Top 10 Plants Year round Fragrance
Image: Pexels / Jonathan Borba
Scent plays a crucial part in any garden and is the sense that evokes the most memories. It is used by plants to attract pollinating insects so the plants that flower in winter, when the least insects are around, have to work hardest and are amongst the most fragrant. Make sure you plant these where you can smell them without having to walk into the border.
If you garden with containers, move the plants forward as they flower, or position them near a door, so you can appreciate the scent as you pass.
Chimonanthus praecox
Known as wintersweet this shrub fills the garden with scent on a calm, sunny day in winter and early spring. It has small creamy-yellow flowers with a red centre along the branches. It flowers best in a sunny, sheltered position and is ideal for training against a warm wall or fence.
Daphne
There is a Daphne for almost every situation, so you can choose one to suit your soil and the position in the garden. They are all highly fragrant shrubs, most are hardy and they prefer light shade to full sun. Two examples are Daphne Jacqueline Postill, which is superb for scent in late winter and Perfume Princess has excellent fragrance in spring.
Dianthus
Carnations and pinks are almost all fragrant, but the pinks are particularly good in the garden, giving off their strong, sweet, clove smell all summer. They love a hot, sunny spot and also grow well in containers. Good examples include: Grans Favourite, Memories and Doris.
Lavandula
Lavenders just love a hot, sunny position. The silver hairs on the leaves reflect light, which means they cope better than many other plants. Popular with bees and many other pollinators, the foliage is fragrant in the sunshine and the white, blue or pink flowers not only smell good in the garden, but can be dried for use indoors.
Lonicera
The honeysuckles range from winter-flowering shrubs to climbers that flower in spring, summer or autumn. They all have a strong honey scent that lingers on calm air. Winter-flowering shrubs include Lonicera x purpusii and Lonicera fragrantissima. Climbers include Serotina (late summer), Halliana (evergreen, summer flowering) and Heaven Scent (summer-autumn).
Mahonia
There are many types of Mahonia, from low, spreading shrubs to tall, imposing, back-of-border plants. Some have better scent than others, so it is worth checking for the best lily-of-the-valley fragrance. They produce golden-yellow bell-shaped flowers from autumn to late spring, according to variety. Good forms include: Apollo (spring), Winter Sun (winter) and Lionel Fortesque (autumn-winter).
Rosa
Roses always merit a place in a garden for fragrance. From bush roses of all kinds to climbing varieties, nothing beats the scent of a rose in summer. The vast range of colours, shapes and sizes means there is a rose for every garden and the perfume varies so widely it is a matter of personal choice. Always smell before you buy!
Skimmia Kew Green
There are many forms of Skimmia, but Kew Green is one of the best for fragrance. This small, spreading evergreen shrub flowers in late spring, producing large panicles of yellowish flowers with a strong lily-of-the-valley scent.
Trachelospermum
An ideal climber for a sunny, sheltered patio, Trachelospermum is known as the star jasmine. It is a twining, woody plant that needs to grow on a support and will bloom throughout the summer and autumn. The flowers are highly fragrant and there are white, pink and yellow forms.
Viburnum
There are many forms of Viburnum, all shrubby and flowering in different seasons. For winter fragrance, choose Viburnum x bodnantense Dawn or Charles Lamont. For spring scent, look for Viburnum carlesii Aurora and for summer Viburnum x carlcephalum.