On view at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum:
Scent is an essential part of life. It is especially important to plants, as they use the chemistry of scent to communicate with the world around them, attracting pollinators with their intoxicating smells and repelling herbivores with pungent odors. These different scents attract and repel humans as well, evidenced by the archaeological remains of plants and tools used for incense and perfume in ancient cultures. Every part of a plant—from flower to root—contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be harvested and extracted through different processes, with the art and science of perfumery combining these elements in new and exciting compositions for our noses to enjoy.
The Smelling the Bouquet exhibition explores the spectrum of scents plants create, inspired by the diverse live and scientific collections at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The gardens outdoors offer renowned fragrant plants that have been a part of human culture for millennia, such as roses, jasmine, and water lilies. The Garden’s conservatories protect and display unique and rare plants from around the globe that provide new opportunities for Garden botanists and horticulturists to study and analyze their scents to understand pollinator interactions and what VOCs they may create and emit. Garden botanists carry out this scent research on plants in Madagascar, which is today also the center of production for one of the most famous and identifiable scents in the world, Madagascar vanilla. The Garden’s Herbarium specimens, together with scent-related objects, intersect the artistry and the botany behind the human culture of scent.
The highlight of the exhibition is the opportunity to sniff over two dozen scents that include several interpretive fragrances of the Garden’s live plants as well as botanical compounds renowned for use in perfumery. Artisan perfumers Shawn Maher and Weston Adam—both based in the St. Louis region—created these interpretive fragrances and provided these compounds in the Main and Lower Level galleries. In the Museum’s South gallery, olfactory artist Gayil Nalls, PhD features her botanical scent artwork, World Sensorium, that offers a unique sensory encounter with the importance of aromatic plants to the collective human experience.
Explore the world of plants and scents in the Sachs Museum, and then head outside to the various gardens to sniff and enjoy the fragrances offered by the plants around you.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Plants and scents are inseparable in our experience and our imagination. Our daily lives are influenced by aromas and scents from morning to night—many of them coming from plants. Whether it is the tea or coffee we start our day with, or the perfume we wear, it is the volatile compounds plants create that attract us to enjoy them and to harness them for their special smells. Plants fragrance our world and may we savor every sniff.
This exhibition would not have been possible without all of these perfumers, lenders,
collaborators, researchers, and supporters to this Sachs Museums project. They shared their expertise, passion, and creativity on plants, scents, olfaction, analysis, perfumes, community, decorative arts, and pop culture. This exhibition features an interactive opportunity to smell many plants, compounds, and interpretive fragrances, including some inspired by species found in the Missouri Botanical Garden live collections, growing on Garden grounds and in the conservatories.
Grateful thanks to Nancy Ridenour
for sponsorship of the exhibition scent commissions,
performance series, and sniff ‘n learn series.
Additional support for the film & discussion panel by Bonnie Koblitz.
Perfumers Shawn Maher and Weston Adam
Artist Gayil Nalls, PhD, World Sensorium Conservancy
Stefanie Hermsdorf for the scent research and design expertise, Rogério Victor Satil Neves for Brazilian research expertise, Virginia Harold for installation photography, and Sofia Collette Ehrich for the research and content in Uncovering the Fragrant in the Sachs Museum Mural activity guide.
Contributors of research and lenders of scents, objects, video, images and olfactory expertise to the exhibition: Marissa Sandoval and Jasen Liu, University of California at Davis, Ramírez Lab, UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology; Dr. Russell Williams, Dr. Michael Wei, Katia Gutierrez, Melissa Jurkowski, and Kristina De Yong, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center; Fernanda do Canto, Tombô Productions and Maria Luciene Gama Santos, Association for the Defense of Human Rights and the Environment in the Amazon, Brazil; Elizabeth Collins, George Mason University; Dr. Vanessa Handley and Dr. Peggy Fiedler, The Red List Project; Spyros Drosopoulos, Baruti Perfumes; Dr. Eliot Gardiner, Case Western Reserve University; Éliane Thomas; Eric J. Hoffman; Ted Burger, Josh Johannpeter, Daniel Browning, The Richard H. Driehaus Collection. Marie Clapot; Miranda Gordon, Punk Champagne; Jas Brooks; Saskia Wilson-Brown, Institute of Art and Olfaction; Dr. Andreas Keller, Olfactory Art Keller.
Special acknowledgments to Garden staff and research associates who shared their expertise, research, and collections on view here: Dr. Mónica Carlsen-Krause, Dr. Carmen Ulloa Ulloa, Dr. Alfredo Fuentes, and Belen Alvestegui Montalvo; Dr. Nisa Karimi, Heidi Schmidt, Nicole Tineo, Chris Birkinshaw, Dr. Tariq Stevart; Dr. John Atwood and Doug Ladd; Dr. Armand Randrianasolo, Dr. Tabita Randrianarivony, Fortunat Rakotoarivony, Roger Lala Andriamiharisoa, Brice Funklee Rakotozafy, Bruno Rakotonindriana, and Wilson Andrianarivelo; Dr. Robbie Hart, Dr. Wendy Applequist, Carolina Romero, The William L. Brown Center; Dr. Jordan Teisher, Lauren Boyle, and Victoria Patrick; Dana Kelly, Jim Kuchar, and Anna Anderson; Chris Hartley; and Marianne Hoffmann.
Especial thanks to the Sachs Museum remote interns who contributed to the research and text for the exhibition: Merritt Dos Santos, Emily Tinglan Cai, Kristin Lee, Alyssa Hanna, Tianyi Frida Jiang, Abby Sucher, Abigail Cannon, Arianna Halle, Chelsea Zuckerman, Allison Fabrizio, Jordan Schein, Connie Brown, Emeline Swanson, Lydia Estrada, John Oganian, and Kyra Tani Little.
Additional thanks to the performers and programming partners for the special events series related to the exhibition: The Mourning Society of Saint Louis, Charis Railey and Amara Arts, Michael J. Leonardelli, Benedetta Orsi and The St. Louis Women’s Chorale, and Devin Johnston.
~ Nezka Pfeifer, Museum Curator, Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum
#SmellingTheBouquet
Sachs Museum Sniff ‘n Learn series: Smelling the Bouquet
To explore additional content related to the plants and scents exhibition, a series of three Sniff ‘n Learn dates will offer open educational engagement by different experts on select Saturdays through Summer 2025 at the Sachs Museum, daily hours 11:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m. Free with Garden admission. Sponsored by Nancy Ridenour.
June 21, 2025: Fragrance in the Victorian Age with the Mourning Society of St. Louis
Immerse yourself in the scents of the Victorian period, exploring fragrances men and women used daily and those used for medicinal and funerary purposes. Engage with the members of the Mourning Society of St. Louis (dressed in period costume) to learn more about how people in the 19th century used scents. Included with Garden admission. Sponsored by Nancy Ridenour.
June 28, 2025: Perfumers Spotlight with Shawn Maher and Weston Adam
Join artist perfumers Shawn Maher and Weston Adam—who created interpretive fragrances in Smelling The Bouquet: Plants & Scents in the Garden exhibition at the Sachs Museum—to learn more about their perfumery style and practice. Included with Garden admission. Sponsored by Nancy Ridenour.
August 9, 2025: Scents of Wine & Spices with Michael Leonardelli, Shawn Maher, and Weston Adam
Experience and learn more about the scents of food and drink (but no eating or imbibing!) with perfumers Shawn Maher and Weston Adam, and wine educator Michael Leonardelli. The perfumers will explore the global diversity of scents in spices and the wine educator will present the spectrum of scents found in wine. Included with Garden admission. Sponsored by Nancy Ridenour.
August 21, 2025: Short Documentary Film & Discussion Panel: Ireland and Its Aromatic Heritage
6 p.m.
With Dr. Gayil Nalls, olfactory artist in Smelling the Bouquet, and three Garden scientists, moderated by Museum Curator Nezka Pfeifer; film duration 35 minutes, panel to follow 35 minutes’ duration. Sponsored by Bonnie Koblitz
Sachs Museum Performance Series: Smelling the Bouquet
Complementing the exhibition, the performance series will present dancers, singers, and a poet who have created special programs that intersect with scents commissioned from the exhibition’s perfumers. Two shows on each date, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; free with Garden admission*; seating is first come, first served and performance duration is 30 minutes. All performances take place on Saturdays at the Sachs Museum at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Sponsored by Nancy Ridenour.
*St. Louis City and County residents can enjoy free admission to the Garden on Saturday mornings until noon with proof of residency.
July 19, 2025: Saias: Dance and Scents with Charis Railey and Amara Arts
Amara Arts presents an immersive Afro-Contemporary dance installation that weaves botanical aromas and whirling textiles into a multi-sensory experience. Following the performance, join us for a "scent reveal" and a discussion on the intersection of aroma and culture.
View performance >
September 27, 2025: Musical Scents: Voices in the Garden with Benedetta Orsi and St. Louis Women’s Chorale
Have you ever experienced scents through sounds? The Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum at the Missouri Botanical Garden and Italian acclaimed Mezzo Soprano Benedetta Orsi will take you on a captivating journey through scents and essences in classical music, to discover the fascinating world of fragrances inspired by plants.
Each song evokes a distinct aroma, from the crisp freshness of a vanilla ice cream to the intoxicating allure of blooming lilies and Indian lotus. Rich blends of citrus fruits and green grassy undertones orchestrated through a mesmerizing fusion of sweet and exotic flowers, creating an unforgettable musical experience.
As guest ensemble, the St. Louis Women’s Chorale will perform three selections together with Benedetta Orsi that conjure up roasted coffee, black tea and tobacco through complex blends of woody, spicy, and smoky notes. Music by Bizet, Schumann, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, De Curtis, and more. Nancy Mayo, pianist; piano provided courtesy of Jackson Pianos.
October 11, 2025: Poetry and Scents with Devin Johnston
Devin Johnston will read his poems, as well as prose excerpts, related to olfactory experience, from pink evening primroses to ambergris to chanterelle mushrooms. Johnston is the author of seven collections of poetry, including Dragons (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023); Far-Fetched (FSG, 2015); Traveler: Poems (FSG, 2013); and Sources (Turtle Point Press, 2008). He teaches at Saint Louis University and serves as an editor of Flood Editions, an independent publisher.