| | Tips for Creating a Fragrance-Filled Garden | | | Gardens that look beautiful are certainly lovely to enjoy, but sweetly scented gardens take our enjoyment to a whole new level. Whether your outdoor space is a simple small deck or a full-size garden and yard, it's easy to add fragrance to any outdoor space with these simple tips. |
|  | 1. Think big . . .
Flowering trees, simply because of their size, can add fragrance to an area 20 feet or more in diameter. Some great examples include lilacs, mock orange trees (perfect in climates where it's too cold to grow citrus trees), Japanese fringe trees, and Korean spice viburnum. For areas with limited space, you can't go wrong with Fairy Magnolia® magnolias. These bushy shrubs cover themselves with a blanket of fragrant flowers (seen below) each spring but grow to only 9–12 feet high and 5–-7 feet wide. Bonus: After they've completed their bloom cycle, they leave behind glossy green foliage and make a perfect specimen tree or full hedge if planted in multiples. Baby Grand™ magnolias are another dwarf evergreen, ideal for smaller spaces and producing large creamy white, lemon-scented flowers in the spring and summer. |  | | If you have the space and proper support for them, flowering vines are also a tremendous way to add fragrance. Imagine blooming 'Scentsation' honeysuckle or old-fashioned sweet peas tumbling down a fence or garden gate or a gorgeous wisteria spilling over richly scented peonies. |  | 2. But don't forget the little guys . . .
Even a few stems of tiny lily-of-the-valley placed in a vase with violets can add fragrance to an entire room. The blooms of lavender may be tiny, but with its soothing scent, this plant often appears on the "best-smelling flowers" list. And, as a bonus, the more you cut, the more lavender blooms! Sweet alyssum (seen below surrounding Strawberries & Cream hydrangeas) is grown easily and inexpensively by seed and emits a honey-sweet scent that beckons to pollinators. This tiny-blossomed annual looks delicate, but it stands up to early frosts, self-seeds, and works nicely as a filler between other annuals or perennials and in container plantings. |  | 3. Select plants with varying bloom times.
To enjoy lovely scents all season long, be sure to include a variety of blooming plants in your yard, garden, or even pots on your deck. |  | Late Spring to Early Summer Fragrance:
The heady scents of spring-flowering bulbs like daffodils, hyacinths, and paper whites all bring back memories of our grandmother's garden. Perfume Princess™ daphne (seen below) is the earliest and longest-flowering daphne, blooming from midwinter to late spring. Plant it near a doorway or under a window to delight in its delicious scent, both indoors and out. Other early-blooming shrubs and perennials, such as witch hazel, lilacs, dwarf fothergilla, and peonies, all open the season with lovely scents and then carry on throughout the summer and into the fall with attractive foliage. |  |  | Early to Midsummer fragrance:
You can always count on gardenias, summersweet shrubs, and lightly scented Flower Carpet® amber (seen above) to not only add fragrance but also attract pollinators. A real butterfly magnet, Volcano® phlox (seen below) bloom into late fall if deadheaded at least once in the season. They send off a light fragrance, both in the garden and as a cut flower. Plus, with their sturdy stems, Volcano phlox don't need to be staked. |  | For fragrant annuals, you can't go wrong with clove-scented stock, with its gorgeous pink, purple red, or white blooms. They're wonderful in the garden and make great cut flowers, too. 'Fragrant Delight' heliotrope is another long-blooming plant that is grown as an annual in cold climates and as a perennial in Zones 9–10.
Midsummer to Fall Fragrance:
Although plants that are fragrant later in the season aren't as abundant, another later-blooming option is aromatic blue beard spirea (Caryopteris). Sending off tiny blue flowers from late summer into fall, this low-maintenance shrub is also deer-resistant and attracts butterflies! With their lovely light scent and gorgeous purple blooms, 'October Skies' aromatic asters make a colorful fall filler in any garden bed. The leaves—rather than the blossoms—of monarda (aka bee balm) plants are extremely fragrant and last until early frost. Even though most coneflowers aren't fragrant, 'Merlot' coneflower produces rich pink blooms that are fragrant, long-lasting, and—as a bonus—attract butterflies. | 4. Delight in Round-the-Clock Fragrance.
If you enjoy spending time outdoors in the evening, don't forget to plant fragrant night bloomers. Although easy-to grow annual flowering tobacco (Nicotiana) blossoms are open much of the day, they wait until the Sun goes down to release their incredible fragrance. (Hint: For the strongest fragrance, look for old-fashioned varieties like N. alata or N. sylvestris). They also bloom right up until frost. Night-blooming jasmine shrubs sweeten the air with their tiny white flowers that open in the evening and close in the morning. And, although angel's trumpet is poisonous, it's hard to resist its flowers' alluring night fragrance. This stunning plant is ideally grown in a container and placed out of harm's way on a deck or patio. | Here's a short list of fragrant plants by approximate bloom time:
Spring: - Daffodil (bulb)
- Daphne (shrub)
- Dwarf fothergilla (shrub)
- Hyacinth (bulb)
- Korean spice viburnum (shrub)
- Lilac (tree)
- Lily-of-the-valley (perennial)
- Mock orange (shrub
Early to Midsummer - Alyssum (annual)
- Chaste tree
- Dianthus (perennial)
- Four o'clocks (annual)
- Garden phlox (perennial)
- Gardenia (shrub)
- Honeysuckle
- Most flowering fruit trees
- Peony (perennial)
- Roses
- Stock (annual)
- Summersweet (shrub)
- Tuberose (bulb)
Midsummer to Early Autumn - Abelia (shrub)
- Blue beard spirea shrub
- Butterfly bush (also known as buddleia) shrub
- Lavender
- Monarda (also known as bee balm and bergamot)
- Nicotiana (annual)
- Oriental lilies (bulb)
- Trumpet lily
|  | | Finally, while you're enhancing your garden to delight the senses, remember to place your fragrant plants in areas where you'll enjoy them the most—near a window or back door; by a pool, pond, or dining area; or anywhere you enjoy spending outside time! | | | | You received this email because you signed for updates from The Old Farmer's Almanac.
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