| By Skip Richter
Contributing Editor |
Scents bring back memories. A whiff of some unique scent takes us back to people, places and experiences — often from childhood. I am amazed at how well my nose remembers things! How about you? Can you think of scents that instantly transport you to the past, most likely to a person or to an experience?
There is considerable research into the connection between our sense of smell and our memories. One discovery is that the part of our brain that processes scents interacts closely with the areas responsible for long-term memories. Various fragrances have been connected to mood, reasoning, judgment, learning, relaxation and athletic performance. Realtors know that a pleasant fragrance or the smell of fresh-baked cookies can have a positive influence on potential home buyers. Some companies are even utilizing subtle scents in marketing products to create desirable mood associations.
Our gardens and landscapes are full of scents that often bring back memories. I love the smell of freshly cut grass or freshly turned earth. There are many wonderfully fragrant flowers that add a whole new dimension to the enjoyment of gardening.
We often discuss landscaping from a purely visual perspective, providing attention to colors, textures and the lines and shapes formed by beds and walkways. But if visual factors were all we desired, our landscapes could be made of silk flowers. We do ourselves a disservice when we don’t pay special attention to fragrance when we design our gardens and landscapes. There is nothing like sitting on a patio as the scent of a particular plant wafts by with a shift in the breeze, or encountering a series of fragrances as you stroll through the garden, or bringing a vase of flowers inside to fill a room with their perfume.
There are more wonderfully fragrant plants than can be covered in the space of this article. While not everyone will find the same aromas equally pleasing, whether from flowers or colognes, the following are a few of my favorite fragrant flowering plants.
SHRUBS AND TREES
Some plants are very subtle in their aromas. Not so with Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora. Its blooms assault the nose like a punch from George Foreman! The syrupy sweet grape bubble gum scent is overpowering. I once was taking a group of people from across the country on a tour of the San Antonio Botanical Garden when we rounded a corner and were assaulted by a breeze full of the purple perfume coming from a plant not yet in view. The group stopped dead in its tracks and a fellow from Wisconsin exclaimed, “What is that smell?!” They spent more time examining and sniffing that plant than any other in the entire botanical garden.
One of my favorite aromas is that of citrus blossoms. Satsumas or kumquats can take freezes into the mid 20s or lower, extending the range of in-ground citrus northward. Large containers allow us to move plants into a protected area during a hard freeze and are great for adding other citrus, such as a Meyer lemon, to an outdoor sitting area where the fragrance can be enjoyed up-close.
Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii produces beautiful bloom spikes that are uniquely fragrant and keep on coming in waves all summer long. The blooms make great cut flowers, if you can talk the butterflies out of them. Plan on trimming back the spent bloom shoots once or twice during the summer as bloom cycles fade to encourage a new flush of growth and blooms. Several varieties are available offering an array of bloom colors, including white, lavender, violet, purple and yellow. Fragrance varies between varieties.
Although the small white flower clusters of sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans are not much to look at, the nose knows better! Few plants can match it for pure sweet fragrance. Blooms appear from fall through spring. The white blooming form is most common although a related orange/yellow type is also available. Hardy from zone 8 southward, it can be grown in a large container farther north. This plant is a must for a fragrance garden.
I can’t write about fragrance without including gardenias (Gardenia jasminoides. These southern icons possess one of the plant world’s more intoxicatingly beautiful aromas in their white blooms. Provide these plants a well-drained, acidic soil when possible for best performance.
Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima surprises us in late winter with blooms that, while not particularly impressive, emit a lovely lemon scent. Locate this plant where you can pass by and enjoy it when a warming day releases the fragrance from its blooms.
The creamy-yellow 1 1/2” blooms of banana shrub (Michelia figo appear in spring to early summer and do indeed smell like bananas or, according to some, with a hint of ripe cantaloupes! This evergreen shrub in the magnolia family is best suited to the well-drained acidic soils of East Texas. Plant a group of these as a hedge and enjoy the intoxicating aromas.
Almond verbena (Aloysia virgata is a large woody shrub that could easily be passed by unnoticed — that is, until it blooms. Terminal spikes of white blooms appear beginning in early summer and release a strong vanilla-almond fragrance, especially late in the day and in the evening hours. Although hardy to zone 8, it can freeze to the ground and then return for a summer-bloom season. Since it can grow to 15 feet or more, I suggest either planting it in an out-of-way location (better smelled than seen) or cut it back severely in late winter to maintain it as a somewhat smaller shrub. Its rough foliage is irritating to the skin of some people.
Mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius produces white blooms that resemble those of dogwood in mid-spring. Read variety descriptions to select fragrant types, as many lack fragrance.
Most plants prefer good drainage but button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis is quite at home in wet conditions. In May and June it produces fragrant blooms that appear as clusters of 1-foot white balls on the end of its branches.
Both the native fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus and Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus produce shaggy spring blooms in a billowy cloud over the plant. Their fragrance is light but due to the sheer number of blooms, they can fill the air with their pleasant aroma.
Roses have been well known for their fragrance. There are actually a variety of fragrances that a rose may possess. Some, like ‘Marie Pavie’ and ‘Marie Daly,’ offer a fragrance that reminds me of baby powder. ‘Belinda’s Dream,’ ‘Maggie’ and ‘Duchesse de Brabant’ possess a spicy perfumed scent. ‘Clotilde Soupert’ has a lovely scent without the additional spice! The list of fragrant roses can go on forever. Suffice it to say that you should definitely smell some roses before making your choices if you intend on bringing them indoors or enjoying a whiff as you pass by.
VINES
Whether I put it with the roses or the vines, ‘White Lady Banks’ rose must be included on my list of fragrant plants. This once-blooming (spring) rose is a vigorous grower; so allow plenty of space and a strong support. I remember the first time I approached a ‘Yellow Lady Banks’ bloom for a whiff and was disappointed by its lack of aroma. Not so with ‘White Lady Banks.’ She is quite a delightfully fragrant lady!
Several vines add their pleasing aromas to the landscape. Confederate or star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides is neither Confederate (it’s from China) nor a true jasmine. However, this plant is a southern favorite, producing clusters of small white pinwheel-shaped flowers that fill the air with an intense jasmine-like aroma. The vigorous vines will twine around fences, posts and can be sheared periodically to shape the plant.
Another fragrant vine is sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora, which produces billows of sweet-scented, creamy white blooms in early autumn. Unlike most other clematis species, which can at times be rather finicky growers, sweet autumn clematis is a very vigorous grower willing to take on anything nearby. So be ready to cut it back significantly in winter to curtail its size.
Like many white blooming nocturnal flowers, moonflower (Ipomea alba, an annual related to morning glories, offers its fragrance in the evening hours. Like morning glory, it is a vigorous climber which will also reseed.
PERENNIAL FLOWERS
Although a tropical shrub, I’ve included night blooming jessamine (or night blooming jasmine) (Cestrum nocturnum as a perennial since from zones 8 north it will generally die back to the ground in most locations around the landscape and then return in spring. This plant produces tubular light green to white trumpet-shaped blooms that, although unimpressive to the eye, are intensely fragrant. The flowers appear in summer to fall and release their dense fragrance in the evenings.
White butterfly ginger (Hedychium coronarium is not the only ginger with fragrance, but it is my favorite. Its blooms appear in late summer to fall with a fragrance that will fill a room with its bold and sweet perfume. After my third daughter was born, I put a single bloom in the hospital room and nurses were wandering in from the hallway tracking the source of “that wonderful smell!”
Four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa offer their fragrant blooms late in the day, hence their name. Trumpet-shaped blooms in shades of pink, rose, red, magenta, yellow and white, as well as mottled and striped patterns, are open from late day through the night releasing a pleasant aroma. This long-time southern favorite is perennial in most of Texas, returning from dark, carrot-like tuberous roots. I should note that these plants are poisonous and should thus be avoided in areas with very small children. They also are difficult to eradicate and can reseed. So keep this in mind before you choose if and where to plant some.
Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia sp.) is a cold-tender plant that can be perennial in the southern half of the state with a protective mulch cover, or can be grown in a container and brought into a protected area in zones where winter cold may be too severe. In late summer to fall it produces long pendant trumpets that emit their fragrance most strongly late in the day.
There are a number of fragrant bulbs for our Texas garden. Narcissus species including jonquils and paperwhites come in many varieties, some of which will naturalize in many areas of the state. Their late-winter to early-spring blooms perfume the air with a heady aroma. Mexican tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa can be a perennial in zones 9 and southward or can be dug and stored for the winter and reset in spring farther north. Its small bloom spikes produce an amazing fragrance. Several types of crinums or milk-and-wine lilies are quite fragrant, including ‘Summer Nocturne’ and ‘Mrs. James Hendry.’
ANNUAL FLOWERS
There are many fragrant annual flowering plants that are welcomed additions to gardens, containers and landscapes. The older forms of these flowers are usually the most fragrant, since newer varieties are often selected for other characteristics at the expense of fragrance. That said, don’t dismiss all new varieties; breeders are recognizing the demand for fragrance and responding with some great new additions.
Sweet peas are wonderful both as a cut flower and as a fragrant addition to the garden. Read the seed catalog descriptions carefully to choose fragrant varieties, such as ‘Painted Lady’ and ‘Cuponi.’ Plant seeds in the fall in the southern two thirds of the state for a spring-bloom show. In areas where winter damage is likely, you can make an early spring planting. Provide the vines something to grow on and get the vase ready for bringing the wonderful bloom stalks indoors!
Modern petunias generally lack much fragrance, but many of the old-fashioned petunias offer a wonderful light fragrance. They often will reseed, providing years of enjoyment. Nicotiana or flowering tobacco has several fragrant forms including the species Nicotiana alata. Flowering tobacco blooms are most fragrant in the evening hours. Read descriptions of newer types because fragrance varies considerably. Other annual flowers with fragrant blooms include dianthus and stock
Consider adding some fragrant flowers to your garden and landscape this year. Especially include them around outdoor patios or decks, near a window where the scent can waft indoors, or along a garden path where you can enjoy the fragrance up close. When planning your plantings, keep in mind the direction of the prevailing wind. Remember to also include fragrance in container plantings.
One final suggestion is to “sample” the plants before you buy. People vary significantly in their preferences and even their tolerances to various plant scents, especially when it comes to the more strongly scented species.
This has by no means been an exhaustive list of fragrant plants. What are some of your favorites? We’d also love to hear about the memories a particular plant’s floral scent brings to mind.
