Summer fragrance doesn’t have to mean hot, coconutty, suncream smells, or sweet, tropical florals. A vegetal scent – think pulpy tomatoes, soft herbs, sharp citrus and damp lawns – tends to be much more refreshing in heat and humidity, while simultaneously feeling less incongruous when British summertime is a damp squib.

I tried Parfum d’Empire’s Corsica Furiosa (€100 excluding tax) for the first time this summer in France, and became instantly addicted. This is wet wood, tomato plants and the intense, compressed greenness of a Flymo grass box, leavened by delicate mint and sun-scorched hay bale. It’s how I imagine an idyllic, rustic childhood might smell. The Jovoy website ships globally (prices are in euros) but if you’re ever in central London (or Paris, for that matter), I can’t recommend enough a visit to the Jovoy boutique, who very sensibly will decant any of their 2,000+ fragrances from some of the world’s best – and most creative – houses into a tiny vial, allowing you to try properly before you buy. The staff are hugely knowledgable and kind.

Corsica Furiosa owes something to Sisley’s verdant masterpiece Eau de Campagne (£90 for 50ml). created by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, who rarely puts a foot wrong). This is not for everyone, but is most certainly for me. Think nettles crushed between fingertips, fresh tarragon, tomatoes ripening in a hot greenhouse, earthy moss and bitter lemon. It smells like a very expensive holiday in Provence, is great on any gender and with any outfit. It is French summer chic, bottled, and its musky base keeps things more sexy than salad.

If you love the smell of greenhouses but not necessarily on your skin, consider a room fragrance. Jo Malone’s Green Tomato Vine diffuser (£148) is glorious and unchallenging if you’re used to more traditional, floral fragrances. British brand True Grace’s room sprays (£22) and candles (£24) in Greenhouse and Vine Tomato are cheerful, bright and perfect for freshening bathrooms and kitchens, or for just making the house smell summery while it tips down outside.

Replica by Maison Margiela is a collection of fragrances intent on faithfully and literally replicating treasured scent memories from everyday life. Among its newest inductees is From the Garden (£60), a fresh, juicy, chilled gazpacho of a scent, with a generous squeeze of mandarin orange and a handful of earth from the potting shed. If it sounds weird, that’s because it is and I strongly approve.