Fragrance for the Garden - Marion County
Add Fragrance to the Garden
By Steve Mayer
Extension Educator-Horticulture
Purdue Extension-Marion County
The sense of smell is powerful. It can trigger a memory from years ago. By adding fragrant plants to your landscape, you can turn a great garden into one that is truly memorable.
Good planning is essential when adding fragrant plants to the garden. You will need to do your homework to determine which plants are fragrant, to what degree, the type of scent and when they provide fragrance. Scent is subjective so it is best to experience it yourself before planting fragrant plants.
Consider the space that is available. For small areas, choose perennials, annuals and/or herbs. Add fragrant trees, shrubs and vines if there is room. Find out how big the plants will grow before planting.
Think about how the site affects fragrance. Sheltered areas away from strong, prevailing winds reduce the likelihood of diffusing the scent. However, a gentle breeze may help carry the bouquet into the house or to other landscape areas.
A south or west exposure often provides higher temperatures that may help plants release their scent more readily. The warmth may also help carry the day and afternoon aromas into the evening as well as enhance scents in the evening and at night.
Try to position fragrant plants where they can have the greatest impact. This is especially important for lightly scented plants.
Locate plants under a window where you frequently stand or sit indoors. Place scented plants near outdoor garden benches and other seating areas. Position plants closely to the path where you and others frequently walk.
Use vertical landscape space by planting a fragrant flowering vine next to a fence, trellis or arbor. Take advantage of the window and patio areas. Ideas include creating a window box or patio planter of fragrant flowers.
Consider type of fragrance. Some are light while others are heavy. There are familiar scents such as lilac, hyacinth and lily-of-the-valley as well as less common aromas.
Common mockorange has an orange blossom scent while clove current (Ribes odoratum) has a scent like its name. The spring flowering sweetshrub (Calycanthus) has a fruity bouquet while the summer flowering summersweet clethra has a spicy fragrance.
Roses have a wide variety of different perfumes. Many aromatic herbs can also be used for fragrance.
Some plants are noted for fragrance in the evening. One sweetly scented vine is Goldflame Honeysuckle (Lonicera x heckrottii Goldflame). It has deep red-purple flowers that are yellow inside.
Annual flowers well known for their evening fragrance include some varieties of flowering tobacco (Nicotiana) and four o’clocks (Mirabilis). Tuberose (Polianthes) is a tender bulb with a sweet heady scent during the evening.
Certain types of garden phlox and evening primrose (Oenothera) are also recognized as having a fragrance in the evening.
Most people prefer to have fragrance throughout the growing season. Consider when the plants bloom and for how long a time period.
There are plants that provide fragrance when few others do. Vernal witchhazel provides a scent during February-March while common witchhazel blooms in October-November.
Include hardy spring flowering bulbs such as hyacinth. They are among the most fragrant flowering bulbs in the garden. However, if you look carefully, you will find that some varieties of daffodils and tulips can also be fragrant.
Among the early spring flowering shrubs with a penetrating perfume is winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima). It has a sweet lemon-like scent for 3-4 weeks in March-April. It bears little or no fruit unlike the other invasive bush honeysuckles that should not be planted.
Some spring flowering viburnums provide a sweet clove-like scent such as Judd viburnum. Dwarf fothergilla also provides a sweet spring fragrance. Do not forget the many types of lilac and common mockorange.
Trees with fragrant spring flowers include Amur maple, some types of crabapples such as Sargent and some types of magnolia. The later flowering sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) has a sweet lemon-like scent. Other trees are white fringetree (Chionanthus) and American yellowwood (Cladrastis).
Spring flowering fragrant perennials include lily-of-the-valley, rock cress, cottage pinks, and some types of peonies and bearded iris.
Fragrant plants that flower during the summer include linden trees, buttonbush (Cephalanthus), summersweet (Clethra), sweet autumn clematis, heliotrope, sweet alyssum, garden lilies, butterfly bush, and some types of hostas, daylilies and chrysanthemums.
Questions
Q. Where can I find more information on fragrant plants?
A. Websites have been compiled and are available on our website. Some of them allow you to use certain search criteria to find the plant you want. Click here.
Steve Mayer is Extension Educator-Horticulture with Purdue Extension-Marion County. He coordinates the Master Gardener program in Marion County. To contact a Master Gardener, call (317) 275-9292, or e-mail: marionmg@purdue.edu
Photo Credit: Steve Mayer
Photo Content: Syringa patula 'Miss Kim' - Miss Kim Lilac
Purdue University, Indiana Counties and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating. An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution.
September 2004
