Le Jardin Secret

The secret garden, Le Jardin Secret, is tucked in among the narrow winding roads of the Gothic district. The owner, a feisty woman of 63 with full white hair, greeted us with warmth that was restrained by great pride in her craft. She introduced us to the scent that won a silver metal at a professional perfume convention in LA. I kept closing my eyes and waving the scent under my nose, it smelled different each time: an earthy richness with the spiciness of resin and a deep floral tone. She shared with us the rose scent, symbolic of the rose that grew after Sant Jordi killed the dragon, and then the scent of the dragon’s death which started with fresh air and finished with smoke. 

    Every scent that she makes is one batch that she never repeats, and each tells its own story that was inspired by a book, a poem, or working directly with an artist and their paintings. I wanted to come back and just sit in the store and write, and I asked about her classes. She teaches master perfumers, and has a short 8 hour class which she is scheduling just for me. It’s expensive, so I was hemming and hawing until she commented on the scents I need for my book, that I can’t just write them, I need to create them. 

    I’ve been thinking about the music that could go with each chapter of my book, as God often communicates to me through a song that he puts in my head for a day or several days. Involving all the senses is important in my writing, so coming to Barcelona to experience how it smells was essential. I can see pictures, I can tour the streets in google maps, but I can’t smell it, and I can’t hear it unless I’m here. Just before Teo took me into the perfume shop we were talking about the wafts of scent that come up from the sewer system, and we had just been assaulted by a particularly pungent burst. We went from the rancid scent into Le Jardin Secret and instantly we were brought into her world of story and imagination. 

    So, what if I include real scents with my books? Maybe a limited edition with the three scents that I will be making in my class. One scent will be that of Aurelio: his deceptive sweetness, another of Cecelia: a blind flower, and the third of the prince: rugged and gentle. Do you want to know what they smell like?