Which words tell us how a flower smells?

Think of a flower in a sunny garden. You lean in close and sniff. Mmm, what a lovely smell!

Your nose knows that smell right away. But how can you tell a friend about it? Which words tell us how a flower smells?

Your friend cannot sniff with your nose. So you share the smell with words. The right words help your friend picture the smell too.

The words you need are describing words, which means words that tell what something is like. Soft is a describing word for a blanket. It tells how the blanket feels.

Sweet is a describing word for smell. Many roses smell sweet. When you say sweet, your friend thinks of a nice, sugary smell.

Lily of the valley is a little white flower that smells fresh. Fresh tells your friend the smell is clean and light. Now picture a big lily that fills a whole room with its smell. What word could tell about that?

You could say strong! Strong tells your friend the smell is big. A strong smell reaches your nose from all the way across the room.

Some smells have no describing word that fits. Then you can say what the smell is like. Honeysuckle flowers smell like honey. Your friend knows honey, so your friend can picture that smell.

You can put the words together too. A lily smells sweet and strong. Each word adds one more piece of the smell.

Our key words today: describing words. You use describing words like sweet, fresh and strong to tell how a flower smells.

Next time you sniff a flower, you can find just the right describing word for it. Sleep well.