Smell as sweet? Not if it comes from today's commercial nurseries. Commercially produced flowers are no longer as redolent as they once were. I believe this dramatic change is a result of breeding programs that focus on resilience and shelf-life over aroma.

Beyond color, breeders have been targeting improvements in flower longevity, shape, size, disease resistance, and other traits likely to improve the growers' bottom lines.

Link to Science News Online article.

But we still have wildflowers, right? Everything from crops to clover relies on pollination, a large part of which is facilitated by insects like bees and butterflies. Unfortunately, air pollution is turning wild blossoms invisible:

Scents that could travel for more than half a mile in the 1800s now probably travel less than about 600 feet, according to Jose D. Fuentes, professor of environmental sciences at the university and a co-author of the study.

"This makes it increasingly difficult for pollinators to locate the flowers," Fuentes said.

Link to ABC News article