billyporter Nichols, IA (Zone 5a)
Dec 13, 2006 12:42 PM
Fragrance! I have roses, but never had the ''walk by and they smell heavenly'' ones. I have to sniff each one. I only buy those that say ''heavy scent'' too.
Oriental lilies, better. Now I need to get them to bloom at different times.
Dainthus, get on your knees. I don't feel I need to have my butt in the air since the bed faces the road. I'll have to sacrafice a bloom.
Mock Orange, mine's just getting started.
Lilacs. I tore my light blue ones out and haven't replaced them yet.
What else smells ''heavenly''?
Illoquin Indianapolis, IN
(Zone 5b) Dec 13, 2006 12:53 PM
Billy,
I was given the hint to get climbing roses or shrub roses that grow to nose level (5'0 tall) to get fragrance I could smell walking past. They also offered the opinion that 'Double Delight' is one Hybrid Tea that could be detected.
Get some Orienpets and some Trumpets and you'll have about 6 weeks of fragrance once the plants have a couple years in the ground. Trumpets bloom first, then Orienpets and Orientals bring up the rear.
Dianthus -- naw, just plant it on your patio where you normally sit in a chair and you'll smell it, especially at night. Or you could try Sweet William -- a biennial that blooms early and gets 18-24" tall. Put it on the patio, too.
You're in Texas -- Star Jasmine (not actually Jasmine) and Jasmine both should be hardy there. Also, you can grow the paperwhite hybrids called Tazettas. (Narcissus family) I would only plant one or two on the patio to make sure you like them! I think they are hardy to zone 7; not sure if they are any hardier or not. Breeders have made great strides in these in recent years. Narcissus jonquilla can be grown anywhere, the flowers are small, but they pack a BIG punch in the fragrance dept. B&B has them for sale in fall.
Petunias -- I don't really like the scent, but it screams SUMMER to me.
Supposedly Sweet Peas and Four O'Clocks, but next year will be my first for Sweet Peas and I've never smelled four o'clocks here. I'm trying them on the patio because of the plant habit, so if there is fragrance, I should know next summer.
I love the scent of tulips!
We should probably use the last 2 posts for the start of a new thread on fragrance -- ok with you?
Suzy
Mark852784 Caistor (UK)
(Zone 8b) Dec 13, 2006 1:29 PM
Suzy
If you want fragrance............................... try planting night scented stocks...........................yummmmmmmmmmy!!!!!
brigidlily Lumberton, TX (Zone 8b)
Dec 13, 2006 1:30 PM
Has anyone mentioned rosemary yet? Or are we sticking to floral stuff?
PrairieGirlZ5 Thornton, IL (Zone 5a)
Dec 13, 2006 1:36 PM
Nicotiana smells like Old Spice to me, or mens aftershave. Love it!
billyporter Nichols, IA (Zone 5a)
Dec 13, 2006 1:37 PM
I think any scent that appeals is something we might want to try ourselves.
Suzy, I'm ok with a fragrance post. 5' or nose level is maybe why I like tall flowers overall! :))
PrairieGirlZ5 Thornton, IL (Zone 5a)
Dec 13, 2006 1:39 PM
Sally - How tall are you? Ha hahaha! I also like agastache, but it only smells if you brush against it.
Mark852784 Caistor (UK) (Zone 8b)
Dec 13, 2006 1:43 PM
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm agastache..................... gorgeous!!!!!
Edited to add Mark's last post.
This message was edited Dec 13, 2006 1:52 PM
Fragrance in the Cottage Garden - Yes, a MUST!
Root Beer Hyssop. This one is a year old.
Dame's rocket [hesperis matronalis] can get tall- mine is 3-4 ft- and smells heavenly! Also, some of the taller fragrant phlox are good. Both tuberose and lemon lily get pretty tall and smell fabulous. I see someone has already mentioned my faves- 4 o'clocks, petunias and nicotiana. Fragrant shrubs to try are abelia and calycanthus.
Chech out this thread of mine on the fragrance forum- lots of great plants!! http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/593501/
This message was edited Dec 13, 2006 3:34 PM
Nice thread Berrygirl, even if I can't grow a lot of it, I still like to hear about it. :))
My pale green hostas have a fragrance that smells good at a short distance. Close, it almost stinks.
This thread is a very good idea!
billyporter, how much space do you have to work with? I would only consider this a good suggestion for those with plenty of room, but old garden roses are a great way to experience the scent of roses heavily in the breeze. Many just bloom once, but all those fragrant blooms at once on a large shrub is heavenly. I used to snub them for repeat bloomers, till I realized I make lots of room for peonies, iris, azaleas, rhododendron, etc. that all just bloom once a year. Now I'm really glad I re-thought it!
Clematis montana rubra has a delicious vanilla scent. Mine is young, but they are supposed to reach 30', so that should fill the air! Interesting to me that the white form, C.montana grandiflora had no detectable fragrance to me, and is never listed in catalogs as having any.
And do keep trying with dianthus; I think you'll find some that you'll like. I have a few varieties of dianthus and sweet william, and a couple of those have fragrance I consider outstanding. I can stand several feet away and get regular wafts of that sweet clove scent.
One thing I've noticed is that the size of the clump or plant (#of blooms) is what really makes a difference in how far those fragrances carry. My Daffodils 'Geranium' had so many blooms this spring I could smell them all over the garden.
Being a fragrance fiend, I may actually have over-done it this summer. Allergies were a problem for me this summer and that always makes my sniffer extra sensitive. When the Oriental lilies were in bloom it almost made me sick a time or two, lol. Did'nt last long, so I'm still a fragrance fiend and will continue my plant gluttony for more, lol.
It looks like I have a lot of room, but I don't. I would love to have old roses!
This is looking south across the yard. I'm halfway between the sidewalk and house.
And this is the back yard. It tapers to 1' - 1 /12' depending on how far the alley gets overgrown.
Billy
If you ever get the chance get a David Austin Rose called Golden Celebration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have it in my garden and cn smell it from a long way off...................... It is a beautiful BIG flowered rose..........
Not a good pic of it but its bottom right......
I'd like to add a vote for lilac. The scent is wonderful, something you never forget. It sometimes doesn't do so well in northern Virginia's hot humid summers, but it fits beautifully into a cottage garden. If money is tight, make friends with someone who has them--they sucker like mad.
Oh, yes, Lilacs! mmmmmmmmm!
That reminds me...also the ViburnumsL Carlesii and Burkwoodii. Plus you can keep them pretty small...four feet x four feet.
Prune directly after bloom on all - Viburnums and Lilacs.
Suzy
Anyone have mock orange or witch hazel? How do you like them? I think those are supposed to add scent in early spring, especially the witch hazel.... I'm starting to look for flowering shrubs to add to the back of the yard, and "smelly goodness" is a plus!
Lilacs are wonderful!! I have a bush from a pass-along purple lilac that started out at my great-aunt's house... it's growing slowly, but surely. I also have a little trio of something Wayside/Parks referred to as "baby lilac bush," Leptodermis oblongata, tiny purple blooms with a delicately sweet fragrance. I sure hope they do well over the winter and get a lot bigger next year!
Rosemary and Lavender are both wonderful, and I love the idea of putting creeping thyme along the edges of pathways, between stepping stones, etc... I think herbs of all kinds are great for adding fragrance to "landscape" beds.
Scented geraniums (pelargonium) probably deserve a special mention also... They are tender here, so I overwinter mine in pretty big pots (10-12 inch) in the sunny morning room... I love the scent from them, especially on "watering day!"
I've got several kinds of agastache and salvia that add their own herbal notes when you brush against them... I also love having a variety of mints (mostly in pots, some deliberately used as groundcovers), and I think I'll be putting mints under the fruit trees in the little orchard area... they can run rampant there to their hearts' content.
Hmmm... more fragrant blooms... I have oriental lilies in the back perennial border (a few orienpets too), and in July/August I can smell them from the second-floor window!
My favorite rose also has a rich fragrance. See http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/354/index.html 'Zephirine Drouhin' is a remarkably tough climber that seems less affected by J Beetle attacks, black spot, etc than other roses I've tried... plus, they say it is shade tolerant enough that it will bloom on the north side of a house! In September, I planted one at the fairly shady corner of the garage at my MIL's... we will see how it does there, but she reported that it put out a lot of vigorous new growth before fall dormancy! Even better, it is nearly thornless, so it's not such a big deal when it overgrows the steps to the deck. I'm going to try taking some dormant cuttings this winter, and hopefully I'll have starts to share.
I've got 'Sweet Autumn' clematis and C. montana 'Rubens' in the same bed along the side of the house as the ZD rose. Individual little blooms of those clematis aren't strongly fragrant, but the mass of blooms on the plant definitely has an impact!
I'm not fond of the scent of most marigolds, but I do like the sprightly scent of 'Lemon Gem', a little yellow signet marigold. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/59807/index.html
Right now, I'm enjoying the lemon and lime blooms on my little citrus trees (inside for the winter)... The potted jasmine is also blooming behind my favorite chair in the morning room... what a treat, especially in winter!
I keep alyssum in my raised beds for scent near the door, but even in a raised bed it comes nowhere near five feet tall, ha!
Lilacs and mock orange are wonderful, I grew up with a huge hedge of ancient mock orange and the cellar had been overrun with lilacs, divine in spring. Here in zone 4a, I am nursing along a mock orange, but we get such erratic spring freezes I get blossoms on it maybe once out of three years.
Nicotiana is nice for scent too, but I have not grown it lately. Maybe next year again...
I will miss the citrus bloom from Arizona next spring - it's one of the few scents strong enough to carry in the dry air.
For non-blooming plants, Artemesia 'Powis Castle' has a strong citrusy scent when brushed by or crushed.
Another vote for Rosemary - I used to prune it and wear the scent of it on me all day, afterwards.
Daturas, at least the D. meteloides, also have a fragrance when they open up at night, and the big white blooms are perfect for a moonlight garden. Brugmansias also are reported to have a very nice scent, I've never smelt it... you have to be pretty warm for that one, or be willing to bring your pot indoors.
Great thread!
QUOTE: Nice thread Berrygirl, even if I can't grow a lot of it, I still like to hear about it. :))
Thank you! I'm sure you can grow most of what I mentioned in your zone?
Moonflower vines for scent from August to october.
Mmmm - I love your name! One of the sweetest songs ever written.
Another vote here for citrus. Even if it doesn't wind up fruiting, the smell of the blossoms is unbeatable. And the trees are so unlike anything else!
Edited to say I love your name, too. BUT NOW I CAN'T GET THE SONG OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!
This message was edited Dec 15, 2006 10:26 AM
Better than Porky Pig's rendition of "B-b-b-blue Christmas", LOL!
Citrus, yes!! In borderline zones like 8b, we count on tangerines and Meyer lemons to be more resistant to freezing temps ( several years ago, 3 nights in a row at 19 degrees and still had good crops). Also kumquats - the fruits are small, but the rinds are sweet and the trees bloom and fruit year-round. When the weather permits open windows, the wonderful aroma wafts through the house. Yuska
Oh, yikes -- Porky Pig "songhead" -- eeek!
"Time in a Bottle" was our first dance together when we were married... thanks for that memory!
What's that tall, white Nicotiana... will check... ah, N. sylvestris, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/771/index.html I think I planted some of these out last spring and then killed them thinking they were weeds... I wasn't paying attention to the description & didn't realize the leaves would be so huge!
Ooo - thanks for posting that link, critterologist - I knew what the individual blooms looked like, but not the whole plant. Very nice.
Zone 5: Honeysuckle (lonicera) makes a gorgeous backdrop, fragrant Solomon's Seal (polygonatum odoratum) and hosta "Fragrant Bouquet" (mine "stinks" like citrus/gardenia, at 15') for shade, datura as an annual, nicotiana, sweet william, dianthus, lavender, freesias as a tender bulb, lily of the valley, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/31528/index.html , http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2036/index.html , just to name a few. :)
mmm I love freesias! Plus they are pretty, but growing them in the garden is sort of "off" for their life cycle. Or their harvest schedule. I couldn't plant the bulbs until April 10 to make sure they didn't freeze, but the bulbs I'd get from a typical bulb place would all be dried out by April 10.
There is another nice hosta...a common one. I think it's one of FragrantBouquet's parents...Hosta plantaginea. it has plain green, but shiny, leaves and pure white flowers that I think bloom in July. So Joegee, does F.B. really stink? Or were you just being funny about the scent and calling it "stink"? Somehow citrus/gardenia sounds pretty darn good to me!
Tell me about Datura. Are some more fragrant than others? I have Blackberry Swirl, double yellow and white in my seed stash.
Suzy
Suzy
My two favorite scented plants are rosemary (which I just brush with my hands as I walk by) and the Moonvine (which smells absolutely wonderful at night).
This message was edited Dec 18, 2006 4:00 AM
Wow - do they really get that pink tinge to them or is that just my monitor?
No, mine were pure white. I had a hard time getting a perfect picture of them because they are so white, especially if there was any daylight. Maybe the lights caused that tinge. First time I grew them, but it's not the last. Found their fragrance to be quite refreshing and the flowers were huge, maybe 6" or so across.
And it is fascinating to watch the buds open just at dusk...they unfurl fully in mere seconds.
Right! I forgot about the buds. Very cool vines and they produce a lot of seeds, which I did not save any of this year (long illness). I know that they will come back on their own and I will have seeds available in the future.
I plan on doing a lot of vines next year and Moonvine is one of them. I have a bad habit of tying them up when they are little, but forgetting or putting it off when they are mid height. THIS year I plan on having the ties at the ready and being more diligent. Feel free to bump this post next July and ask me how successful I was. LOL!
Suzy
Illoquin, just being funny re: stink. :) They smell heavenly. :)
I grew white datura last year. At a distance the smell was not unpleasant, but up close it smelled (to me) like an industrial strength restroom air freshener. :/ I still love the flowers though, and will be growing a mixture of double yellow and raspberry swirl this summer. :) They're just too darned pretty, plus daturas seem to handle our August heat and dryness with no problem. :)
-Joe
Well I am in zone 10a in SoCal.. some of my favorites are plumeria, definitely any and all citrus trees, mock orange, david austin roses, many of my species orchids...brassalova nodosa, golden cup vine, night blooming jasmine, tuberose, hedychim gingers, all the scented geraniums, lastly Ms Jessop rosemary -has a buttery taste also. -Kathy
Critter, I just bought a witch hazel, and even with the flowers dried, they smell good. But I was at a home depot yesterday and saw some for sale that had no scent at all. Now I'm trying to decide where to plant the one I bought.
For scent, which has become very important to me, right now the winter honeysuckle and the daphne are scenting my front yard beautifully.
I have a "Gertrude Jekyll" rose which is just devine! Very strong rose scent.
For some reason, I can't find four-o'clocks with a good smell, nor can I find a smell-good nicotiana. Any suggestions?
Tea olive is great. I used to have some old-fashioned iris that smelled like grape juice, but they seem to have "disappeared" from my garden.
Cro, golden celebration sounds perfect. Not too tall and wide. I need to copy someone's idea of a spreadsheet and start writing down everything that sound like a possibility!
Suzy, my wonderful neighbor, who has room for everything I like, has the viburnums. I love them! Lilacs too!!
Critter, I have a mock orange. It's only a couple years old, so it isn't strong on scent yet. I can't wait!
I can't believe I got so far behind in this thread. I was just thinking about all the cottage threads the other day. I just get caught up and DH want's his turn at the computer. Sigh, later all!
I'll have to be sure to sniff any witch hazel before buying then... no ordering from cataloges for that one! I buy lilacs that way, with my nose first and then with my eyes.
One of my favorite roses, probably mentioned it before, is Zephirine Drouhin. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/354/index.html The fragrance is wonderful -- no lemon, no musk, just pure "rose." It gets nibbled but not stripped (like some others) by the Japanese beetles, it rarely gets even a bit of black spot or any other problem, it's virtually thornless, and it will even bloom in part shade! If you'd like a climbing rose but can only succeed with the really tough shrub roses like the "Knockout" ones, give this one a try.
I decided to try the "Rainbow" knockout rose this year. I wasn't sure where to put it, but I found a place since it's small. I'd like to have a ''Josephs Coat'' too. Mom had a pretty one with red, orange and yellow colors. I also ordered Ribes odoratum. I've wanted one for years.
Sweetpea, scent has been my #1 reason for buying lately!
critter, I'm so glad to hear your positive experience with ZD! I'm making a home for her this summer :)
Here is ZD in a more restrained moment... she tends to overgrow the steps leading to the deck!
Billy, is the 'Rainbow' Knockout supposed to be fragrant? If so, you'll have to report back on yours!
Jill, she's GORGEOUS!! I'm so excited to grow her now!! And you say that is restrained...., since I love BIG, I want to let her go nuts, and will have the perfect spot surrounding the deck that has built in benches (perfect for enjoying the scent). And practically thornless, (I see yours is by a traveled path)- perfect. Thanks for the pic!