The Top Fragrant Plants for Your Garden
Those hubs of activity outdoors -- patios, pools, decks, etc. -- are perfect places to add sweet-smelling plants for ambiance. Forget the candles and citronella -- we're talking about fragrant plants that remind you and your guests why it's so enjoyable to be spending time outdoors instead of in.
What makes a plant's fragrance appealing -- if not intoxicating -- is highly subjective. For some, a lovely, sweet scent is better than any perfume, while, for others, something spicy and almost musky does it for them.
Many plants' scents are intensified at night -- all the more reason to relax outdoors under the stars. Enjoy the aromas of the sweet-smelling plants we've picked for your garden.
Botanical name: Brugmansia
Details: This beautiful shrub or tree does best growing under eaves, against walls, or over fences. Angel's trumpet grows in spurts, sometimes several times a year, forming a thick blanket of beautiful blooms. Its flowers are long and trumpet shaped. Its sweet scent picks up during the evening hours and if there's a light breeze.
Zones: 9-11
Botanical name: Jasminum floridum, J. humile (Italian jasmine) J. laurifolium nitidum (Shining and Angelwing Jasmine), J. officinale (Common White and Poet's Jasmine), and J. sambac (Arabian Jasmine and Pikake).
Details: Some jasmines are unscented. If you're looking for the fragrant ones, try Jasminum floridum, J. humile (Italian Jasmine), The popular Star Jasmine is not a true jasmine, but wonderfully fragrant. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) comes from China and grows to a twining 20-30-foot vine with support.
Zones: 7-9
Botanical name: Frangipani, Pua Melia
Details: Plumeria (Frangipani, Pua Melia) are flowering plants or small trees often associated with Hawaii and other tropical islands. Sweetly scented varieties are Plumeria rubra 'Kauka Wilder' and 'Smith's Candystripe.' Plumeria is an excellent pool or spa-side plant and grows well in containers.
Zones:
Botanical name: Lonicera
Details:
Zones:
Botanical name: Rosa primula
Details: Of course these have to be mentioned, even if everyone knows about their legendary scents. If planting rose bushes near a pool or spa, make sure they are several feet away from high-traffic areas. You know -- the thorn issue.
Zones: Varies
The Top 10 Climbing Roses
Botanical name: Mentha requienii
Details: Just the name alone makes you want to add this to your garden. is a Mediterranean native and a spreading, low-growing mint ground cover that has a nice minty aroma when touched or lightly bruised. Try it as a fragrant filler between pavers or stepping stones.
Botanical name: Nicotiana
Details: Especially for nonsmokers, the thought of anything with the name "tobacco" added to this list might raise eyebrows. Flowering Tobacco is an upright plant with slightly sticky flowers that sometimes open just at night or on cloudy days. The sweetest-smelling varieties are Nicotiana alata 'Grandiflora,' and N. sylvestris.
Zones:
What makes a plant's fragrance appealing -- if not intoxicating -- is highly subjective. For some, a lovely, sweet scent is better than any perfume, while, for others, something spicy and almost musky does it for them.
Many plants' scents are intensified at night -- all the more reason to relax outdoors under the stars. Enjoy the aromas of the sweet-smelling plants we've picked for your garden.
•Angel's Trumpet
Botanical name: Brugmansia
Details: This beautiful shrub or tree does best growing under eaves, against walls, or over fences. Angel's trumpet grows in spurts, sometimes several times a year, forming a thick blanket of beautiful blooms. Its flowers are long and trumpet shaped. Its sweet scent picks up during the evening hours and if there's a light breeze.
Zones: 9-11
•Jasmine
Botanical name: Jasminum floridum, J. humile (Italian jasmine) J. laurifolium nitidum (Shining and Angelwing Jasmine), J. officinale (Common White and Poet's Jasmine), and J. sambac (Arabian Jasmine and Pikake).
Details: Some jasmines are unscented. If you're looking for the fragrant ones, try Jasminum floridum, J. humile (Italian Jasmine), The popular Star Jasmine is not a true jasmine, but wonderfully fragrant. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) comes from China and grows to a twining 20-30-foot vine with support.
Zones: 7-9
•Plumeria
Botanical name: Frangipani, Pua Melia
Details: Plumeria (Frangipani, Pua Melia) are flowering plants or small trees often associated with Hawaii and other tropical islands. Sweetly scented varieties are Plumeria rubra 'Kauka Wilder' and 'Smith's Candystripe.' Plumeria is an excellent pool or spa-side plant and grows well in containers.
Zones:
•Honeysuckle
Botanical name: Lonicera
Details:
Zones:
•Roses
Botanical name: Rosa primula
Details: Of course these have to be mentioned, even if everyone knows about their legendary scents. If planting rose bushes near a pool or spa, make sure they are several feet away from high-traffic areas. You know -- the thorn issue.
Zones: Varies
The Top 10 Climbing Roses
•Jewel Mint of Corsica
Botanical name: Mentha requienii
Details: Just the name alone makes you want to add this to your garden. is a Mediterranean native and a spreading, low-growing mint ground cover that has a nice minty aroma when touched or lightly bruised. Try it as a fragrant filler between pavers or stepping stones.
•Flowering Tobacco
Botanical name: Nicotiana
Details: Especially for nonsmokers, the thought of anything with the name "tobacco" added to this list might raise eyebrows. Flowering Tobacco is an upright plant with slightly sticky flowers that sometimes open just at night or on cloudy days. The sweetest-smelling varieties are Nicotiana alata 'Grandiflora,' and N. sylvestris.
Zones: