The application process was started in 2012 by producers of Bulgarian
attar of roses in the Kazanlak and Karlovo regions.
Attar of roses comes from Istanbul and Bulgaria, and although the rose is considered a common enough plant, as much as 100 kilos of rose petals may be needed for half a litre of distilled rose oil.
Go for '
Attar of Roses' for a good fragrance, which bears clusters of small mauve flowers, or 'Lady Plymouth' for a lemon fragrance.
Scented geraniums are available in garden centres; ask for Pelargonium capita tum (rose-scentedgeranium)or the variety of
Attar of Roses. It is the leaves rather than the flower that have the strongest scent.
On the other hand, these limitations might be intentional: in contrast to her previous volume,
Attar of Roses (1997; see WLT 73:1, p.
Cleopatra would never have set off to woo Mark Anthony armed with a single spritz of
attar of roses. She would have used enough perfume to envelop herself in a cloud of scent.
Good varieties include 'Voodoo', a unique variety with wine red flowers with black centres, and '
Attar of Roses', a light pink type valued for its rose-scented foliage.