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10 of the best scented plants to grow this spring

10 of the best scented plants to grow this spring

Telegraph21-04-2025
Fragrance is the gardening version of aromatherapy, because it's pure pleasure: it soothes the mind and conjures up past memories in a nanosecond. The scent wafting through the air is designed to lure in pollinators, and it's worth noting that nectar flows more freely in warmer, sheltered situations away from strong winds. Positioning is everything: gateways and paths are perfect for the pollinators, and for your nose. However, fragrance isn't restricted to summer. Some of our most scented plants bloom in winter or in early spring, their subtle and rather inconspicuous flowers throwing out scent in the afternoons in the hope of attracting an early queen bumblebee or two. Here are 10 to try.
Daphne
Most evergreen daphnes are divinely scented, and the easiest one to grow is definitely the spring-flowering Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata'. This commonly available daphne is hardier than most and it's always smothered in clusters of pale pink waxy-looking flowers that open from darker buds. The sage green leaves are lightly margined in creamy white, but the variegation is so subtle that it doesn't offend. In time this will reach a metre in height and slightly more in width. There are several variegated D. odora cultivars, all weaker growers and poorer flowerers I'm afraid. I have found the strongest to be Marianni ('Rogbret'), one with vivid yellow margins to the foliage. Mine is shy to flower though. Daphnes prefer a warm site that's reasonably well drained, and they also enjoy a gentle slope, or a position near a wall.
Where to buy: Hortus Loci Shop
Sarcococca
This scented winter-flowering evergreen (Sarcococca confusa) is known as Christmas box, because the flowers open in winter. It is a hardy evergreen that is easily grown in fertile soil and, being an Asian plant used to a six-week rainy season, it likes summer rainfall. Heights vary between a metre or two, depending on the level of moisture in the ground. S. confusa combines rich-green foliage with ivory-white flowers, a classy combination, and black berries follow on. It's named confusa, because the planthunter couldn't recall where he actually found it. There are pinker flowered forms that include S. hookeriana var. digyna and these are even more scented, though their foliage takes on a metallic sheen in summer, rather like hungry box foliage. Sarcococcas can be grown in a container or border, and the scent will carry right across the garden, even when the weather's cool.
Where to buy: Beth Chatto's
Oriental lilies
The most scented lilies have paler flowers in shades of white, pink and soft yellow, and most are listed under Oriental lilies. As a general rules, the paler the lily the stronger the scent, and the pure white 'Casa Blanca' is a benchmark variety that can reach 1.5 metres. They're best grown in containers, because Oriental lilies prefer acid or ericaceous conditions when grown in the ground. They actively dislike lime. Plant in spring, cover the bulbs with 4–6 inches of compost, and stand your sturdy wide-based pots on pot feet to improve drainage. Place your containers away from paths and seats, in full or partial shade, because the brown lily pollen stains clothing. Check the undersides of the leaves for red eggs, the first stage of the bright red lily beetle. 'Muscadet' is a much shorter white, overlaid in soft-pink, with showy red stamens. There are double forms listed as roselilies.
Where to buy: Harts Nursery
Korean lilac
When gardeners think of lilacs, they tend to conjure up those April-flowering tree lilacs, beloved by our Edwardian ancestors. However, there are shorter, shrubbier lilacs, with headily scented and daintier flowers, that perform in early summer. These slot into smaller plots and can also be grown in large containers. The slow-growing and extremely hardy Syringa meyeri 'Palibin', also known as dwarf Korean lilac, is smothered in pink flowers and has flowered in semi-shade for me. Syringa pubescens subsp. patula 'Miss Kim' is more compact, with violet-pink flowers. It was selected from seeds collected in 1947, by an American veteran soldier named Elwyn M. Meader (1910–1996). He named it Miss Kim because it's the most common family name in Korea.
Where to buy: Thompson & Morgan
Lonicera or honeysuckle
There are said to be 158 species of honeysuckle found in the Northern hemisphere, but when it comes to scent our native woodbine, Lonicera periclymenum, is the one to plant. Scent levels rise as the light fades, so this is a plant to place near your evening retreat. It conjures literary connections. The poet John Milton talked about 'a bank with ivy-canopied and interwove with flaunting honeysuckle', and one of the finest forms, the pale-yellow 'Graham Thomas', was collected from a Warwickshire hedgerow just a few miles from Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon in 1960. The most commonly found forms are 'Serotina', a redder-flowered later Dutch form, and 'Belgica', an earlier yellow and rhubarb-pink variety. 'Sweet Sue' was found on a Swedish beach by Roy Lancaster and named (very aptly) for his lovely wife.
Where to buy: Crocus
Philadelphus or mock orange
The citrus scented philadelphus captures the freshness of early summer, but they are a variable bunch. 'Virginal' is so tall, it might as well be ascending to heaven, although flower arrangers love the pristine double white flowers. 'Manteau d'Ermine', on the other hand, struggles to make two feet in my garden, and the semi-double flowers have a look of dirty laundry about them. Star plants include the damson-blushed white flowers of 'Belle Étoile', a very fragrant shrub that reaches two metres at most. 'Sybille' is compact, with squarish four-petalled white flowers that bear an orange scent. The yellow-leafed form, P. coronarius 'Aureus', needs dappled shade. Summer prune them by cutting back one quarter of the older stems to encourage new growth, because they flower on the previous year's growth.
Where to buy: Jacksons Nurseries
Roses
Roses' fragrance varies enormously, but one of the most fragrant roses is the 1881 Bourbon rose 'Madame Isaac Pereire'. Other scented beauties include 'Buff Beauty', one of Rev Joseph Pemberton's hybrid musks. He bred for fragrance as did David Austin Sr. 'The Generous Gardener', a large rose with a supply of pink flowers, and 'Gertrude Jekyll' are both highly scented Austin roses, and the breeding continues with David Austin Jr.
Where to buy: davidaustinroses.co.uk
Viburnum
Deciduous viburnums are highly fragrant affairs and they include V. x bodnantense 'Dawn': a tall shrub, suited to the edge of the garden, which packs a strong hyacinth scent in November when the first warm-pink flowers appear. The more strongly scented 'Deben' flowers earlier and the pink flowers fade to warm white, so it's almost bridal. Once spring comes, others join in and there are some wonderful forms of V. x burkwoodii. They include 'Park Farm Hybrid', grown for its larger pink flowers. The April-flowering V. carlesii 'Diana' and 'Aurora' both have rounder heads of pink flowers, emerging from red-pink buds, supported by bronzed young foliage.
Where to buy: Burncoose
Trachelospermum jasminoides – star jasmine
This evergreen no-prune white-flowered Asian climber has an intoxicating scent in summer, resembling an exotic orange blossom in full flow. The downside is it's a gamble, because it's only hardy to -5C (23F) when young. Mature specimens, which can rise to 30ft in the western side of Britain where Atlantic air prevails, seem hardier. Many of us will have to use a conservatory, or cool greenhouse, to encourage this beauty – but the scent is second to none. The hardier Jasmine officinale 'Devon Cream'(syn. 'Clotted Cream'), named for the colour of its flowers, is also fragrant, although it will need a warm site too. You will need a trellis or wires for both.
Where to buy: Thorncroft Clematis
Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins'
My desert island scent on a June evening, following a shower of sweet summer rain, is the clove-scented ragged white 'Mrs Sinkins'. The true form has a split green calyx that allows the feathery-edged petals to spill out down one side. Admittedly, it may only flower once, but the scent outdoes the others to my nose. It was raised in the much-maligned Slough in 1868 by Mr Sinkins, the workhouse superintendent. He resisted great pressure from the town's worthies to name it Queen Victoria, but they still added it to their coat of arms. Most repeat-flowering pinks lack fragrance but 'Gran's Favourite', which has white-flowers laced in raspberry-pink, is an exception, and will give you flowers for weeks on end.
Where to buy: Calamazag Nursery and Allwoods
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Fragrance is the gardening version of aromatherapy, because it's pure pleasure: it soothes the mind and conjures up past memories in a nanosecond. The scent wafting through the air is designed to lure in pollinators, and it's worth noting that nectar flows more freely in warmer, sheltered situations away from strong winds. Positioning is everything: gateways and paths are perfect for the pollinators, and for your nose. However, fragrance isn't restricted to summer. Some of our most scented plants bloom in winter or in early spring, their subtle and rather inconspicuous flowers throwing out scent in the afternoons in the hope of attracting an early queen bumblebee or two. Here are 10 to try. Daphne Most evergreen daphnes are divinely scented, and the easiest one to grow is definitely the spring-flowering Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata'. This commonly available daphne is hardier than most and it's always smothered in clusters of pale pink waxy-looking flowers that open from darker buds. 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The slow-growing and extremely hardy Syringa meyeri 'Palibin', also known as dwarf Korean lilac, is smothered in pink flowers and has flowered in semi-shade for me. Syringa pubescens subsp. patula 'Miss Kim' is more compact, with violet-pink flowers. It was selected from seeds collected in 1947, by an American veteran soldier named Elwyn M. Meader (1910–1996). He named it Miss Kim because it's the most common family name in Korea. Where to buy: Thompson & Morgan Lonicera or honeysuckle There are said to be 158 species of honeysuckle found in the Northern hemisphere, but when it comes to scent our native woodbine, Lonicera periclymenum, is the one to plant. Scent levels rise as the light fades, so this is a plant to place near your evening retreat. It conjures literary connections. The poet John Milton talked about 'a bank with ivy-canopied and interwove with flaunting honeysuckle', and one of the finest forms, the pale-yellow 'Graham Thomas', was collected from a Warwickshire hedgerow just a few miles from Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon in 1960. The most commonly found forms are 'Serotina', a redder-flowered later Dutch form, and 'Belgica', an earlier yellow and rhubarb-pink variety. 'Sweet Sue' was found on a Swedish beach by Roy Lancaster and named (very aptly) for his lovely wife. Where to buy: Crocus Philadelphus or mock orange The citrus scented philadelphus captures the freshness of early summer, but they are a variable bunch. 'Virginal' is so tall, it might as well be ascending to heaven, although flower arrangers love the pristine double white flowers. 'Manteau d'Ermine', on the other hand, struggles to make two feet in my garden, and the semi-double flowers have a look of dirty laundry about them. Star plants include the damson-blushed white flowers of 'Belle Étoile', a very fragrant shrub that reaches two metres at most. 'Sybille' is compact, with squarish four-petalled white flowers that bear an orange scent. The yellow-leafed form, P. coronarius 'Aureus', needs dappled shade. Summer prune them by cutting back one quarter of the older stems to encourage new growth, because they flower on the previous year's growth. Where to buy: Jacksons Nurseries Roses Roses' fragrance varies enormously, but one of the most fragrant roses is the 1881 Bourbon rose 'Madame Isaac Pereire'. Other scented beauties include 'Buff Beauty', one of Rev Joseph Pemberton's hybrid musks. He bred for fragrance as did David Austin Sr. 'The Generous Gardener', a large rose with a supply of pink flowers, and 'Gertrude Jekyll' are both highly scented Austin roses, and the breeding continues with David Austin Jr. Where to buy: Viburnum Deciduous viburnums are highly fragrant affairs and they include V. x bodnantense 'Dawn': a tall shrub, suited to the edge of the garden, which packs a strong hyacinth scent in November when the first warm-pink flowers appear. The more strongly scented 'Deben' flowers earlier and the pink flowers fade to warm white, so it's almost bridal. Once spring comes, others join in and there are some wonderful forms of V. x burkwoodii. They include 'Park Farm Hybrid', grown for its larger pink flowers. The April-flowering V. carlesii 'Diana' and 'Aurora' both have rounder heads of pink flowers, emerging from red-pink buds, supported by bronzed young foliage. Where to buy: Burncoose Trachelospermum jasminoides – star jasmine This evergreen no-prune white-flowered Asian climber has an intoxicating scent in summer, resembling an exotic orange blossom in full flow. The downside is it's a gamble, because it's only hardy to -5C (23F) when young. Mature specimens, which can rise to 30ft in the western side of Britain where Atlantic air prevails, seem hardier. Many of us will have to use a conservatory, or cool greenhouse, to encourage this beauty – but the scent is second to none. The hardier Jasmine officinale 'Devon Cream'(syn. 'Clotted Cream'), named for the colour of its flowers, is also fragrant, although it will need a warm site too. You will need a trellis or wires for both. Where to buy: Thorncroft Clematis Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' My desert island scent on a June evening, following a shower of sweet summer rain, is the clove-scented ragged white 'Mrs Sinkins'. The true form has a split green calyx that allows the feathery-edged petals to spill out down one side. Admittedly, it may only flower once, but the scent outdoes the others to my nose. It was raised in the much-maligned Slough in 1868 by Mr Sinkins, the workhouse superintendent. He resisted great pressure from the town's worthies to name it Queen Victoria, but they still added it to their coat of arms. Most repeat-flowering pinks lack fragrance but 'Gran's Favourite', which has white-flowers laced in raspberry-pink, is an exception, and will give you flowers for weeks on end. Where to buy: Calamazag Nursery and Allwoods

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