There are many things to consider when you’re planning a garden. What types of flowers would you like feature? You’ll have to consider a host of colors and textures and foliage and decide on just the right mix. And are you more interested in enjoying the best perennial plants and flowers year after year or do you want to enjoy the immediate benefits of the best annuals? You should probably educate yourself on the different kinds of roses and choose a variety or two. And there there’s those flowers that attract hummingbirds and flowers that attract butterflies. Both kinds of flying beauties will add another layer of lovely to your outdoor space.
But a garden is not just about sight, as you well know. “Texture, color and seasonality are all important concepts, but scent often is overlooked when designing a garden,” says Boyce Tankersley, director of living plant documentation at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “Fragrance adds an extra layer of richness to the landscape.” Even if you don’t have a yard that’s acres and acres large, you still can indulge in the luxury of scented plants. Place them where they will be most appreciated most—think pots and containers places by your front door, along walkways where you’ll brush by them and release their sweetness, or near windows where you can pick up their scents on the breeze.
Plumeria
Also called Frangipani, plumeria is a subtropical or tropical flower related to oleander. Its flowers are softly fragrant in the daytime and intensify at night. The other names are yasmin & champa.
Gardenia
Our winner, almost 30% gardeners voted for Gardenia. There are three reasons for it:
- It grows everywhere, in cold or in tropics.
- Its big milky white flowers like flap of petals in roses looks so beautiful and their magical odor, which is not as overpowering as jasmine.
- Its fragrance that blends in its surroundings like a part of it.
Hyacinth
Cluster of flowers in colors of red, white, blue and more, hyacinths are appealing for eyes and their fragrance resembles a combination of strawberry and honeysuckle soothing for nostrils. They prefer cold climate and tough to grow in tropics.
Freesia
Native to South Africa, many European gardeners voted for freesias. Because of their charming & fruity scent— a fragrance like an altar wine, innocent & pleasing for senses. *Choose freesias in white or yellow color (most fragrant).
Rose
No such lists are possible without fragrant roses. Loveliest of all the flowers and popular, everyone who loves the scent, should grow them.
Brugmansia
Gardeners often intermix it with Datura, but both are different species. Brugmansia is also called Angel’s trumpet for its trumpet-like creamy-orange flowers that erupts a patch of erotic aroma on the onset of dusk. It’s hardy in zone 9-12 and needs dry & hot climate, but can be planted in colder regions with some care.