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You have to make sure you get the right ones. The ones I had were really big. Almost like a tobacco plant. They had big pure white flowers that opened in the evening. The only thing I have ever smelled that was as strong was walking in an orange grove that was in flower.
Oooh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by azoria
Yes I love fragrant plants too. There was a period in my gardening life where I wouldn't plant anything if it didn't flower and wasn't fragrant. I've relaxed a bit since then. file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/christij/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif (broken link)
Delicious flowering fragrant plants that may be good for your neck of the woods:
-Daphne (my favorite) -Lilac
-Mock Orange
-Roses--not the crap from Home Depot but real roses. Bourbon heirlooms in particular
-Jasmines
-Gardenia?
-Petunias
-Geraniums--scented geraniums, not the common pelargoniums
-Bachelor buttons (an old fashioned perennial)
-Lavenders
-[dwarf] fruit trees
I am currently learning about ‘real’ roses, and you’re right knockout roses are pretty…but a gyp. LOL I mean, the flower is pretty, but I like roses that smell yummy as well. The “burbon heirlooms” are a new one for me. I’ll look those up. If you have any specific suggestions, pls let me know the names.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icy Tea
Lemon verbena, lemon balm, many of the various peppermint plants. Peonies are short blooming but very fragrant. White orange blossom clematis is late summer/ early fall blooming and good in hedges or on a trellis.
I think the lemon verbena sounds great! I have a mostly-herb garden where it would be right at home. Plus I can make tea or sachets out of it, right?
BTW guys, I love all the suggestions, but I admit I’m afraid of perennial vines. *blush* Maybe if I get a pergola someday...
1. Native azalea*
2. Nicotiana (the big, white fragrant ones...)
3. Carolina Jessamine/Jasmine
4. Moonflower
5. More roses. I am not sure about the Bourbon roses, even though I love the Spanish royal family. But I am definitely going to explore different types of fragrant roses.
6. Phlox
7. Tuberose*
The most wonderful scent I've encountered (in a hardy plant) is from Cornelia, a Hybrid Musk Rose. The plant has exuberant and rather messy growth...something you'll want to have in your Jardin Potager, rather than in the Garden-proper. One spray of Cornelia will perfume a room with Myrrh. And during the growing season, they are never without blooms. Other Hybrid Musks are known for their fragrances, too, and are pretty tough plants.
Gardenias you would need to keep in a greenhouse over winter (insects can be a problem for them indoors). More easy to do would be Meyer Lemons, which can be brought indoors laden with fruit. I've had flushes of bloom happen inside in late winter, and the fragrance is superb. And they don't require enormous pots. Also worthy of consideration for overwintering indoors are Lemongrass and Butterfly Ginger. Lemongrass is wonderful for cooking, for Potpourri pillows, and for putting dried leaves under the steam head in the steam room. BTW, if you follow suggestions from others for growing scented Geraniums, save the dried leaves, and use them in Potpourri pillows, too.
But back to Outdoors: If your area offers sufficient winter chill, try Lilacs. I'm collecting them, now that we are up here in Oregon, and they are a thrill. And remember there are winter-blooming shrubs in the Loropetalum family (Witch Hazel, Winter Honeysuckle, etc.) that will do well where you are. The Bees will be most grateful to have that food source in winter. In autumn, there's the thrilling scent of Elaeagnus. Too, there's the summer-flowering 'Sweet Shrub' (various regional varieties/species of Calycanthus) .
There are hardy cultivars, now, of Magnolia Grandiflora. You might want to look into which ones are being grown in your area. There's nothing like the scent of a Magnolia.
And don't forget that some plants have fragrant foliage. Arizona Cypress I find particularly pungent. Rosa rubiginosa(Sweet briar or Eglantine Rose) is one of several Roses with sweet-scented foliage.
And don't overlook plain-ol' Privet Hedge and Ligustrum, which, despite the fact they're common as dirt, have fragrances (IMHO) which are unsurpassed in perfuming a garden. For maximum blooms, though, you have to clip them only after they've bloomed. For that, it's best to limb them up as small trees, or keep them in an informal border, as shaggy shrubs.
I, personally, am thrilled by the foetid scents of Pear blossoms, and Pyracantha. There are foetid roses, too, although they tend to be Blackspot magnets.
The most wonderful scent I've encountered (in a hardy plant) is from Cornelia, a Hybrid Musk Rose. The plant has exuberant and rather messy growth...something you'll want to have in your Jardin Potager, rather than in the Garden-proper. One spray of Cornelia will perfume a room with Myrrh. And during the growing season, they are never without blooms. Other Hybrid Musks are known for their fragrances, too, and are pretty tough plants.
Gardenias you would need to keep in a greenhouse over winter (insects can be a problem for them indoors). More easy to do would be Meyer Lemons, which can be brought indoors laden with fruit. I've had flushes of bloom happen inside in late winter, and the fragrance is superb. And they don't require enormous pots. Also worthy of consideration for overwintering indoors are Lemongrass and Butterfly Ginger. Lemongrass is wonderful for cooking, for Potpourri pillows, and for putting dried leaves under the steam head in the steam room. BTW, if you follow suggestions from others for growing scented Geraniums, save the dried leaves, and use them in Potpourri pillows, too.
But back to Outdoors: If your area offers sufficient winter chill, try Lilacs. I'm collecting them, now that we are up here in Oregon, and they are a thrill. And remember there are winter-blooming shrubs in the Loropetalum family (Witch Hazel, Winter Honeysuckle, etc.) that will do well where you are. The Bees will be most grateful to have that food source in winter. In autumn, there's the thrilling scent of Elaeagnus. Too, there's the summer-flowering 'Sweet Shrub' (various regional varieties/species of Calycanthus) .
There are hardy cultivars, now, of Magnolia Grandiflora. You might want to look into which ones are being grown in your area. There's nothing like the scent of a Magnolia.
And don't forget that some plants have fragrant foliage. Arizona Cypress I find particularly pungent. Rosa rubiginosa(Sweet briar or Eglantine Rose) is one of several Roses with sweet-scented foliage.
And don't overlook plain-ol' Privet Hedge and Ligustrum, which, despite the fact they're common as dirt, have fragrances (IMHO) which are unsurpassed in perfuming a garden. For maximum blooms, though, you have to clip them only after they've bloomed. For that, it's best to limb them up as small trees, or keep them in an informal border, as shaggy shrubs.
I, personally, am thrilled by the foetid scents of Pear blossoms, and Pyracantha. There are foetid roses, too, although they tend to be Blackspot magnets.
Cornelia sounds wonderful! I wanted a good scented rose for a semi-shady spot. It may be the one I need.
I am having minor love pangs for Pyracantha...it is so beautiful and supposedly you can eat the berries. No decent space for it, though...so I'm currently admiring it from afar.
You will get pangs from pyracantha, oh yeah, every time you go to prune it.
I cut one down two years ago that was 3 stories tall, probably planted about 1960. It took two truckloads of piercing thorns to haul the beast away. Ripped up my overalls and pierced my leather gloves. The monster sent up oodles of new root sprouts the following year.
So I went in to dig the mutha out, every tiny bit of it. I found an underground trunk a foot around that we finally managed to destroy with a chain saw. then I scraped every molecule of root out of the remaining hole. I think it's finally dead, but I'm keeping an eye on it anyway.....
The best smell in the world (imo) is tea olive. I have a row of them in my backyard. They bloom twice a year and the flowers give off a wonderful, sweet apricot scent. They are evergreen shrubs that do well in full sun.
You will get pangs from pyracantha, oh yeah, every time you go to prune it.
I cut one down two years ago that was 3 stories tall, probably planted about 1960. It took two truckloads of piercing thorns to haul the beast away. Ripped up my overalls and pierced my leather gloves. The monster sent up oodles of new root sprouts the following year.
So I went in to dig the mutha out, every tiny bit of it. I found an underground trunk a foot around that we finally managed to destroy with a chain saw. then I scraped every molecule of root out of the remaining hole. I think it's finally dead, but I'm keeping an eye on it anyway.....
Thanks everyone. I consider myself a big fan of fragrant plants and I learned of quite a few new ones from this thread.
sushiqueen, tea olive or sweet olive (I can't tell the difference) is one of my favorites too. There may be varieties that bloom year round in warm areas, I think. As a matter of fact, I just saw some bushes still blooming in my neighborhood, even after a hard frost.
Sweet shrub has a rather unique smell, sweet and fruity, kind of like bananas but better.
Fragrant wintersweet and winter honeysuckle are my favorite this time of the year, when most other plants are dormant. The smell is unique, ephemeral and cool.
1. Privet - So that's the awesome smell in the yard! I forget who recommended these, but I do have privet in the front...and I noticed over the summer, these actually do smell wonderful. I had no idea what the sweet smell was as the flowers are indeed small.
2. Tuberose. I planted three of these, but they're all foliage, and no flowers to speak of and it is already August. I planted them pretty early because of the unseasonably warm weather.
3. Moonflower - I totally love these but the smell's not super strong. They're a lovely addition to the white garden, though.
4. Stuff I forgot about in my winter sadness...but which smelled GREAT - Hyacinths, peonies, phlox, jonquils, mock orange and oriental lilies. I wish these could bloom all year.
5. Roses - I haven't gotten cornelia (YET...but I found a spot for it!) ...but the other roses smell nice. My favorites are Sharifa Asma, Golden Celebration...and Honey sweet! HS has got to be the most beautiful bloom I've ever seen...in my yard. LOL.
6. Heliotrope - The seeds I purchased did not come up...but there was a wild one that appeared in my shade garden. Thank you God...I understand it is a bit aggressive...so I transplanted it to my front border. It smells great.
7. Fragrant Hosta - These are sun-tolerant cultivars of hosta plantaginea. Up close they smell sweet, but the smell doesn't seem super strong.
8. Sweet Peas - I nicked these and planted them at various cool-ish times. I haven't' seen any plants yet...I'm sure they smell great, but it is apparently beyond my ability to grow sweet peas. I'm not sure what to do w/ the rest of the packet. I may throw them in the yard. Maybe they'll come up in Spring.
1. Privet - So that's the awesome smell in the yard! I forget who recommended these, but I do have privet in the front...and I noticed over the summer, these actually do smell wonderful. I had no idea what the sweet smell was as the flowers are indeed small.
2. Tuberose. I planted three of these, but they're all foliage, and no flowers to speak of and it is already August. I planted them pretty early because of the unseasonably warm weather.
3. Moonflower - I totally love these but the smell's not super strong. They're a lovely addition to the white garden, though.
4. Stuff I forgot about in my winter sadness...but which smelled GREAT - Hyacinths, peonies, phlox, jonquils, mock orange and oriental lilies. I wish these could bloom all year.
5. Roses - I haven't gotten cornelia (YET...but I found a spot for it!) ...but the other roses smell nice. My favorites are Sharifa Asma, Golden Celebration...and Honey sweet! HS has got to be the most beautiful bloom I've ever seen...in my yard. LOL.
6. Heliotrope - The seeds I purchased did not come up...but there was a wild one that appeared in my shade garden. Thank you God...I understand it is a bit aggressive...so I transplanted it to my front border. It smells great.
7. Fragrant Hosta - These are sun-tolerant cultivars of hosta plantaginea. Up close they smell sweet, but the smell doesn't seem super strong.
8. Sweet Peas - I nicked these and planted them at various cool-ish times. I haven't' seen any plants yet...I'm sure they smell great, but it is apparently beyond my ability to grow sweet peas. I'm not sure what to do w/ the rest of the packet. I may throw them in the yard. Maybe they'll come up in Spring.
I have a large number of hosta plantaginea and always love to cut a few flower stems for indoors; mine are very fragrant!
Take three or four stems, put them in a vase, and the room is filled with the scent--similar to lilacs or hyacinths!
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I'm not sure what to do w/ the rest of the packet. I may throw them in the yard. Maybe they'll come up in Spring.
