Anyone else interested in scented plants?

*dim*'s post about scented roses set me thinking. I think a garden without scent isn't a proper garden. I can't resist scented plants: I have been known to grow ugly mingers like Reseda odorata just for their smell. Do you think it would be worth setting up a thread devoted to scented plants? We must have quite a lot of accumulated wisdom between us, and we all know that what a nursery catalogue calls 'heavily scented' isn't what the rest of us would necessarily call a decent pong! What do you think?

 

i think its a great idea

 

I always add very fragrant plants in all the gardens that I landscape .... I have loads of info

check this link (i normally look for the plants that are described as 'overpowering') .... you need to make sure that they grow in your area though ... the link is OK, but I have other info

http://www.crescentbloom.com/plants/lists/Sweet scented/default.htm

I will be planning a small garden tommorow .... mainly in tropical/exotic style, but with a few fragrant shrubs dotted around ... I'll update this thread with what I hav chosen

 

I envy you the Lily of the Valley, Marley. It grows like a weed for some people but it doesn't like my garden. And any which does survive immediately gets eaten by snails.

 

I'd love to hear what worked out scent-wise in other gardens and what turned out to be a dud. As I've already said on the rose forum, 'Perdita' (awarded 9/10 for fragrance) didn't do it for me, unfortunately. This is obviously to do with my perception, as others rave about it. However, I get fed up with nurseries labelling things as scented when they really aren't. Couldn't resist buying Clematis aromatica from Thompson and Morgan last year. It has been cosseted inside all winter as it isn't hardy and as a result it has just produced a couple of underwhelming flowers. I can't detect much smell at all and nor can anyone else.

Nothing much beats the common jasmine, Jasminum Officianale for strength of scent on a summer evening. But a couple of years back I grew a little annual called Zaluzianskya capensis (Night Phlox - not to be confused with Night Scented Stock, which is also wonderful). It has white, deeply divided petals and the most amazing evening fragrance. I can't quite place it. It's a little bit like those old fashioned 'pear drop' sweets, but that really doesn't do it justice. It's probably a bit late to sow it for this season now, but I still have some seed so I'm giving it a go.

 

I've chosen a few fragrant shrubs for the garden that I will be landscaping soon ...

The client wants the garden to be planted symetrical (i.e. 2 of each shrub, planted in the 2 opposite beds next to the fence) .... garden is not large, and will also include palms, musa, t-rex, castor oil plants, tree ferns, normal ferns, huechera, jack frost etc etc ...

Client wants large specimins and does not want to wait years for them to mature


for fragrance, I have chosen:
Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' (Mock orange):


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osmanthus gulftide:


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daphne odora aureomarginata:


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elaeagnus ebbingei:


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Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine)


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sarcococca confusa:

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there's still space for another 1 creeper on the back wall (which is the brick wall of his garage), and I may look at a honeysuckle that is not too vigorous

 

I just love the headiness of Jasminum Polyanthum. I have the white variety whereas the buds are white not pink. It actually took me several years to get it established, moving it on one occasion but it seems to have now settled and is covered in buds, just one flower open at the moment. It has a very long blooming period here. It is on the same dining patio as my highly-scented yellow Brugmansia with the orange grove to the other side ... so it may get a bit over-powering this year.

 

Shows how bad my sense of smell is Dim, i have a huge mock orange and did not even know it was scented lol

 

I find mock orange has a strong smell and is one of my favourites .... I'm not sure if the yellow leaved version is as strong as the normal version (I have only been planting these from last summer, so I will now soon as they are already making flower heads)

some plants only smell good at certain times of day ... and some only smell at night

for a conservatory, many say that nothing beats night blooming jasmine ( Cestrum nocturnum ) and many rate this as the most fragrant plant in the world ... it only smells at night

 

Good choices, *dim*. The elaeagnus is one of those surprising plants. You walk past it, never thinking that the gorgeous smell comes from such insignificant flowers. Its cousin, Elaeagnus commutata has the most amazing smell which travels a long way. It grows into a beautiful silver-green large shrub or small tree, but it needs space.

Victoria, I'm jealous that you can grow Jasminum polyanthum outside. Here it is usually an indoor plant, wound around a miserable wire hoop.

*dim*, although most of the philadelphus varieties have a good scent (the exception being the dwarf 'Manteau de Hermione', which is very pretty but has very little smell, despite what nurseries say) for me the best is P. lemoinei. It has dainty, arching stems with peeling bark. The flowers are single and not spectacular but the smell most definitely is. There is a fruity, pineapple tang to it which is absent in most of the other cultivars.

 

I love all scented plants and it's a big factor when I'm choosing something new, especially anything that smells better in the evening after a warm day. I think Philadelphus is lovely at a distance and I have two but I didn't put them too close to a sitting area as sometimes they can be a bit overpowering. Love the smell of many herbs too.

At one time I had a Skimmia (different garden) which had a wonderful scent in February (something similar to hyacinths) but I've never come across another one. I'd love to find one again.

I agree that so many plants are marketed as heavily scented when they aren't and often it's the plants with white, green or insignificant flowers which have the best scent. I've never come across a book which discusses suitable scents for combination/succession such as you would find for shape, colour, size etc. Anyone know if there is one?

 

Eagerly awaiting one of my favourites: sweetpeas.....

Got 3 lots this year 1) up back of garage wall
2) hanging basket-trailing
3) a potfull on the patio ,

 

Westwales: your skimmia was probably Skimmia fragrans or 'Fragrant Cloud'. it's still quite easy to buy - several online stockists have it. I agree, it smells just like hyacinths!

I don't know of any book which discusses scent in the way you describe. My favourite books on scent are 'Scent In Your Garden' by Stephen Lacey - a beautiful and very informative volume - and Rosemary Verey's 'The Scented Garden', which is a bit random in its approach but nonetheless fascinating. She really, really knew about plants!

 

I like scented plants, though I'm still a learner so I haven't clocked up a good reportoire yet.

Just by our front door is a stunning curry plant. It is very scented. Trouble is it is too scented. It stinks. I keep expecting drunks turning up on their way home looking for a chicken madras and pillau for supper. And yes, I know its not the curry that flavours curry, but rather a mildly poisonous plant misleadingly named plant