Anyone else interested in scented plants?

Hi there FC!

'Virginal' is beautiful and quite a sight to behold - and to sniff - when in full flower. Some people find the scent a bit too heady but I love it - and it's only in bloom in June. This link will give you some idea and also tell you about its eventual size and spread (although it will take some years to get there).

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/classid.4192/

So, if you've got the space, I'd say go for it! I only wish I had enough room to grow it myself! It does look at bit ordinary when out of flower, but as it's a large shrub you could always grow some smaller plants in front of it to add some colour later on.

There are now a couple of variegated philadelphus on the market. I'm not sure I like them, however. I think the leaves detract from the simple, white flowers.

 

Clare ... is the 'Virginal' the most fragrant of the Mock orange bunch?

reason that I am asking is that I will be landscaping a large garden soon from scratch, and there is loads of space for loads of fragrant shrubs ....

I will be planting more that 1 of the same type in different areas of the garden to get good fragrance for as much of the year that I can ...

I also need to know what is the most fragrant honeysuckle? (but not the ones that grow rampant... there is one that is classed as an invasive plant but smells very good)

 

Hi *dim*.

Well, 'Virginal' has to be one of the best. I have grown it in the past, and the smell is glorious. The double flowers are also very beautiful. Also, it grows into a large shrub/small tree (about 3 metres) so you get a good concentration of flowers on a mature plant and the height helps waft the scent across a garden.

As to honeysuckles. Lonicera americana is beautiful to look at, with pink and yellow flowers which look like fireworks! For me, it also has the best smell, which is usually described as 'clove'. Rather exotic and mysterious, I always think. However, it only starts to pour out its fragrance at night, when the moths it's designed to attract are out and about. And it does need a still, warm night to give its best. That really is the problem with Britain - in this weather, it's pretty hard for anything to defeat the rain. The other snag with 'Americana' is that the flowering season is short. Mine is almost over now, with just a few straggling flowers left. Lonicera periclymenum 'Graham Thomas' is a selected form of our native honeysuckle, with clear yellow flowers which are larger than average. Mine is just beginning to flower now, and will be at its height around midsummer. Again, a great scent - assuming we get some still, warm evenings. Can't smell much at all at the moment! Some people plant two commonly available selections of 'Periclymenum' which are know as 'Early Dutch' and 'Late Dutch' and also 'Belgica' and 'Serotina'. Because one is later than the other, you can extend the relatively brief flowering period. Both have a pretty good smell. I would never recommend 'Harlequin', which I got seduced into buying for its pretty variegated leaves. The flowers are small, insipid-looking and weakly scented.

The Japanese evergreen honeysuckles 'Lonicera japonica' have a much longer flowering season, as they will go on producing new flowers throughout the summer. They also look better as plants. (The deciduous varieties can look pretty manky later in the season.) They are, however, strong growers which can take over if you let them; in the warm Southern states of the USA I believe the plant is a complete pest. I have grown 'Halliana', which is the variety you commonly see in garden centres. It has a pretty strong scent. There are now some other selections available, but I haven't grown them. Don't choose the Japanese honeysuckles with the fancy variagated leaves such as 'aureoreticulata'; they rarely flower, if at all.

I also grow a shrubby honeysuckle called L. Syringantha. It is a rather shapeless plant, to be honest, but it has nice small blue-green leaves and little pink flowers which smell like hyacinths. It blooms in the spring, and the scent tends to be lost in foul weather.

Given that we do have a lot of rain in Britain, I think I'd plan to include some things which smell better in the wet! One of these is Rosa primula, the 'Incense Rose'. It has single yellow flowers and nice ferny leaves which smell lovely after a shower of rain.

 

thanks Clare ... good info and I have bookmarked your post in my favourites!

two more questions:

which is the hardiest most fragrant Daphne ... and the best hardiest most fragrant osthmansus?

 

Well, I don't have much experience of either but I'm sure others do. I've grown Daphne odora marginata, which is one of the hardier daphnes. It has nice leaves with a pale border and little pink flowers which have a smell to die for. I kept it going for quite a long time, but then it suddenly sulked and died for no apparent reason. This is a problem of daphnes in general, I believe. They can be temperamental. Mind you, I enjoyed the plant for a long while, so I don't think of it as a failure. I should have propagated it while I had the chance. The stems have a natural tendency to flop so it's an easy thing to peg down some layers until they have rooted. Daphne mezereum is frequently offered by online suppliers quite cheaply. I've never grown it but I believe that it too can be something of a prima donna.

I've grown Osmanthus delavayi and I believe Armandii has it in his garden as well. It is a lovely neat shrub with nice evergreen leaves and clusters of small white flowers in spring which have quite a powerful smell. It is hardy and needs no particular pampering.

 

thanks Clare



I am landscaping a pub in Cambridge... I have already planted gertrude jekyll rose bushes along one small picket fence (I planted 8 gertrude jekyll)

I am now after an evergreen shrub that does not grow tall (4 -5feet tall), and it must be fragrant, and that can handle full sun (I will need 7 which will be planted between the roses)

I had the Daphne earmarked, but I read that sometimes they struggle ... so I am back at square 1

 

I have a Daphne odora Aureomarginata which is frost hardy and it really doesn't do well in the cold.

The transatlantica x Eternal Fragrance is fully hardy so would be the best bet, but probably not large enough. Daphnes are toxic though, so bear that in mind when landscaping somewhere kids are likely to play.

I have an Osmanthus burkwoodii which is fully hardy and smells gorgeous.

How about Choisya for the pub garden?

 

thanks for that ... I will have a close look ... sadly, many fragrant plants are toxic ... even daffodils are toxic so it's hard to find a balance

 

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/choisya-ternata-/classid.825/

Slightly taller than you wanted, but easy enough to prune back.

 

thanks merleworld ... I have planted a few of these and alwayls include the yellow one (sundance) in many of my gardens

my nose is old, and I struggle to smell much from these ... for the pub, I need something that is evergreen ... grows to 4 feet high and has very strong fragrance ... and that can handle full sun

lots to ask ... but I'm hoping .... whatever I choose will be planted in 1 1/2 months time (we are doing the garden is stages, so that it's not a big cost in 1 go)

 

And don't forget Apple Pips - Cyanide in them (but eating enough to kill yourself will give you severe indigestion from the volume, long before you manage to kill yourself!)

 

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/?section=species&id=100

snip:
Narcissus and daffodils (as well as tulips) rarely cause fatalities, but they do contain toxic alkaloids that may cause dizziness, abdominal pain and upset, and occasionally, convulsions if eaten.