Milk of human kindness

There’s a miracle drink in Toby’s fridge that’s helping keep the mildew off his precious blooms. We’ll drink to that!

- Toby

STICK a rose near a friend’s nose and ask them to describe its scent and they’ll probably say it’s ‘nice’. But if you hint that your rose is fruity or spicy like Turkish delight then the chances are they’ll perceive those aromas, too.

Much of what we smell is the product of practice. If you split a pong into different ‘notes’ and learn words that describe each one, then any smell becomes both more noticeable and complex. Much of the rest is down to suggestion… I mention this because I’ve been trialling a novel (to me) cure for fungal mildew.