The perfume of Mr Eijck returns in the citrus character of the vervain, green herbs and wood (1,2,3).

The perfume of Mrs Eijck consists of three modules reflected in the white flowers, the fruit, and the water features (4,5,6).

A third additional fragrance – an imaginary perfume – was composed, which represents the bond between Mr Eijck, Mrs Eijck, and the garden. The third fragrance’s composition comprises the aroma of the roses, bruised boxwood leaf and damp forest soil (7,8,9).

For the project What About a Garden, Sanne Vaassen collaborates with scent architect Tanja Schell to create a fragrance based tour of Kasteel Wijlre’s garden. Vaassen augments our perception of the garden by simply highlighting one of its most distinctive features: its scent.

Castle Wijlre estate exudes many floral fragrances, which change according to the seasons, weather and time of day. The garden’s fragrances emote and trigger memories and associations; the smell of a flowering tree, water feature, herb garden or rose. Smell creates invisible bonds with our surroundings; its effects are as elusive and fleeting as our mood.

For the past thirty years, Kasteel Wijlre’s founders and residents, Mr and Mrs Eijck, have devotedly and lovingly developed the gardens. The garden’s design echoes the castle’s architecture. Needle-straight hedgerows, thuja, yew, beech and boxwood carefully direct the play of volume and light through harmonious combinations of interior and exterior, past and present, and nature and culture. Sanne Vaassen and Tanja Schell looked for another impression, that of the inner world of the residents to the openness of the garden.

Nine locations marked on the route have a connection to Kasteel Wijlre’s residents. The tones of the personal perfume of Mr and Mrs Eijck, and thus a part of their fragrance identity, are highlighted in the garden’s planting and experienced during the walk.

Scentroute: Reflections, walking route, 2015