Why do flowers smell nice?

Walk past a garden and your nose catches it right away — a soft, sweet smell drifting from the flowers. It feels like a gift just for you. But flowers do not make that smell to please people. They are sending a message to tiny visitors!

A smell that says “come closer”

A flower’s lovely scent floats through the air like a wave. Bees and butterflies have a wonderful sense of smell, and they follow the scent the way you follow the smell of warm cookies. The smell says, “Land here! I have a treat for you.”

A sweet reward inside

Deep inside the flower is a sugary juice called nectar. Bees and butterflies sip it for energy. While a visitor drinks, a fine yellow dust called pollen rubs onto its furry body without it even noticing.

Helping flowers make seeds

When the bee flies to the next flower, some of that pollen brushes off. This passing of pollen helps the plant make seeds, and seeds grow into brand-new flowers. So the flower’s pretty smell is part of a clever deal: the insect gets food, and the flower gets help. Everybody wins!

Wonder fact: Some flowers smell strongest at night to call moths, while one giant flower smells like rotten meat to attract flies!