Today’s Garden Ideas | Its All About the Sniffs

Its All About the Sniffs—Ideas for a Fragrant Garden

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Having a fragrant garden takes some special planning. First of all you want to take note of the prevailing wind patterns in your yard. Second, pay attention to the foot traffic and take note of were people walk. You want to place your plants in an area where the wind will blow the wonderful aromas through your open windows. And you also want your plants where people will walk by and brush against them. This will also release the fragrance of the plants.

Planting Your Aromatic Plants

Begin by clearing an area near your home of large rocks, roots and weeds. Churn up the soil to about 1 foot and mix in a good compost. Choose plants that are not only aromatic but will suit your growing zone and climate. Plant your trees, bushes and taller plants towards the back of your garden so as not to dwarf the other plants. Place herbs at the front of your garden and allow them to spill over onto the walkway. This will cause garden strollers to brush the plants releasing their aroma. Be sure to keep your garden watered well and deadhead all your flowers for continued blooming.

A Fragrant Garden Design

This aromatic garden begins with a small Weeping Willow Tree. While Weeping Willow can get up to 40 feet tall pruning will keep it at your desired height. Weeping Willow looks beautiful with its bowed branches and has yellowish catkins in the spring. This tree grows best in zones 3-9. Plant your Weeping Willow at the back of your garden. Be sure to dig a hole twice as wide and as deep as the rootball.

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The next plant to set in place is Chinese Lantern. This plant gets up to 18 inches tall. It has white star-shaped flowers with a lovely scent. The seed pods that appear after the flowers are bright orange-red and look just like Chinese lanterns. Plant a few of these on one side of your Willow Tree. On the other side of your Willow Tree plant some Flowering Tobacco plants. These blooms get up to 5 feet tall. There large white flowers have a delicious honey scent that is especially strong in the evening. Flowering Tobacco grows in zones 7-9. Between the Chinese Lanterns and Flowering Tobacco plant some Mealy-Cup Sage. Try using the variety ‘Blue Bedder’. This plant gets about 3 feet tall. It has sweet smelling violet flowers that bloom throughout the summer. This annual will grow in all zones.

In the middle of this garden plant some Variegated Sage. This Sage gets up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. The leaves are a

combination of green and yellow. The wonderful sage scent is an excellent addition to this fragrant garden. Try letting this sage spill over onto the walkway to generate even more scent.

In the front of the garden plant some Lavender Cotton. This plant will get 2 feet tall. The leaves are a deep green and turn to silver in summer and fall. The foliage smells like lavender. Lavender Cotton grows best in zones 6-9. Along with the Lavender Cotton add some Small Oak Germander. This is a quick spreading herb that gets up to 20 inches tall. It is commonly used as groundcover in zones 5-8. Small Oak Germander has very aromatic oak-shaped leaves. Finally spread some Rosemary throughout the front of this fragrant garden. Because Rosemary will get up to 6 feet tall some pruning is in order. Its bluish needles have a heavy herbal scent when crushed or brushed up against. Rosemary flowers from spring through autumn with small blue blooms. This herb grows best in zones 7-9.

Make sure to keep your garden moist throughout the growing season but do not overwater. Deadhead your flowering plants to keep them blooming longer. For bushier herbs, trim them back once during the growing season.

Alternative Aromatic Plants

If a tree with a sweet aroma will fit into your fragrant garden design plans there are a few plants you might want to try. False Acacia will get up to 50 feet tall in zones 4-9. The flowers are white and pea shaped and drop in very fragrant clusters. This tree is quite a show stopper!

Lemon Bottlebrush will get up to 15 feet tall. Its leaves have a lemon scent and its blooms that look just like a bottle brush are a bright red. Lemon Bottlebrush grows in zones 8-10. Japanese Snowbell grows in zones 5-9. Its aromatic white flowers bloom in early summer. Japanese Snowbell will get up to 30 feet tall. Tea Crabapple is another aromatic tree thanks to its large white flowers. This tree gets up to 25 feet tall and grows best in zones 5-8.

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Shrubs are an excellent idea to add to a fragrant garden design. They can take the place of a tree if a smaller garden is desired. Sweet Mock Orange will get up to 10 feet tall. The white summer flowers smell like orange. This plant grows in zones 5-8. Lemon Verbena likes the warmer zones of 8-10. It gets up to 10 feet tall and has lemon-scented leaves. Wintersweet has yellow and purple flowers that smell like violets. This bush grows in zones 7-9 and get up to 8 feet tall. Spicebush thrives in zones 5-9. It has yellow flowers in the spring with bright green leaves. This shrub has a spicy scent. It will get up to 10 feet tall.

There are many vines that have a wonderful aroma. Japanese Wisteria has blue, white, or purple flowers with a lovely fragrance. It grows in zones 4-10 to a length of 20 feet. Confederate Jasmine has white flowers with a honey scent. This vine will grow up to 28 feet long in zones 8-10. Five-leaf Akebia has dark purple flowers that smell like vanilla. In zones 4-9 it will grow up to 30 feet. Climbing Rose of the ‘Royal Sunset’ variety has yellow-orange blooms in summer that smell fruity. In zones 7-9 Climbing Rose will get up to 10 feet in length.

Finally there are numerous fragrant flowers but here are a few suggestions. Spanish Bluebells have a sweet scent in summer thanks to their blue bell-shaped flowers. Spanish Bluebells grow in zones 6-10. Mignonette has orange flowers that are heavily scented in the summer. This plant is an annual that does well in all zones. Cowslip blooms yellow in spring. The tube-like flowers have a lovely scent. Cowslip will get up to 8 inches tall and grows in zones 3-8. Pelargonium capitatum has pink blooms that smell like roses. This is another annual that does well in all zones. It will get up to 2 feet tall.

Remember to combine both flowers and herbs in your fragrant garden. The earthy aroma of the herbs works well with the sweet smell of the flowers. Too much of one type of plant can be overpowering. A good mixture of herbs and flowers will balance the scents nicely.