SCENTS of PLACE

IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, WRITER CELIA BARBOUR FOLLOWS HER NOSE THROUGH A WONDERLAND OF FLOWERS AND HERBS TO EXPLORE THE POWERFUL ORIGINS OF NATURAL PERFUME.

- CELIA BARBOUR

I once decided not to take any photographs at all on a trip through the south of France.

I resolved instead to collect written "snapshots" in my journal-jotting down every intriguing thing that caught my eye. I frequently pulled over to the side of the road to take notes: "kids emerging from woods with berry baskets slung on their arms;" "field of lavender pulsing neon-bright in the sun."

I'm reminded of that experiment when I find myself returning to the same region. This time I wonder whether it is possible to collect olfactory "snapshots" in a similar way-the scent of orange blossoms spilling over the top of a walled garden; the briny zephyrs blowing in from the Mediterranean; the delicious aromas of roasted peppers, basil, and garlic emerging from a bustling café; the dreamy rapture of pressing my face into an overblown rose.