July 16 Column: Fragrant Plants

Today’s column is on a fun and useful topic: fragrant plants for your garden. I have several types of fragrant plants in my own garden. And that got me thinking about coming up with a list we can all use as a resource.

Enter my awesome Master Gardener colleagues! I decided to email about 10 of them because I didn’t want to miss listing some of the most obvious. Well, let me tell you, they came through with wonderful suggestions. Thank you, friends!

Here is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Don’t forget to add fragrance. (you can also read my column lower in this post)

It certainly isn’t a comprehensive list because there just wouldn’t be enough room to list them all. (after all, my columns are only 600 words long!) My goal is to get you thinking of plants that would give you more than beauty in your flower beds. Beauty is lovely, but if you add a knock-out fragrance to the mix, you’ve really got a winner. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

This week’s edition of my “Everyone Can Grow A Garden” videos is a tour of my large perennial bed. I know I’ve given you virtual tours of my vegetable garden throughout the season. But I’ve never done one of my favorite flower bed. I hope you’ll enjoy it. You’ll also get a sneak peek at our lavender patch, which is currently blooming its heart out!

If you’re wondering what the two plants are within the text of this post, here you go. The upper one is Oriental lily ‘Salmon Star’ and the red-flowered shrub is Calycanthus/’Aphrodite’ Sweetshrub. I am absolutely crazy about Oriental lilies, by the way! They are hardy, very easy to grow, the blossoms are magnificent, and the scent is out of this world. I’d never grown Sweetshrub until last summer and feared it wouldn’t make it through our tough winters. But it’s growing beautifully and the flowers are quite exotic-looking.

Fragrant Plants garden column:

by Susan Mulvihill

A garden should be a sight to behold, with plenty of color, chirping birds and butterflies flitting about. But that picture isn’t complete without having some lovely fragrances to enjoy as well.

There are many delightfully-scented plants that more than earn their place in the garden. Several of my Master Gardener friends and I have compiled a list of some of the best. Let’s look at them by plant type:

Annuals

Chocolate-lovers will want to plant chocolate cosmos once they inhale the scent of milk chocolate in its deep-red blossoms. Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana) waits until the evening to share the sweet scent that wafts from its tubular flowers; consider planting Floating Cloud (N. elata).  The fragrant purple flower heads of heliotrope remind me of baby powder. Stock (Matthiola incana) [Stock is singular] is a must-add annual as well, due to its heavenly scent of cloves.

Perennials

Bugbane Brunette (Actaea simplex, formerly known as Cimicifuga) features a strong scent, lacy burgundy-purple foliage and white flower spikes. Hummingbirds go nuts over Licorice Mint hyssop (Agastache rupestris) and you will, too, after seeing its orange-and-lavender flower spikes. Another hummingbird magnet is bee balm (Monarda didyma) and its foliage has a pleasing citrusy scent.

Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are so easy to grow; fragrant cultivars include Ironwood, Rushing Delight, Catherine Woodbury, Lullaby Baby, Siloam Gumdrop and Wineberry Candy. Pinks (Dianthus) have a clove scent, pink- to raspberry-colored flowers and gray-green foliage.

While most gardeners prize hostas for their interesting foliage, one of the most fragrant cultivars is Guacamole with its lily-like flower stalks. I wasn’t aware of this but, in addition to attracting butterflies, milkweed (Asclepias) has a lovely fragrance.

Herbaceous peonies also have wonderful scents and make attractive cut flowers; look for Duchesse de Nemours, Eden’s Perfume, Karl Rosenfield, Sarah Bernhardt and White Sands.

Phlox are very cold-hardy, drought-tolerant and simple to grow; fragrant cultivars include David, Goliath, Laura and Peppermint Twist.

Bulbs

My two favorite bulbs that have wonderful scents are Oriental lilies and bearded irises. The former features stunningly beautiful blossoms with exotic fragrances; look for Casa Blanca, Mona Lisa, Salmon Star and Stargazer. The scent of bearded iris reminds me of lemon frosting. Iris are technically rhizomes (fleshy roots), are simple to grow as long as you plant them shallowly, and there is an amazing array of colorful cultivars just waiting to be added to your garden.

Herbs

Fragrances don’t come just from blossoms, right? The leaves of lemon balm, lemon thyme and pineapple sage are very pleasing when rubbed or brushed up against. Two lavenders hardy for this region — Munstead and Grosso — treat us with that long-admired perfume from both their flowers and foliage.

Shrubs

Roses are the most rewarding and sought-after shrubs in the garden; let your nose guide you at the nursery to make choices. With Spokane being the Lilac City, at least one lilac should grace your garden such as Lavender Lady, Beauty of Moscow, President Lincoln or President Grevy.

Viburnums are another worthwhile shrub, with their attractive lacecap flowers in the spring, berries from summer into winter, and lovely fall foliage. Two of the most fragrant are Koreanspice and Burkwood.

Vines The list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning two vines to consider, honeysuckles and sweet peas. Scentsation is one of the most  fragrant honeysuckles for the garden. Suggested sweet pea cultivars include Mrs. Collier, King’s High Scent, Old Spice and Fragrantissima.