Geranium

Geranium is the rose that grows on a leaf. The scented pelargonium smells of rose, but of a rose that is green, sharp and a little minty, as if the flower had been crushed with its own stem. It is one of the most useful florals in perfumery and one of the most misunderstood.

What geranium is

Geranium oil is steam distilled from the leaves and stems of Pelargonium graveolens and its hybrids, the scented geraniums of the South African cape that were carried across the world for their leaves rather than their small pink flowers. The oil is built on citronellol and geraniol, the same molecules that give rose its scent, with a fresh minty edge from isomenthone and a green, slightly metallic brightness. It can stand in for rose, extend rose, or give a composition a rosy freshness without any flower at all.

Where our geranium comes from

Our geranium comes from Egypt, where it is grown in the fertile fields of the Nile valley and delta south of Cairo and harvested twice a year. Egypt is the largest producer of geranium oil in the world, and its oil is known for a warm, rosy profile with a green freshness that is less minty than the Bourbon type from the island of Réunion. The hot dry Egyptian climate pushes the rose molecules forward, and the oil that results is the most rose like of all the geraniums. The geranium in Impériale Oud is recorded in our books as a Bourbon type without a country, and so I print none for that chapter.

How geranium smells

Rosy, with citronella and mint. It opens green and bright, almost lemony, then turns rosy and slightly sweet, with a fresh minty coolness that never quite leaves it.

Geranium in our chapters

• IHayalThe Crown · in the heart

  In Hayal it sits in the heart beside neroli and clary sage, the green rose among the blossoms of the crown.

• IIParadis de BleuThe Leaves · in the heart

  In Paradis de Bleu it is the rosy thread through a green heart, the flower hidden among the leaves.

• IVRosée BlancheThe Climbing Rose · in the heart

  In Rosée Blanche it stands beside the Bulgarian rose in the heart and gives the climbing rose its leaves and its dew.

• VIImpériale OudThe First Root · in the heart

  In Impériale Oud a Bourbon type geranium extends the rose of the heart, adding the green sharpness that keeps the crimson from becoming jam.

A note from the atelier

Every rose in my chapters has a geranium beside it. The flower gives the beauty and the leaf gives the truth, and a rose without its leaf smells, to me, like a photograph rather than a garden.

Questions about geranium