived or fleeting, for example, as shrubs bloom during a brief period of the year and then revert to green the rest of the time. In addition, fewer colorful flowers bloom in the shade (about 80% in sun but only 20% in shade) and designers must turn to other sources of plant color.

Variegated Foliage

Twist of Lime(TM) Abelia 

When looking to enliven the myriad shades of garden green, colorful variegated foliage is the method of choice.  One of the finest variegated shrubs for sun or shade, Twist of Lime ™ Abelia is flowering shrub with interest 12 months a year and attractive white flowers/sepals about 6 months! 

Twist of Lime™ Abelia by Garden Debut(R) has many landscape uses, as a specimen or grouped in shrub borders or foundations. It is also effective when massed as a shrubby groundcover, particularly on banks where plants can also provide erosion control, This moderate grower may be used as a low, informal hedge in southern areas where winter die-back is not a concern, although plants lose their attractive graceful shape if pruned or sheared. Twist of Lime™ Abelia is also a creative choice for permanent containers on terraces or balconies. 

What is your favorite variegated landscape mainstay? 

DYK? Dead-heading Shrubs Makes Them Rebloom!

by Geri Laufer

Basil flowers

Botany

The main “goal” of any plant is to flower, set seed in order to reproduce and then die. Dead-heading is the process of picking off dead flower heads so that the plant in question will keep blooming by developing more flower buds in its continued attempts to set seed.

Annuals and Horticultural Practice

Annual flowers go through this process in one year. In order to prevent the early demise of an annual color bed and keep plantings blooming at full strength throughout the season, gardeners and landscapers routinely dead-head the plantings. This causes the flowers to continue flowering  and the herbs producing more leaves for harvest. Bedded-out marigolds or pansies in a flower bed, or an herb bed planted with annual basil come to mind.

Perennials

Although perennials grow and increase in the garden for several years, they too can be profitably dead-headed. For example, purple coneflower and black-eyed Susans regularly bloom twice a season if the old flower heads are removed immediately after their first flowering.

Dead Headed Seed Pods

Woody Ornamental Shrubs

Typically, dead-heading is applied to herbaceous plants and not to woody ornamentals. In the case of woodies, most people never think of applying this horticultural practice to the flowering shrubs in their gardens or landscapes.

Seed Pods Blue Angel Althea

Blue Angel Althea

One reliable shrub that will continue to flower if the old seed capsules are removed is Blue Angel Althea from Garden Debut®. This shrub flowers prolifically in late summer through early fall, and is covered with blue trumpets. But if the seed capsules (that resemble tiny green acorn-squash) removed before they begin to ripen, Blue Angel will continue to flower much later than normal, adding its color and joy to the landscape.  

Enjoy the delightful color of Blue Angel Altheas twice as long by dead-heading old flowers and young seed pods.

Columnar Urban® Apples Part of Edible landscaping

by Geri Laufer

Tullie Smith House at AHC

Edible Landscaping

Throughout history, the most practical form of landscape “design” placed food-producing plants closest to the home, enclosed by fences to protect them from animals and passers-by.  One example, the Tullie-Smith House on the grounds of the Atlanta History Center, depicts a family farm of the 1840s complete with a sharp picket fence surrounding the flowers and fruit planted near the house.

MiesVanDerRohe-VillaTugendhat

Then gardens and grounds became more sophisticated, and food producing trees and shrubs were separated from foundation plantings and relegated to the orchard. Ornamental landscaping for urban dwellers came to mean plants with low maintenance, with no pesky fruit or seeds to pick or rake. Beauty, privacy screening, noise reduction, energy efficiency and shade became the main requirements for landscaping around the home. 

Today, with the increased interest in locally-grown produce and flowers, traditional fruits like apple and peach trees, pomegranate shrubs and grape vines are once again being included in borders, hedges, specimen plantings and arbors. Landscape architects are adding edible landscape plants to their designs.

Columnar Urban(R) Apples

Urban® Apples

Columnar apple trees like Urban® Apples by Garden Debut® are perfect to slip into even the smallest spaces while providing full-sized fruit. Growing these apple trees in large containers is yet another option. They stand stiffly upright, taking no more than a couple of feet square, and provide apple blossoms in spring and tasty apples in fall. Choose two for good pollination. 

Good Better Best! Apple Pie Tips for Urban® Apples

To enhance the delightful crisp flavor or Urban® Apples, add a cup of shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese and a little extra salt when making your favorite 2-crust pie dough.

Add a teaspoon cinnamon and a teaspoon of freshly-grated nutmeg to your favorite pie filling. Mound the apples in the center of the pie shell then top with the second cheese crust. 

What makes your apple pie special?

Sterile Barberry is Non-Invasive

Orange Rocket Barberry PP18411:  Beautiful, Sterile, Non-Invasive Award-Winner -- by Geri Laufer

In terms of invasive exotics, the Hawaiian Islands are a good case study.

DYK? Of plants growing in Hawaii, 75% are introduced plant species, while only 25% are native plants that grew there before the entrance of man on the scene. Many of these introductions seem beneficial, like pineapple or oleander. Others like Chinese banyan, climbing fern or privet are bad actors that crowd out the natural flora.  

Exotic plants, also called non-native or alien species, are those transported outside their range by human activity, whether intentional or not. According to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, humans are “homogenizing” the world’s diverse flora at an unprecedented rate. To paraphrase their report, ‘prior to human arrival the rate of establishment of new species was one every 35,000 years or so, while now it is 20-30 new species per year or approximately a million-fold increase. ‘ Plants that significantly disrupt the ecosystem are designated ‘invasive’.

Orange Rocket Barberry

Back on the mainland, the Plant ConservationAlliance’s Invasive Plant Working Group notes that twenty states, mainly in the northeast and the District of Columbia, have indicated that Japanese Barberry, Berberis japonica, is an ecological threat that spreads by seed with 90% germination rates, and forms dense stands in the wild, displacing native plants and reducing wildlife forage and habitat.

Best Shrub Far West Show

CAUTION: Don’t confuse sterile Orange Rocket Barberry PP18411 with its renegade cousins! 

Orange Rocket Barberry PP18411 lacks flowers and has never been observed to set seed. It is not invasive. This well-behaved new hybrid plant introduction, a Berberis thunbergeri selection, originated in the Czech Republic and earned the Award of Best Shrub in the 2010 New Varieties Showcase at the Oregon Association of Nurserymen’s Far West Show. So it is the perfect barberry for garden situations, along with its yellow twin: Golden Rocket Barberry PP18626.

Garden Debut® is extremely careful in the plants included in the lineup of new introductions. You can count on their Great New Plants with confidence.

top photo courtesy National Park Service Vital Sign Monitoring Established
Invasive Plant Species. science.nature.nps.gov

White Angel Althea and Marshmellows

 White Angel resembles marshmellows

Why does new White Angel Althea from Garden Debut® remind me of marshmellows?  

Marshmellows are one of the earliest confections known to man and were originally made from the root sap of the Marsh Mallow (Althea officinalis) plant and used medicinally. The scientific genus name indicates the distinctive flower structure shared by plants in the Mallow Family, Malvaceae, and there are a lot of them.  White Angel Althea, Hibiscus syriacus, is also in this plant family and is a close relative of the Marsh Mallow,  sharing the same type of flower. 

 

Modern day Marshmellows

The species name of Marsh Mallow, officinalis, indicates that this Mallow is an “official” member of the medieval list of medicinal plants, known as Hortus Medicus. From olden times, Marsh Mallows have been dug up and a mucilaginous tea brewed from the roots to soothe sore throats.  Later, the moist and sticky root sap became the origin of the confection we know today as the fun food, marshmellows. Food historians might like to learn more.  

Photo from Not Without Salt Blog

Or DIY and make Ashley Rodriguez’ own version of the American fun food. Use Hibiscus “Juice” made from dried Hibiscus flowers, purchased as Jamaica Flowers or Roselle at the Mexican grocery, in order to make the marshmellows pink. Find the step-by-step directions at her Not Without Salt blog. 

ALERT

Although White Angel Althea flowers do look like dreamy white marshmellows floating in the garden, and though they are relatives and their flowers are similar to the Marsh Mallow, they are not to be eaten. The Marsh Mallow is herbaceous and easy to dig up when sacrificing the plant to obtain the roots for a recipe. But new White Angel Althea is a woody landscape shrub from Garden Debut® that is not eaten, nor would you want to deprive your landscape of this lovely flowering shrub.  Right? 

How to Train a Flowering Shrub into a Distinctive Ornamental Tree

Lime Soda(TM) Hydrangea

Who wouldn’t want an extremely surprising, head-turning small tree covered with massive, fluffy panicles of white flowers in July that change to vivid pink over the next few months? Easy pruning over a season or two can turn an unusual shrub into a tree form that is perfect for small gardens, as well as being distinctive and unique.  

Generally, shrubs have very different growth habits than trees. While both are woody ornamentals, shrubs are lower growing and have multiple stems that sprout from the base of the plant, while trees are typically taller and single-trunked. But Mother Nature is anything but black and white.

Certain tree species commonly have multiple trunks—such as river birch (Betula), cherry laurel (Prunus) or Chinese Elm (Zelkova).  Conversely, some woody plants that normally grow as shrubs can be pruned or “trained” to have only one trunk-- like tree roses, Rose of Sharon, Viburnum or Althea. Even woody vines such as Wisteria can be trained into a tree form, as explained in our popular blog from 2010.  In these cases the distinctions between the landscape forms become blurred.

multi-stemmed shrub

A robust new shrub appealingly named Lime Soda™ Hydrangea is the perfect choice to prune into a dramatic landscape tree for smaller gardens across the country. Hardy from U.S.D.A. Zone 3 to 8, Lime Soda™ Hydrangea from Garden Debut® has mammoth flower heads that open white in July and change to vivid pink in the next couple of months. 

Lime Soda™ Hydrangea: 

is naturally upright

responds well to pruning

has strong, stiff branches

is fast growing

reaches about 10 feet, ideal for a small tree

pruned to single trunk

Step by Step Creative Pruning to achieve a tree form

+ Before you buy, examine young nursery plants and choose one with a strong central leader
+ Eliminate all the branches arising from the crown at ground level except this leader, which will become the tree-form trunk

+ Prune off branches from the lower 1/3 of the remaining leader flush with the trunk, known as “limbing-up”

+ Guide a strong nursery stake down along the main trunk, hammering in securely, then loosely tie the plant to the stake using a soft tie and a figure 8 around both stake and trunk

+ Allow the top 2/3 of foliage to photosynthesize and the plant to establish a good root system during the rest of the year

+ The following season, limb-up another third of the lateral branches from the trunk. Repeat Step 5 for another year or two until the trunk has reached the desired height, perhaps 5 to 7 feet. Remove the stake.

lower branches removed

+ Select about 5 scaffold branches evenly spaced around the trunk that will become the canopy of the tree, and pinch each of those back about 3 inches to encourage lateral branching  

+ Keep the trunk clean with no branches below the canopy. That is all there is to it!

+ Mulch or underplant Lime Soda(TM) Hydrangea with Snow N Summer Asian Jasmine in warmer climates, or with annuals or Lenten roses for year round appeal. 

How to Use Broadleaf Evergreens in Garden Design

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In the warmer half of the country, Broad-Leaf Evergreens take center stage. Northern gardens are filled with hardy but deciduous trees and shrubs that drop their leaves at the onset of winter, leaving the garden with a bleak appearance,. Garden design in southern gardens relies on the cheerful appearance of year-round gardening. Contributing to the effect are Boxwood, Nandina, Mahonia, Southern Magnolia, Tea Olive, Wax Myrtle, Holly and Cherry Laurel. 

Broadleaf evergreens are valued both as specimens and as hedges to provide structure, often called the “bones” of the landscape, year round. Taller broadleaf evergreens function well as privacy screens, or may be planted into rows as hedges to separate garden rooms. Other broad leaf evergreens are better for low hedges, parterres or more airy applications.  

One example is Centre Court™ Cherry Laurel, Prunus caroliniana, selected by Garden Debut® for its tight, compact branching structure, oval habit and fragrant white flowers in spring. This broadleaf evergreen is hardy to Zone 7 and can be pruned up into a tree form eventually reaching 30 feet.

Centre Court™ CherryLaurel may also be kept as an informal flowering hedge, or sheared occasionally into a formal hedge. Its dark green, glossy foliage and fragrant white flowers are followed by stone fruit that is relished by wild birds. Due to the Prussic Acid (hydrogen cyanide) content of its leaves, Centre Court™ is reliably deer proof.  

Photos courtesy WikiCommons and Garden Debut(R)

Founding Father & Gardener Thomas Jefferson

On Independence Day 2012 we look back to 1776 to think of the Founding Fathers and in particular, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Eponym of Jeffersonian democracy, Jefferson was a political philosopher, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, inventor, scientist, horticulturist and gardener.

The third president of the United States idealized the independent farmer and grew 250+ varieties of vegetables in his 2-acre kitchen garden and 170+ varieties of apples, peaches, grapes, raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries figs and so forth in Monticello's orchards, along with ornamentals such as pinks and iris, and his most beloved “pet trees” carefully sited around his landscape. For Jefferson, Monticello’s gardens were a source of endless experimentation and enjoyment.

Jefferson kept a detailed Garden Kalendar and recorded successes and failures in his Garden Book, an invaluable primary source today. His garden at Monticello was a botanical laboratory of ornamental and useful plants from around the world. For example, he experimented with imported broccoli and squash from Italy, salsify and beans collected by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, French figs and artichokes, Mexican peppers and so forth, selectively eliminating inferior types and choosing the best species or varieties for the hot, humid Virginia climate. In this same tradition, new Garden Debut® ornamental plant introductions have been selected as the best of the best.

According to the official Jefferson Monticello website, the kitchen garden was terraced and leveled to overlook the Virginia Piedmont, “the main part of the two-acre garden is divided into twenty-four "squares," or growing plots arranged according to which part of the plant was being harvested -- whether "fruits" (tomatoes, beans), "roots" (beets, carrots), or "leaves" (lettuce, cabbage). The site and situation of the garden enabled Jefferson to extend the growing season into the winter months and provided a microclimate for tender vegetables such as the artichoke. Jefferson successfully grew figs in Submural Beds, which were also situated to create a uniquely warm setting.”

Perhaps Jefferson’s most beloved quote and the one most gardeners understand best is found in a letter to Charles Wilson Peal in August 20, 1811. Jefferson declared, “But though I am an old man, I am but a young gardener. “ Be sure to visit the website for the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants,  to learn more about heirloom plants and seeds. Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826.

Wood of the Gods! Sterling Frost Deodar Cedar

Deodar Cedar is a true Cedrus with a long history and multiple uses. The new cultivar, Sterling Frost, offers all this background, plus attractive silvery-blue needles that stand out in landscape use. 

Naming

The variety name, Deodar, goes all the way back to the Indo-Arian language of Sanksrit where the word devadaru comes from combining deva (god) and daru (wood). The tree is worshipped as a divine tree among Hindus. Sumerians believed Cedrus groves were the dwelling place of the gods. This tree is mentioned in both the Bible and the Talmud.

Aromatherapy

Cedrus deodorus is often called the incense cedar because the inner wood is aromatic is used as incense and the resinous oil has been used by humans for millennia.  Cedrus has a camphor-like top note with a woodsy, balsamic undertone. Essential oil of cedar is used in aromatherapy for its aromatic properties, and in soaps, household sprays, floor polishes insecticides and as a low note in perfumes.

The bark was used to make baskets, while cedar twigs were made into brooms. Fine wood powder can be bound into incense cones and burned for the aromatic smoke, plus simple wood chips are great for potpourri.

Historical Medicinal Uses

Historically, cedar oil was used medicinally in steam to treat respiratory infections, as well as used as an astringent in facial preparation, and as a sedative for the nerves.

Construction and Uses

The Old Testament relates that wood of the majestic Cedrus was used to build King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in about the 10^th century BCE and was selected because its aromatic qualities were thought to lead worshipers to prayer and closeness to God. Cedar timbers are also durable, rot-resistant, close-grained and can be burnished to take on a high- gloss polish; all qualities excellent for construction. In the landscape the tree grows 40 to 70 feet, while in their native Himalayas they reach 250 feet. The wood. Deodor Cedar had many other construction and ship-building uses.

 

Landscaping Uses

Today, the landscape industry is enhanced by the silvery-needles of new Sterling Frost Deodar Cedar by Garden Debut®, trees with all of the weight of history behind them. With slow to moderate growth rate, Sterling Frost has a pyramidal shape in youth but is wide-spreading flat-topped at maturity.  Enjoy the silvery foliage effect in the landscape, or add the needles to holiday wreaths.

Christmas Jewel® Holly PP14477 Wards Off Evil Spirits

Ever wonder why Decembers are typically filled with evergreen swags and holly wreaths with bright red berries? The color red was revered as the color against evil and the evergreen quality was believed to keep evil spirits away during the dark part of the year.  Red rosehips, red mountain ash, red haws of hawthorns and particularly red holly berries, have long been hung around house doors and windows and on barns and livestock fences to keep people and animals safe.

Holly, plant of power, was thought to ward off the evil eye and to provide protection during the dark of the year. Ancient Romans associated holly with Saturn, their god of time, justice and strength and gifts of holly were given during Saturnalia. In the first century C.E., Pliny the Elder, author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, wrote that Holly planted by the house kept away witchcraft.

Celtic people used the fresh, evergreen, undying holly leaves and branches to adorn their homes during the Winter solstice and to crown their Celtic chieftains. They believed that fairies would take shelter in the evergreen branches and bring good luck because of the hospitality. 

Holly’s protection was also adopted by the early Christian church. Holly was known as holy tree or Christ thorn, while the name, holly, comes from the Old English holm or holen. Prickly holly with its red berries like drops of blood commemorated Christ’s Crown of Thorns. Other legends told that the berries had been white before Christ’s blood stained them red, or that the Cross was made of wood from the holly. Another Christian parable told how holly miraculously grew leaves in order to hide the Holy Family from Herod’s soldiers, and afterward it became evergreen in gratitude.

In medieval times, holly was used medicinally for ailments including arthritis, kidney stones and bronchitis, and was calming for meditation. Holly’s apotropaic power was used to preserve children from whooping cough if they drank milk out of a cup carved from the close-grained white holly wood, and holly joined with bittersweet cured “hag-ridden’ horses and stopped their abuse by pixies, elves and little folk.

As late as 1640 John Parkinson wrote about holly in his Theatrum Botanicum that ‘the branches with berries are used at Christmas-tide to decke our houses withall, but that they should defend the house from lightning and keepe themselves from witchcraft. . . .’

In the twenty-first century, keep the traditions alive while beautifying your landscape with Christmas Jewel® Holly PP14477, renowned for large, brilliant red berries and glossy foliage. Plant several Christmas Jewel(R) shrubs in order to have plenty of berried holly boughs to cut for treasured winter decorations for years to come.

http://www.gardendebut.com/christmas-jewel-holly.php

Lore adapted from The Englishman's Flora, Geoffrey Grigson, J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., 1953, London.

How To Dry Nantucket Blue™ Hydrangea Flowers for Winter Arrangements

The ocean of fresh blue blooms in the landscape all summer is provided by long-lasting NantucketBlue™ Hydrangea.

Nantucket Blue™ prolongs the display,continuing with fresh flowers for months. Unlike common hydrangeas, this unique beauty blooms repeatedly on new growht throughout the growing seson and may bloom from early summer well into early fall. 

However, even Nantucket Blue™ will not go on forever. A great option is to preserve those blue mopheads for winter arrangements by drying when the flower heads are fully mature and beginning to dry on the shrubs.  

Step 1

Evaluate blossoms. In order to dry without wilting, flowers should be fully mature, beginning to dry on the plant, with the first few florets just beginning to brown

Step 2

Cut blossoms with about a foot of stem

Step 3

Strip the leaves

Step 4

Place in a vase and dry in place, or else hang upside down to dry. Some swear by adding an inch of water and allowing the flowers to slowly dry as the water evaporates.

These dried flowers will retain the rich New England Blue for years if they are kept out of direct sunlight. Mix them in dried arrangements, or wire the flowerheads into wreaths on a springtime will wreath.  

If you like the flower form but don’t need the blue color, and you wish the flowers to remain flexible, a second option is to dry using glycerin. Prepare the flower stems as before, but put in a vase with room temperature water, Meanwhile, mix glycerin from the craft supply store with hot water, fill a roomy vase and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add the hydrated hydrangeas to the glycerin mixture, and when they are leathery golden brown they are ready. (Note: the remaining glycerin mixture can be re-used..) 

Post photos of your dried Nantucket Blue(TM) Hydrangea creations on the Garden Debut(TM) Facebook Page. 

Photos courtesy Garden Debut(R), Wiki Commons, HydrangeasHydrangeas.com AnemoneWeddingBouquet.Blog 

How to Make Gardenia Perfume Oil with Crown Jewel(R) Gardenia PP19896

Fragrance is a highly prized feature in my garden. I select plants and shrubs based on their fragrances, such as the new perfumed Crown Jewel Gardenia PP19896 or the compact lemony Teddy Bear® MagnoliaPP13049, both from Garden Debut®. In addition to enjoying them on garden strolls, I have been using these flowers for more than thirty years to make fragrant gifts like potpourri, flower infusions and essential oils for use in herb crafts and perfumery.

Gardenia Perfume Oil, akso known as Scented Flower Infusion or Enfleurage

Making gardenia perfume oil, also known as flower infusion or enfleurage, is the craft of steeping flowers in a carrier oil in order to remove the scent from the petals and deposit it in the oil. It is a method of making essential oil or perfume oil by extracting the fragrance from selected scented flowers such as fresh gardenias submerging them in pure oil because they are too fragile to withstand heat-facilitated extraction.

Historically, flowers and fats (even rendered lard) were placed between glass sheets and pressed. Fat-soluble fragrance molecules in the thick petals dissolve and transfer their fragrance from the flowers into the oil they are soaking in. (Water-soluble fragrance molecules will not dissolve using this method; steam distillation is an entirely different process.) Essentialoilscompany.com notes that rose oil is a yellow or colorless liquid and the major component, phenyl-ethyl alcohol, is extracted from the petals in distillation. 

Some recipes indicate specialty non-scented oils such as coconut, jojoba, almond, grape seed or safflower oil, later fixed with Vitamin E oil, but beginners can use any oil (such as baby oil or even hydrogenated vegetable fat such as Crisco) to try out the technique.

How to Make Flower Perfume Oil using Crown Jewel(R) Gardenia PP19896

Collect perfumed flowers 

 Remove green calyxes, leaving petals

 Place flowers in a ceramic bowl or glass jar 

 Bruise or macerate petals slightly with a wooden spoon

 Submerge them in a small quantity of non-scented oil; a ceramic bowl or mason jar is good for this step

Cover with a cup of oil and steep for a few days  

Remove the first batch of fragrant petals using a very fine stainless steel tea strainer and repeat adding fresh petals, but re-using the same oil to increase the fragrance intensity

Strain any remaining petals or fragments from the oil using the stainless steel strainer; can add a small amount of vitamin E or tocopherol as a preservative

Bottle the finished flower perfume oil in a tightly closed glass bottle or an eyedropper bottle

Store at an even, cool temperature such as a fruit cellar

Use the gardenia enfleurage sparingly to scent dry potpourri, Epsom salts for the bath or glycerin hand lotion.  Or add a small amount to high-test (150-proof or higher) alcohol to make cologne out of the infused oil.   

In addition to gardenia flowers, magnolias, roses, lily-of-the-valley, lavender, lilacs and whatever fragrant flowers which appeal to the crafter can be used. All the aromatic herbs such as sweet marjoram, lemon verbena, oregano, basil, plus spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, may all be used to scent oils. On the internet today, Deborah Dolen points out that even saw dust (albeit from scented woods), can be used to make a perfume in a fatty Effleurage method.  So give it a whirl.  

 I have a library of books on the topic of fragrant crafts and perfumes dating back to Ann Tucker Fettener’s Potpourri, Incense and Other Fragrant Concoctions published by Workman in 1977; Edwin T. Morris, Fragrance, the Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel by E.T. Morris & Company in 1984; Guiseppe Donato and Monique Seefried’s The Fragrant Past put out in association with an exhibition by Emory University Museum of Art and Archeology in 1989; Gail Duff’s Personalized Perfumes by Simon and Schuster in 1994; and Donna Maria’s Making Aromatherapy Creams and Lotions by Storey Books in 2000 (to name just a few my dozens). Each adds a different perspective or contributes additional knowledge to the mix. I'd like to hear about your crafting!