The Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) is worth growing just for its delightful aroma. It also offers striking, sturdy flowers and is as simple an herbaceous plant as one could wish for.
Its large number of familiar names testifies to centuries of cultivation in gardens and the high esteem in which it is held. Mother-of-the-evening, vesper flower, queen’s gilliflower, damask violet: many of these names allude to the plant’s sweet aroma, comparable to a mixture of violets and carnations, and the time of day in which the fragrance is released.
