Stephen Albert
Fragrant annuals and perennials bring delight to the garden.
In planting fragrant annuals and perennials consider first the place and circumstance. Choose annuals and perennials that will grow in your climate, then consider whether the plant will thrive in the sun or shade in the spot you have in mind, then consider the flower color and fragrance–most fragrant annuals and perennials are sweet-scented but some may be described as richly earthy in scent.
Some fragrant flowers yield a distinct and powerful scent. It is best to choose the scent you want and then separate fragrant flowers of differing varieties by some distance so that the scents do not intermingle or become diffuse. As a rule, it is better to allow each strongly fragrant kind its undisputed sway without interference from any other.
The pleasure to be gained from fragrance is a most personal thing, so each gardener must select his or her flowers and develop a fragrant garden according to individual taste and preference. Any and all scents of personal association ought to be included.
20 Fragrant Annuals and Perennials
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Zones |
| Bee balm | Monarda didyma | 4-8 |
| Clematis, sweet autumn | Clematis spp. | 4-9 |
| Daylily, ‘Hyperion’ | Hemerocallis ‘Hyperion’ | 3-10 |
| Flowering tobacco | Nicotiana spp. | Annual |
| Geraniums, scented | Pelargonium spp. | 8-11 |
| Heliotrope | Heliotropium arborescens | 10-11 |
| Honeysuckle, some | Lonicera spp. | 3-9 |
| Hosta, August lily | Hosta plantaginea | 3-9 |
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Zones |
| Iris, bearded some | Iris x germanica | 3-10 |
| Jasmine, some | Jasminum spp. | 9-11 |
| Jasmine, star | Trachelospermum jasminoides | 8-10 |
| Lavender | Lavandula spp. | 5-10 |
| Lilies, Oriental | Lilium spp. | 3-9 |
| Peony, some | Paeonia spp. | 2-7 |
| Phlox, some | Phlox paniculata | 5-7 |
| Pinks, some | Dianthus spp. | 4-8 |
| Common Name | Botanical Name | Zones |
| Stock | Matthiola incana | Annual |
| Sweet alyssum | Lobularia maritma | Annual |
| Sweet pea | Lathyrus odoratus | Annual |
| Violets (odorata species) | Viola odorata | 7-9 |
Also of interest:
Fragrant Flowering Shrubs
