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Home » Gardening Information » Great Plants

Fragrant Fare—A Selection of Traditional and Unusual Plants for the Scented Garden

Plants & Gardens News  Volume 20, Number 2 | Summer 2005

by Scott D. Appell

When I was a young, aspiring horticulturist in Brooklyn Botanic Garden's children's education program, I was entrusted with the job of weeding the institution's famous Fragrance Garden. As I carefully—and proudly—pulled out the ever-present chickweed, dandelion, and wild grass, I was thrilled by the divergent odors wafting through the air: The foliar scents of chives, rosemary, and lovage, and the flower smells of bearded iris, clove pinks, and wallflowers all competed for access to my nostrils. I couldn't help but wonder: How and why are these plants emitting fragrance?

A little later in my career, I learned that plants create fragrance by producing volatile organic compounds, such as terpenes, in specialized structures on their surfaces. Plants with fragrant flowers produce their perfume in glands on the petals known as osmophores—and do so in order to lure pollinators. Plants with scented foliage get their smell from water-repellent essential oils manufactured by glandular leaf hairs known as trichomes; the smell's main job is to repel leaf-eating predators, especially insects. (Often, it's difficult for people to detect this smell unless they rub or bruise the leaves of the plants first.)

Humans have long been drawn to fragrant plants, using them throughout history for cuisine, perfume, and much more. No doubt there's an evolutionary component to this attraction stretching back to our early fruit-foraging days. Today, plant fragrance is a billion-dollar industry—scents are even being microencapsulated into fabrics, wall tiles, and furniture. The relatively new science of aromatherapy is showing how plant fragrance can strongly influence our emotional and physical wellbeing. For instance, the smells of peppermint and lily-of-the-valley have been found to increase alertness, and a combination of lavender and chamomile has been shown to reduce stress.

Growing fragrant plants in your garden is, then, a sweet proposition. Not only are you ornamenting your home with delicious aromas, you're using tough, bug-resistant species (fragrant-leafed plants); increasing yourchances of attracting beautiful pollinators (with fragrant-flowered plants); and boosting the health of your household (when you use either or both plant types).

A Gallery of Fragrant Plants

Following is a selection of fragrant plants that runs the gamut from well-known workhorses of the standard scented garden to more obscure species. The plants are divided according to the two main fragrance traits: foliage and flowers. When you design with these and other fragrant plants, situate them where you can smell and rub them whenever you pass by—near pathways or in containers, for example.

Fragrant Foliage

Aloysia triphylla (lemon verbena)

This beloved, highly aromatic, deciduous shrub hails from Chile and Peru. Growing up to ten feet tall, it produces whorls of lance-shaped leaves and slender panicles of white to pale lilac late-summer flowers. When crushed, the foliage releases a refreshingly strong, lemony scent. In fact, the volatile oils are so concentrated that dried leaves remain fragrant for years—making them a perfect ingredient for home-crafted potpourris. The fresh leaves can be brewed into a bracing medicinal tea. The tender immature foliage can be sautéed like spinach, and the mature leaves impart a lemony essence to cold beverages, omelets, jellies, salad dressings, and vegetable dishes. Cultivate lemon verbena in full sun and moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Hardy from USDA Zones 8 to 11, it is best cultivated as a container plant in colder zones and overwintered indoors.

Mentha requienii (Corsican mint)

Of the myriad mints available to fragrance gardeners, the lesser-known Corsican mint is my favorite. The aroma and flavor are similar to peppermint (M. xpiperita), but to my senses brighter and perkier. A true native of Corsica, as well as Sardinia and mainland Italy, this perennial mint forms a half-inch-high slender-stemmed mat of miniscule rounded leaves. Whorls of tiny, tubular, lilac-colored blossoms appear in summer. The leaves can be used to flavor salads and drinks and to make a refreshing herbal tea. Hardy from Zones 6 to 9, Corsican mint prefers a moisture-retentive rich soil and a shaded site away from the hot sun. It is a perfect herb to plant between flagstones of a woodland garden path, where each footfall releases a whiff of fragrance.

Pogostemon cablin (patchouli)

Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, patchouli has one of the most permeating and heady aromas of any herb. Though rarely seen in cultivation in the U.S., this three-foot-tall tender perennial is eminently garden-worthy. Patchouli's slightly lobed, serrated leaves are pleasingly maplelike in appearance. Spikes of small, tubular, purple-tinged white flowers appear late in the season. The leaves are distilled for their pungent, dark amber essential oil, which is used as a perfume fixative and insect repellent, and for aromatherapy. In the garden, patchouli relishes high heat and humidity and is hardy in Zones 10 and 11. Northern gardeners can grow it as an annual outdoors or a windowsill specimen inside. Give the plant full sun or partial shade and a very rich, moisture-retentive but not soggy soil.

Tagetes lucida (Mexican marigold, anisillo)

I was not familiar with this sweet species marigold until I moved to Vieques. Here, it is called anisillo ("little anise") due to the intense anise- or tarragon-like fragrance and taste of its foliage and flowers. The bright yellow late-summer flowers are distinctly marigold looking, but the foliage is linear—not feathery like the leaves of better-known Tagetes species and garden hybrids. Native to Mexico and Guatemala, this warm-weather perennial (hardy from Zones 8 to 11) grows about two feet high and becomes woody with age. The leaves can be used as a substitute for tarragon in soups, salads, vinegars, dressings, sauces, and herbal butters. Grow the plant in full sun and moderately fertile, well-drained soil.

Tanacetum balsamita (costmary)

Costmary is a wonderful old-fashioned perennial herb cherished for its balsam-scented foliage. Native to Asia and Eurasia, this aster-family member and close relative of tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) gets its name from the Latin word costus, meaning "oriental plant," as well as its traditional association with the Virgin Mary. Other common names include alecost, which derives from its historical use as a flavoring for beer. A nice-looking, insect-resistant herb, costmary grows three feet tall and produces long, delicately serrated foliage. Small, daisylike yellow and white flowers appear from mid- to late summer. Use the dried leaves of the plant in your favorite sachets, potpourris, and herb pillows. The fresh leaves also taste great chopped together with lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) and added to tropical fruit salads. Costmary prefers full sun and average soil and moisture. It is hardy from Zones 4 to 8.

Fragrant Flowers

Lilium auratum (golden-rayed lily)

A native of Japan, Lilium auratum is a tall lily—as lofty as six feet. When I grew it in my first garden in Columbus, Ohio, I kept an antique stepstool close at hand so my "height-challenged" friends and I could reach the swoon-inducing flowers. This lily produces long, lance-shaped, deep-green leaves and stalks with around a dozen sweetly fragrant, golden-striped white flowers. The large, bowl-shaped blossoms appear from August through September and are often speckled with crimson. The golden-rayed lily makes a fabulous cut flower. It prefers full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. In locales with scorching summers, light dappled afternoon shade is beneficial. The plant is hardy from Zones 5 to 8.

Matthiola longipetala (night-scented stock)

There is nothing like relaxing in the garden on a warm summer's evening with floral scents perfuming the air. Many plants have nocturnal pollinators and so release their fragrance only at night. These include such familiar flora as honeysuckles (Lonicera species) and garden mignonette (Reseda odorata). A less familiar evening-scented herbaceous plant is night-scented stock (Matthiola longipetala), native from Greece to Southwest Asia, and a cousin of the better-known florist's stock (Matthiola incana). This cold-hardy annual grows about 1 1/2-feet tall and produces narrow, linear, three-inch-long gray-green leaves. The 3 1/4-inch wide, cross-shaped, highly fragrant pink, white, or lavender flowers are borne on racemes throughout the summer. Night-scented stock likes its summer cool, so it excels in northern zones. Give it full sun and regular moisture.

Osmanthus heterophyllus (false holly)

An easy-to-grow evergreen cousin of the lilac, forsythia, and fringe tree, the false holly is native to Japan and Taiwan. The delectable, fruity scent of its flowers pervades the air in late summer and early autumn. It forms a dense, rounded shrub with highly ornamental, hollylike dark green leaves, which are often spineless on mature plants. Small clusters of tubular white flowers, about 1/4-inch wide, hide within the foliage. These are followed in the fall by a handsome crop of 1/2-inch-long, oval-shaped blue-black fruits. False holly can grow up to 15 feet high and wide. Hardy from Zones 7 to 9, it prefers a neutral to slightly acid soil and full sun to partial shade, with shelter from winter sun and winds. Some spectacular cultivars are available, including 'Goshiki', a compact 3 1/2-foot-tall shrub with creamy-yellow variegation.

Tilia americana (American linden, basswood)

In my opinion, nothing is dreamier than a slow walk by a linden tree blooming in midsummer. The American linden, native to central and eastern North America, is covered with lusciously fragrant yellow flowers in mid-June, attracting—along with me—every bee in the vicinity. It is a broadly columnar tree with large, rounded, dark green foliage and is a wonderful focal point in any garden. Mature specimens may grow up to 80 feet tall. The yellow blossoms can be brewed into a healthful sweet tea. American linden prefers a moist but well-drained, slightly alkaline soil in full sun or partial shade and is hardy from Zones 3 to 8. Avoid dry, windy sites. The cultivar 'Fastigiata' offers a more conical form.

Zenobia pulverulenta (dusty zenobia, honeycup)

This lovely, little-known native should be grown in every fragrant shade garden. A cousin of the blueberry and azalea, dusty zenobia is the only species in the Zenobia genus, which gets its name from a third-century warrior queen of ancient Syria. A spreading, semievergreen or deciduous shrub with arching branches, it grows wild in moist sandy areas and bogs from Virginia to South Carolina and grows up to six feet in height. Its oval-shaped and toothed blue-green leaves exhibit a silvery cast, hence the "dusty" in the common name. Fall colors are an exciting mix of orange, red, and purple. Small, nodding, bell-shaped white flowers are borne on dainty eight-inch-high racemes from early to middle summer. These have an exotic, spicy, almost cinnamon-like scent. Grow dusty zenobia in acidic, humus-rich, moist soil in sun or partial shade in Zones 5 to 8.

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