"Where is that exquisite fragrance coming from?” asked a rather puzzled friend as we wandered around my garden on a chilly but sunny afternoon.

“Initially, I thought it was lavender but there isn’t any lavender in bloom. Then, just for a second, I could smell orange blossom but there isn’t any of that either. What spectacularly perfumed plant do you have hidden away here, Zahrah?”

February in the Murree Hills — when snow still lies deep and glittering in pine tree shade — isn’t exactly the best time to visit my garden, although the naturalised hellebores are in full bloom beneath snow sprinkled boughs of otherwise naked apple trees.

“It isn’t the hellebores is it? And it certainly isn’t the crocus. I would have suspected hyacinths but I see they are just in bud. Do tell. Please. Whatever it is, I want some for my garden, too.”

At the end of the laughter-filled guessing game, I surrendered and gave the secret away.

The gorgeous, lingering perfume wasn’t from a plant at all — it was coming, in waves, from the cabbage patch where, not long before my guest arrived, I had liberally sprayed homemade aphid control as both wooly aphids and their clustered black cousins were, in spite of the cold, making serious inroads into what were otherwise flourishing plants.

Explore these amazing essential oils for organic pest control

The spray I had blended comprised one teaspoon lavender oil, one teaspoon sage oil, one teaspoon neroli (orange blossom) oil and one teaspoon neem oil for good measure, all thoroughly shaken and blended with one litre warm water. The aphids were heavily sprayed with this and the cabbage patch smelt like heaven!

Surprisingly few gardeners make use of essential oils for organic pest control — neem oil being the only commonly used exception.

Quite a range of essential oils, used regularly, can be used in the battle against garden pests of various kinds.

Rosemary oil, for instance, works as both a deterrent as well as a cure against the depredations of caterpillars, aphids of all types and many other insect pests too. Peppermint oil is another great, all round, insect repellant and, especially when used in conjunction with rosemary oil and clove oil, is brilliant at knocking out mosquitoes, flies and even, when used in and immediately around the home, those horrible cockroaches that we all, without exception, are far too familiar with.

Then, for those facing inundations of slugs and snails, there is a choice of cedar wood oil, pine oil, thyme oil and hyssop oil — all made with one teaspoon of the selected (or mixed) oil per one litre warm water and applied via a hand-held sprayer, around individual plants, or small beds of plants, that these slithering pests have developed a particular taste for. The spray should be applied, quite liberally, at least three times a week, around sunset, or daily if humidity is high or it has rained.

Neem oil, aided and abetted by a teaspoon full of liquid soap (as pure as possible) to help it stick, is the best all rounder on its own, working, as it does, by coating insects — such as mealy bugs and other members of the ‘scale’ family — with a thin layer of oil which prevents them from breathing, this resulting in suffocation and death.

Then, amongst other uses, essential oils — lavender, rosemary, hyssop, neroli, sage, clove, basil, oregano and thyme all being prime examples — can be used to attract those essential pollinators, including all species of bees, to literally follow their noses to the awaiting flowers and blossom of crops that need pollinating at the time.

Simply mix up the spray, as previously mentioned, and apply it in the general area in need of pollination, on the plants themselves, or on adjacent fences, pathways, walls or wherever else strikes your fancy.

You can also, using whatever fragrance/s you happen to fancy, use essential oils to spice up outdoor seating areas and hideaways, but, a word or warning: avoid spraying them on fabrics as the oil may stain.

Seed sowing guide for February

The vegetable garden: Aubergines, cucumbers, tomatoes, leaf beet/Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens for a quick crop, lettuce, mixed salad leaves, mesclun, endive, bok choy, chicory, radish, green onions, seasonal cabbage and cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, sugar-snap peas, French beans, asparagus peas, chickpeas, carrots and beetroot for use as ‘baby vegetables.’ After the middle of the month try sowing a few courgettes/zucchini, spaghetti squash, marrows, tori, lauki, pumpkins and tindas for early crops starting them off under cover if possible, in a warm, sheltered spot if not.

The flower department: Tagetes (French marigolds), African marigolds, cosmos, matthiola bicornis (Virginian stocks) and matthiola incana (stocks). Sunflowers, Tithonia (Mexican sunflowers), scabiosa, nicandra, nicotiana, verbena, dahlias, godetia, rudbeckia, hollyhocks, gaillardia, nemesia, matricaria, alyssum, lobelia, portulaca, violas, pansies, lobelia and Zinnias can be sowed.

The herb garden: Basil varieties can be started off under cover or in a warm spot sheltered from wind, oregano, marjoram, thyme, plecanthrus, lemon grass, agastache, lemon balm, pennyroyal, arugula/rocket, dill, aniseed, borage, coriander, chives, garlic chives, fenugreek, mints, chervil, nasturtiums and calendulas.

Seed sowing suggestions are based on the Karachi climate and are slightly later, depending on temperatures, in Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta and much later in the hills and mountains of the north.

Shrub of the month: Chaenomeles japonica (Cydonia, Japanese quince, Maules quince). Flowering quince is a thorny, deciduous, hardy perennial shrub that bears its glorious flowers, in shades of red, in early spring before its leaves open. Native to Japan, this pretty shrub, growing to a height of three to six feet, is — with its delicately perfumed flowers that attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects — good hedging material and makes an attractive specimen plant too. Flowers best in full sun but will tolerate partial shade. Also tolerant of most soils as long as drainage is good. The hard fruit ripens in autumn and can be used for making jams and jellies. Pruning is not necessary but dead/damaged/diseased branches should be cut out periodically.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 7th, 2021