Hi, great thread. I grow exclusively for scent.#1is roses. Favorites for scent are Graham Thomas, Baronne Provost, Mme. Issac Pereire, Mme. Alfred Carriere, New Dawn, Abraham Darby, Zephirine Drouhin,Tournament of Roses, Queen Elizabeth, Don Juan, L.D. Braithwate, The Prince, Othello, Double Delight, Fragrant Cloud. #2 would be Gardenias. After trial and heartache, I have found Gardenia, "August Beauty" to be hardy in the ground.#3 White Ginger, also hardy in the ground.#4 Tuberose #5 Lavender# 6 Lily of the Valley, #7 Brugmansias. #8 Butterfly Bush#9 Hibiscus.#10 Four O'clocks. I also grow a large variety of Iris, Daylilies, Daffodills, Azalea, and lots of herbs. I do not take anything up in winter. I mulch heavily with oak leaves and forget about it. I've been doing this for about ten years and so far have been lucky with hardiness. This year I am going to try more tropicals that i will have to overwinter in pots. I want to try Bougainvillea, Tropical Hibiscus, Fragapani and Cape Plumbago. I also ordered 9 of the most fragrant roses Heirloom Roses has and planted them last fall. They look great after a mild winter. I got lots of new ideas from everyone's answers. Thanks
Your most fragrant plants by ranking
Hi, just had to add my two bits!
Osmanthus fragrans- always makes me feel happy!
Hedychium ginger blossoms
Gardenia blooms
Unknown ginger- probably alpinia- has never bloomed but ooooooh, the leaves!
Rosemary
Creeping lemon thyme
Georgia savory - our native rosemary, foliage smells AMAZING!
Lemon lime mint - a creeper I used to grow in South FL, fantastic after a rain
Crinum- the one that smells like vanilla and honey
Brugmansia
Plumeria
Lonicera fragrans - winter blooming honeysuckle- fantastic lemon scent!
Jonquil henrii
Meyers lemon blossoms- just discovered, must have
Buddliea
Banana bush- we have a huge one, not very pretty but oh, my, the scent!
Hostas- some varieties have great blooms
Carolina allspice
Carolina sapphire- a conifer with amazing smelling foliage
Native azaleas- some smell beautiful to me, some are too strong
Vitex
I wish I could enjoy the scent of newly mown grass, but our neighborhood is infested with skunk vine, so when people mow the two scents mingle. Yuck!
My favorite trees to smell are, Orange, Black Locust, Chinese Tallow.
Hi! new here, I think I saw it mentioned once, but it's so heavenly I want to say it again! Clematis Armandii......Its an evergreen clematis & blooms here in NC in late March early April.......it can be bitten by frost so if buds are showing cover it up...worth it!! It will cover an arch after a few years & gorgeous is not enough to describe it...beautiful draping white flowers. The fragance fills the garden and my house 150 feet away. My garden is mainly a fragrance garden, but this beat all!
Foggy
It can hit 30 feet or better here, hard to keep it happy, much less blooming, under 10 feet. I would suggest a very sheltered location, not only to rduce the chances of it freezing when in bloom, but the small branches are brittle and winds are likely to snap them. I've removed several plants that had to be constantly trimmed to remove the dead branches, but those in shelterd areas only rarely have to be cleaned up, restrained yes but but dead removed, no. Dirr has seen one 20 feet up and 30 feet across. I have raised it on chains to cover a porch, over trellisis but the best one I have ever done, at a clients, as i am seriously allergic to the fragrance, is draped over a brick wall sheltering the pool, really does beautifuly and is very handsome even when not in bloom. Seen it done over and through a cast iron fence, striking, but over whelmed it eventually and had to be restrained after 3 or 4 years.
Psssst.....be sure to add your "votes" for your favorite fragrance plants by leaving comments for each of them in PlantFiles.
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For fragrance - sweet peas are my most favorite flowers
when I first moved into my house, if it didn't smell, I wouldn't plant it
violets in winter-especially parmas
jasmine sambac any in late summer
roses- won't plant them if they aren't especially fragrant- and the leaves of eglantine
osmanthus fragrans- tea olive in fall and late winter
freesias- but not the white- they smell like pepper
jasmine humile little yellow flowers that smell like carnations
jasmine pubescens-smell a little like sambac jasmine
honeysuckle- halls (sipping the nectar, too) and fragrantissima in late winter
scented leaf geraniums, especially ginger
dianthus
bauhinia the hummingbirds love this tree, too
lemon blossoms, even though I am allergic to bees
sage, especially pineapple and agastache
sweet alyssum-like honey
fruit trees, especially my apricot a sweet subtle scent
winter iris
phlox
narcissus
lavendar
hyacinth- both grape and the kind I have to put in the refrigerator
fragrant petunias,fragrant tobacco, fragrant four o clocks-just found flower scent gardens as they are getting ready to close their doors
cestrum nocturnum- gets too strong, like my jasmine polyanthum
then there is the wish lish
gardenia- trying a new frost resistant one
daphne odora-when it lives
rangoon creeper no room, my mother in law had a huge one
solandra- cup of gold vine- too big
lilac- grows great, but only blooms every other year- how can it be too cold for citrus here and too hot for descanso lilacs?
camellia sasanqua- had a very fragrant one that died
tuberose I think I have given up- at least the ones at the florists smell
now after reading all these great posts I have to get off and find if sweet woodruff will grow here
telosma cordata- sound like a must have!
Sayma, how big does your bauhinia get? We had orchid trees in Florida many years ago when I was growing up and they were beautiful. It is interesting what will survive in an area and what will not.
My bauhinia purpurea must be 25 or 30 feet tall, it has been blooming for a month. I heard you can stuff the blossoms to eat. It seeds itself here very well, too. Lots of bean pods in summer.
I've discovered the fragrant tulips... not the ones with the usual tulipy scent...
Right now, the best I've found is "Orange Favorite," a parrot tulip. Orange blossom/lilac/something else fragrance. So many of the orange tulips are beyond yummy. I'm going to do a huge planting this fall...
OK here's mine:
1) Night-blooming jasmine (the ones in Southern California)
2) Lilacs
3) Wisteria
4) Rose "Hansa" (damask scent)
5) Rose "Perfume Perfection"
6) Lily "Casa Blanca"
7) Orange Butterfly Weed
8) Kentucky Mint
9) Freesia
10) Sweet William
11) Daffodils
12) Cherry cigars!! (Yes, I love their smell!!)
Of course there's more, but those are on the top.
Can't imagine that Phlox paniculata was so seldom listed in these posts!!! A lovely sweet scent, good for cutting, and I wouldn't suggest it if it were not EZGRO!
Yep--I overlooked Phlox because I have several plants and they are, well, handy. The elusive ones (they can't grow here or are hard to come by, come once a year, or vary with variety) are the ones I savor and reminence. Your nose knows when there is a unique scent. But I agree--Phlox is lovely and should have been in place of the freesia on my list.
Yes, the phlox smell is lovely. I've had Phlox 'David blooming for at least 2 months now and the smell is subtle but very nice. It was just planted last year so anxious for it to increase in clump size and really put out the scent.
Lana
Shrubs: Pittosporum tobira
Brunfelsia
Buddleia
Osmanthus fragrans
Star jasmine
Lavender
Bulbs: FREESIA !!!
Paperwhites
Lilies
Hyacinths
Annuals/ Sweet peas
Perennials Stock
Heliotrope
Petunias
Nicotiana
Pansies and Violas
Hedychium
Roses Cecile Brunner
Sheila's Perfume
Bill Warriner
Polka
Lady Banks
Vines Stephanotis
Jasmine polyanthum
Herbs: Basil
Rosemary
Lemon Thyme
Trees Purple Leaf Plum
Magnolia
Evergreen Pear
I'm trying to decide if I want to call "most fragrant" by heaviest scent or by what I prefer........I'll go with my preference since certain plants that I own that really put me in heaven!
Brufelsia americana (smells like sweet clove)
Orange/Citrus Blossoms
Aglaia odorata
Night Blooming Jasmine
Orange Jasmine
Gardenia vietnamensis
Michelia alba
Angle's Trumpet
Confederate Jasmine
Crinum Lily
String of Pearls Vine
Gardenia augusta
Oncidium "Cherry Baby"
Heliotrope
Artabotryus hexapetalus
Shaving Bruh Tree
Rangoon Creeper
Pandorea
Shell Ginger
Peacock Ginger
Gelsmium sempervirens
fauna,,,
great list. I would have to put orange blossoms first. I grew up with them and I am sure I didn't appreciate them nearly enough back then. What is Pandorea? Need to go look on plant files. thanks for sharing. My Brugmansias are still blooming in my greenhouse and they smell wonderful.
Elaine
Pandorea is a tropical vine from Africa. Mine is variegated, although that is not always so (my boss and I are at odds about the marketable value of variegated varieties!!!!) Its scent is light- you have to really stick your nose in the flower to notice it. I think the most common flower is purple.
What is "String of Pearls Vine"? I'm trying to look it up to see if it'll grow here.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1777/
It is a kind of succulent vine, and should be sold as a houseplant in the Exotic Angel collection for those of you that are familiar with that product line (their website is down at the moment.)
I have mine outside, and definitely was triggered to flower by the shortening days. I was really surprised when it turned out to be so fragrant!
Okay. I've seen those. I didn't know they were fragrant though. Thanks!
orange jasmine
gardenia
ylang ylang
honeysuckle
lavendar
brugmansia
plumeria
corn flower
rangoon creeper
I have ginger alpinia zerumbet which has never bloomed for my - usually dies completely back in the winter but not this winter so I am hoping for a bloom! which of the gingers are most fragrant? Thanks,
annie
The Glossy Abelia is my favorite. Some years it doesn't give off much of a fragrance, but when it does it simply smells up the whole yard. Last year the scent was better than it has ever been. I noticed that the scent was the strongest in the evening and in the early morning hours. The smell wasn't constant and seemed to come in drifts at certain times during the day and night. I have two of these and I've had them for about 25 years.
Nana3
Nana, I just clicked on your pic, and it did not enlarge?? It sure looks pretty. I have Rosecreek Abelia as foundation planting and I love it.
Elaine
Sorry Elaine, I posted my thumbnail pic from plant files instead of the enlarged version.
Let me try this again so you can see it better.
Oh,,, that is beautiful. And so much prettier than all that stuff landscapers use as foundation plantings..
Can't wait for mine to spread more.
Elaine
We should bump this thread up.
Do I have to have my favorites in my own yard??
My lemon meyer has new blooms on it.. mmmmmm
Elaine
I planted all kind of nicotinias this year because I heard they were so fragrant. They are bloomiing like crazy and I can't smell a thing from them. What gives?
Annie
Annie - some are scented some are not. Best time to enjoy the fragrant ones is at night - esp. if you have more then one bloom. I have lots of seedlings I'm growing this year but the only scent I have personal exp. with the the 'Fragrant Cloud' - which was incredible!!! There are others including one that Parks sells the seeds of that are apparently very fragrant. If you remind me I'll be happy to get you out some fresh seeds when I can gather some this year - might even have some from last summer...dmail me please, if interested.
Actually, the nicotinias are all from Parks seeds. I will try sniffing in the evening. Does the 'Fragrant Cloud' only have fragrance in the evening, too? Thanks,
Annie
It's kinda like those old fashion purple petunias - very difficult, for me at least, to detect any scent except in the evenings.
My favs...
lilac
flower drift daffodil
daphne
rose
honeysuckle
blooms don't lasy long enough, but i love wisteria. sally
Some of my favorites:
Hyacinth
most lilacs
Lavender
Viburnum (koreanspice, juddii, burkwoodii)
Mockorange
Rose (Mr Lincoln, Double Delight)
Clethra
some peonies
But my most favorite is an orienpet lily called 'Silk Road'. I was always neutral on lilies--I just thought they were OK. Then I planted these lilies and they perfumed the whole yard. In their first season, they knocked my long-time favorite scent (hyacinth) into second place. I never thought I'd find a scent that I liked more than hyacinth but it finally happened. This is a description of Silk Road (they are the fourth and fifth pix down the page)
http://www.thelilygarden.com/pages_lilies/orienpet_1.html
Yes THOSE are the ones I'm ordering come fall...