Fragrant Perennials

I happen to love growing fragrant perennials because like the old ad says, "double your pleasure" - you get the flowers and the fresh fragrance of these plants in your garden. Here are a few easily found plants you might consider growing.

Achillea - easily grown in full sun and rock hardy.

Agastache - self sowing, lovely violet shades for sun

Arabis - low growing, sweet fragrance for sun or light shade

Artemisia - foliage is menthol for full hot sun

Asclepias - flowers are almost sickly sweet and overpowering in mass plantings

Buddleia - a fall bloomer and garden classic

Calamintha - lesser known garden perennial -minty

Caryopteris - shrubby plant, grow as herbaceous perennial in cold areas

Centaurea - blue corn flower, full sun and self-sowing

Centranthus - full sun-lover and easy to grow

Cimicifuga - a shade garden classic perennial, sweet fragrance

Clematis - sweet fragrance on bush clematis

Convallaria - classic lily of the valley for spreading shade

Corydalis - another tender shade lover

Cosmos - chocolate cosmos with distinctive fragrance - while most will self-sow, you should do this one from cuttings.

Cyclamen - sweet if you can get your nose that low

Dianthus - carnation smells

Dictamnus - powerful fragrance for the sunny garden

Erysimum - sweet spring if short lived plant

Eupatorium - full sun lover and easy once established

Euphorbia - another tough to kill plant in full sun

Geranium - leaves are menthol fragrance

Hemerocallis - some flowers fragrant - "lemon lily" is of the classic fragrant perennials

Hesperis - dames rocket - a native has purple or white fragrant flowers

Hosta - the fall bloomers are wonderfully fragrant

Iris - goes without saying

Lavandula - another full sun classic

Lilium - and the third in the series of plants you have to grow if you want fragrance.

Melissa - minty fragrance

Monarda - the leaves are distinctive

Nepeta - catnip with its minty tones

Origanum - oregano - both for fragrance and low-growing ornamental status

Paeonia - classic corsage and cut flower

Perovskia - late summer blooming and foliage is dusky

Phlox - some varieties more fragrant than others.

Polemonium - tender sweet fragrance - not heavy

Primula - a classic primrose sweet floral fragrance

Silene - another faint but interesting floral perfume

Rosmarinus - rosemary - it's all in the leaves

Salvia - it's all in the leaves of this "sage" family

Tanacetum - again see the leaves of this mum

Thymus - who doesnt' think of fragrance when you think of thyme and fragrant perennials

Tiarella - a slight woodlandy sweet fragrance

Viola - a clear flower fragrance from the violets.

Print out this list of fragrant perennials and take it shopping with you to make sure you do indeed double your pleasure with your garden this summer.

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