The scent is not to everyone's liking: the herbalist John Gerard found it "evil and lothsome" and Daniel Defoe recounts that at Hampton Court Palace Queen Anne had the box hedging removed because she found its odour offensive.
Some people dislike the smell; herbalist John Gerard considered it "evil and lothsome," while Daniel Defoe records that Queen Anne of England had box hedges removed from Hampton Court Palace due to the unpleasant odor.