17 Favorite Fragrant Flowers
Grow these bloomers to perfume your garden-and your home.
Lilac (Syringa x 'Declaration')
Star-shaped reddish purple flowers appear in large dramatic clusters in early spring. The scent is spicy sweet-the essence of spring. The deciduous shrub reaches 6 to 8 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide; it takes full sun, or light shade in the hottest climates. Most lilacs bloom best in regions with winter chill (Sunset climate zones A1-A3; 1-11, 14-16). In mild winter areas (zones 18-22), try Descanso Hybrids.
'Scarlet Pineapple' sage (Salvia elegans)
This shrubby perennial reaches 4 feet tall, and has bright red flowers and foliage that smells like ripe pineapple. Zones 5-24.
Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla)
A tall, lanky deciduous shrub, it has lemon-scented leaves and lilac or white flowers. Zones 9, 10, 12-21.
Angelwing jasmine (Jasminum laurifolium nitidum)
This semi-evergreen vine has glossy green leaves and pinwheel-shaped white flowers. Sunset climate zones 12, 16, 19-24, H1, H2.
Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens)
Though the purple varieties are more common, the white-flowered form is the most fragrant. Perennial in zones 15-17, 23, 24, H1, H2; annual elsewhere.
Roses
Many old types--including Bourbon, China, and damask--are fragrant, and more and more modern varieties, such as 'Yves Piaget', are too. Zones vary by species.
Lemon-scented geraniums
Look for the variety 'Prince Rupert' or 'Mabel Gray'. Perennial in Sunset climate zones 8, 9, 12-24; grow elsewhere as annual.
Mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius)
White four-petaled flowers cover this tall shrub. Sunset climate zones A1-A3, 1a, 2-24.
Related:
> 20 beauties to plant now
> Colorful spring borders
> Shrub roses
