Top 50 Scented Plants A selection of the most divinely scented flowers and aromatic herbs to create a horticultural feast for the senses List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation Creating a Scented Garden Smells evoke more than words or pictures ever can in many instances, so creating a garden based around scent is a perfect way to encapsulate a specific mood or create a particular atmosphere. Scent is often found in plants that attract both dayflying and night-flying insects. It is used to attract pollinators without necessarily having to use bright colours; although many of the plants on this list are a feast for the eyes as well as smelling beautiful. This list includes a variety of scents from the highly perfumed flowers of honeysuckle and Daphne, to the sweet fragrance of roses and deeply aromatic leaves of lavender and curry plant. A scented garden will often have lots of shrubs and perhaps smaller borders than other garden styles so every plant is accessible as you walk around the garden. Traditional styles include those inspired by parterre gardens with small borders encased with box hedges; they themselves have a sweet smell. Other styles include archways with Wisteria or Laburnum hanging down, roses growing up and herbaceous planting below. There are endless possibilities so it is totally up to you! Choosing Plants for a Scented Garden It can be easy to go overboard when planting a lot of heady-scented flowers; resulting in a rather overpowering scent. If you have a large space, you may like to plan your garden as a journey through different scents. For a smaller garden, perhaps choose a handful of varying species, or, pick one theme of scent and try it throughout. Lemony, rose and sweet scents pair very well together and are often found blooming through the summer. Try Rosa gallica or Melissa officinalis together for this effect. Aromatic scents from herbs such as hyssop, rosemary and lavender also pair well for a more Mediterranean-scented garden. It is important to remember flowering season when choosing plants. Many spring flowers have a very light fragrance and so can be grown together for an overall effect. Try hyacinths, bluebells and lily-of-the-valley together for a burst of scent in mid-spring. In winter, daphne and witch-hazel are perfect to add a brightness to dull winter days – both in colour and in scent. In summer, many scented flowers are moth pollinated so will continue to release scent, or even increased in scent, during the evening and nighttime. If you have a patio and are likely to sit outside on a summer evening, try planting honeysuckle, evening primroses and jasmine. Pale coloured flowers such as these are often an indication of moth pollination For a more unique scented garden, some of the more unusual scents include clove pinks, bergamot, fennel and blackcurrant sage. There are far more scented plants than could be included in this list so always do further research before planting. Most highly scented flowers are good for pollinators so get planting! About the Author – characterising scents Hi, I’m Thomas, author of these pages and student here at the garden. I have synaesthesia which allows me to associate colours with words, letters, sounds and, most relevantly, scents or smells. It can sometimes be difficult to put into words just how a flower or plant smells, so, I find associating it with a spectrum of colour helps me to choose plants that work well together. Plants with the same colour smell pair well and certain colour combinations work well too. Hopefully this page might make some sense to you as well in how to select plants for your garden; some plants have multiple scent components and, therefore, multiple colours: Rosa sp. Chaenomeles sp. (Malus sp.) Helichrysum italicum Hedychium sp. Salvia microphylla Monarda sp. Lavandula sp. Paeonia sp. Pelargonium capitatum (Eucalyptus sp.) Melissa officinalis (Pinus sp.) Ribes sanguineum (Aloysia citrodora) Syringa sp. (Prunus sp.) Buxus sp. Mentha spicata Dianthus sp. (Pelargonium tomentosum) Jasminum sp. Lonicera sp. Sambucus Thymus vulgaris Ribes odoratum Wisteria sp. nigra Rosmarinus officinalis Foeniculum vulgare Choisya sp. Laburnum sp. Rhododendron luteum Citrus x aurantium Elaeagnus sp. Hedera helix Origanum vulgare Artemisia sp. Hyacinthus orientalis Viburnum sp. Hamamelis sp. (Citrus x limon) Hyssopus officinalis Hyacinthoides non-scripta Daphne bholua Erica sp. Filipendula ulmaria Philadelphus sp. (Pelargonium citronellum) Anethum graveolens Convallaria majalis Deutzia gracilis (Calluna sp.) Chamaemelum nobile Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple) Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name Gardens Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in flower Plant Family Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM cultivars of this species (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings Additional information on these garden plants This plant would The flowers only be suitable for and/or leaves meadow-style have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly planting scent toxic if ingested The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching) ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the United Kingdom. H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC H3 - Minimum -5ºC H4 - Minimum -10ºC H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and hoverfly data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation. Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) Hoverflies d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths) (e) (f) iv Anethum graveolens Middle East Common Dill ‘Moulton’ Summer . ‘Annete’ ‘Hera’ Apiaceae Carrot Family 3ft Annual Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 1 Chaenomeles speciosa Chinese Quince China ‘Geisha Girl’ Spring . ‘Moerloosei’ Rosaceae Rose Family Medium Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) Stanze Bla 2 Chamaemelum nobile Mediterranean & The British Isles Common Camomile None Summer . Asteraceae Daisy Family 1ft Perennial Photograph from Flickr (CC) Melanie Shaw 3 Choisya x dewitteana Arizona Choisya arizonica Garden Mexican Orange Blossom Choisya arizonica x Choisya ternata Choisya ternata Mexico ‘Aztec Pearl’ Late Spring & Early Autumn ‘White Dazzler’ Rutaceae Rue Family Small Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) D Brooker 4 Naturalised in the Citrus maxima Citrus x aurantium Mediterranean Bitter Orange, Seville Orange Citrus maxima x Citrus reticulata SE Asia East Asia Citrus reticulata None Late Spring - Midsummer Rutaceae Rue Family Small Tree Photograph from Flickr (CC) A Qiao * This plant should be kept under glass during the winter (cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures)5 Convallaria majalis Eurasia Lily-of-the-Valley ‘Fortin’s Giant’ Spring . -Species- Asparagaceae Asparagus Family 1ft Bulbous Photograph from Flickr (CC) Todd Petit 6 Daphne bholua Nepalese Daphne Asia ‘Gurkha’ Winter . ‘Jacqueline Postill’ Thymelaeaceae Daphne Family Small Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) Timothy C E Paine 7 Deutzia gracilis Japanese Snow Flower Japan ‘Nikko’ Mid Spring - Early Summer Hydrangeaceae Hydrangea Family Medium Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) Dan Mullen 8 Dianthus caryophyllus Mediterranean Carnation, Clove Pink Photograph of Cultivar from Flickr (CC) Lawrence Chernin Many Cultivars Summer . Always Choose Single-flowering Cultivars Caryophyllaceae Pink Family 1ft Perennial Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) H. Brisse 9 Elaeagnus angustifolia Eurasia Oleaster ‘Quicksilver’ Summer . (Not AGM) Elaeagnaceae Oleaster Family Large Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andrey Zharkikh 10 Erica arborea Afro-Eurasia Tree Heather * var. alpina Spring . ‘Estrella Gold’ Ericaceae Heather Family Medium Shrub * This plant will not survive below -10’c night Photograph from Flickr (CC) Tim Waters temperatures, protect from very harsh winter11 nights Filipendula ulmaria Eurasia Meadowsweet Related species: Filipendula rubra Midsummer ‘Venusta’ - Early Autumn Rosaceae Rose Family 3ft Perennial Photograph by Thomas McBride 12 Foeniculum vulgare Afro-Eurasia Common Fennel ‘Florence Fino’ Summer . ‘Florence Orion’ Apiaceae Carrot Family 5ft Perennial Photograph from Flickr (CC) Katy Wrathall 13 Hamamelis mollis Chinese Witch-hazel China ‘Jermyns Gold’ Mid