Gubu.ie

A right challenge for ye! But I'd like to know, all the same.

There's one part of the garden where, when I'm working there, especially when I'm disturbing the vegetation, I get a very strong smell that transports me back to the bullocks' field in West Clare where we used to put up our tent when visiting my uncle. Despite my travels and trampling through many different fields and forests over the years, I've never really come across this smell anywhere else, at least not that I can think of.

Anyhow, the area where I'm picking it up is part of the zone that is destined for landscaping, and if at all possible, I'd like to identify the grasses, weeds or other plants that might be responsible so that I can try to preserve them, as those holidays were filled with good memories and it'd be nice to keep the olfactory trigger. So: does anyone have any ideas as to what makes up the characteristic smell of a damp Loop Head peninsula field?

(And no, it can't be the cow dung, because I haven't had any of that here for about a decade now)

Might be a strong indication to throw out those old dancing shoes, and get new ones......

Wild garlic?
But you would probably know that smell.

Wild garlic would have been my first guess too. Any photos of the area?

Wild mint ?

In my area, in Dublin, the home smell is Little Robin. I love the smell of it for some reason and hate weeding it out of the garden.

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/pla ... ttle-Robin

Bog myrtle? Anything from the Tansy family?
Could be urine of an animal that frequents. On some early morning walks I feel like I have been given a dog's nose because I am picking up different animal traces. Bit weird.
It might also be some particular mycelium in the soil...?

There's be no wild garlic at this time of the year though right? Unless you're disturbing the soil too

Wow - am surprised at the level of response, and I welcome all your suggestions.

This isn't any kind of "herbal" or foral/perfume smell - I suppose I'd have to describe it as "earthy" but I'm somewhat handicapped in this regard, because it is so strongly associated with that damp, grassy field in Clare. Chances are that it's in all the fields in the area, but we only pitched our tent in that one. My maternal grandad had farmland in Meath, and I never smelt it there, nor in the wetlands bordering the Shannon in Longford where my father's other brother lived.

On the other hand, in my garden it seems to be strongest in - and fairly limited to - a part that is inexplicably damper than the rest, and there's a lot of reedy grass growing in patches, which is a point in common with the Clare field (we used to try to make St. Bridget's Crosses with them)

Can't localise the smell today, as there's a fierce wind blowing and all subtle scents are being carried off across the newly sown winter-wheat fields!

If it's wet or very damp then Water Mint would be my guess https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha_aquatica love the smell of it, very evocative.

No, it's definitely not anything minty (I have recently created a "mint mountain" to be walked over and give off that smell, so that's already been taken account of)

If it's an earthy smell could be as Isha pointed out earlier a fungal smell. Was it more pronounced at certain times of the year ?

Tuffles

The Continental Op wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:46 am Tuffles

He could be sitting on a fortune

Ncdjd2 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:53 am He could be sitting on a fortune

If that's the case, my uncle would have been furious that he went to his grave not knowing that his bullock paddock had the same hidden treasure!

(But I am sitting on a fortune - see here )

The Continental Op wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:46 am Tuffles

Speaking of truffles, I see the black truffle has been successfully grown for the first time in Ireland.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/tr ... irst-time/