Transform your garden into a feast for the senses with aromatic flowers and foliage.
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Scent is powerful, triggering memories from long ago and transporting us to faraway places.
Aromatic flowers and foliage also play upon our emotions.
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Also think about airflow.
Gentle breezes disperse a flowers perfume through the garden, but heavy winds can carry it away.
This low-growing evergreen makes a wonderful groundcover or border in perennial beds and performs well in rock gardens.
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Deadhead plants following the spring flush for repeat blooming in summer.
Many varieties also rebloom heavily in early autumn.
Dianthus is winter hardy in USDA zones 3-9.
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Plants produce spikes of trumpet-shaped flowers in white, yellow, or pink hues.
Hardy in zones 7-10, tuberose plants can be dug and stored indoors over the winter in colder regions.
Peony
Southern Living/Adrienne Legault
Peony blooms are not only immensely showy but also delightfully fragrant.
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Some cultivars are more fragrant than others, so keep that in mind when selecting peonies for your garden.
Growing peonies in Southern gardens can be tricky, as plants require a period of winter chill to bloom.
Herbaceous peonies grow well in zones 3-8, but typically require afternoon shade.
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Early blooming varieties perform the best in hot southern gardens.
Tree peonies and Itoh peonies are more heat tolerant and can grow as far south as northern Florida.
Butterfly Ginger
A tropical-looking plant perfect for hot and humid Southern gardens!
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Blooms are irresistibly fragrant, with a scent reminiscent of honeysuckle.
In colder regions, container-grown plants can be overwintered indoors in a dry, frost-free location.
Lavender
While lavender thrives on heat, humidity can mean its demise.
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Hybrid varieties tend to perform the best in the South but must have well-draining soil.
Consider planting in raised beds or containers.
Garden phlox is native to the eastern United States and attracts a diversity of native bees and butterflies.
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Youll also see hummingbirds sipping from the tubular florets.
‘Java Bleue’ has a distinctive orange scent while the variety ‘Gingersnap’ smells like root beer.
With so many delectable fragrances, its hard to choose just one variety for the garden.
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So go ahead, plant up an aromatic feast!
The chocolate scent giving the plant its name comes from the flowers and is most pronounced on warm mornings.
Oriental Hybrid Lilies
Of all the lilies, the oriental hybrids emit the most exquisite perfume.
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These tend to be the last lilies to bloom, opening mid to late summer and into fall.
They make excellent cut flowers, but not everyone appreciates their strong scent indoors.
pseudomajalis(Zones 5-8), native to the Southern Appalachians, is much better behaved.
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Also called lily of the valley (to keep us all confused), the flowers ofC.
pseudomajalisare just as fragrant as their Eurasian cousins and stand among taller foliage.
Native lily of the valley can be challenging to find at garden centers.
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Ask for it at specialty nurseries and from your local native plant society.
The heavenly perfume makes it well worth your effort to seek out this charming native .
Rosemary also works well in raised planters and patio containers that provide the good drainage this plant needs.
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Plants are winter hardy to zone 8 and must be wintered indoors in colder regions.
The fragrance of these heat-loving blooms is most pronounced on warm sunny days.
Chocolate cosmos are tender perennials hardy in zones 9 to 11.
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Hyacinths
Don’t overlook bulbs when seeking out fragrant perennials.
Hyacinths (zones 4-8) bring rich, floral fragrance and plenty of color to the spring garden.
Plant hyacinths October to December for mid-spring blooms.
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While plants thrive in moist soils, they tolerate dry soil and periods of drought.
The tubular blooms open in intervals for a long-lasting display and attract a variety of pollinators to the garden.
