Monday, April 13, 2009

Favorite Fragrants - Try saying that quickly!

I love lists. That means it's time to put my first one on this blog. As you may know, fragrant plants are irresistable to me. In an effort to spark some conversation, I'll list some of my favorites. These are not ranked and I may forget some, so please give me feedback. So without further ado, here are some of my most beloved fragrant plants:
  1. Sweet olive (osmanthus fragrans) - the sweet fragrance will waft all over a yard from fall through spring
  2. Gardenia - when mine are blooming it makes me want to stay on the porch all day just so I can smell them.
  3. Hedychium (butterfly ginger) - similar to gardenia smell, but not quite as strong. Blooms when few other fragrants are going in late summer.
  4. Michelia figo (banana shrub) - smells like Juicy Fruit gum. This plant has a unique fragrance that I have found in no other plant. It is wonderful!
  5. Hyacinth - they smell so good that I plant them every year even though they will not survive the heat in Louisiana and die quickly.
  6. Alyssum - smells like honey!
  7. Roses! - my favorite is Gertrude Jekyll, but some others I like are Abraham Darby and Double Delight.
  8. Sweetpeas - come in all colors and delight the nose. Be aware that not all varieties have fragrance though.

There are more, but these are at the top of my list. I reserve the right to modify this list at any time!

2 comments:

Jean Campbell said...

I grow or have grown everything on your list except Banana Shrub, and meant for the past 15 years to locate and buy one, just never did. There is one the size of a small house, on the plantation I visited the other weekend.

On my list of favorite fragrant plants are Daffodils -- some are just too wonderful, Cheddar pinks and other dianthus pinks, Freesias, Lilies, Calycanthus, and Magnolia grandiflora.

Nicotiana, datura, and petunias have nighttime fragrances, and how could I forget the night-blooming cereus!

Certain daylilies have a fragrance, not usually noted in the garden unless there are several clumps. The old fashioned 'lemon lily' daylilies are marvelously fragrant en masse.

Davy Barr said...

I have full intentions of planting a boatload of daffodils this fall. I have the perfect spot. I've heard Carlton's do well in the South and have vanilla fragrance.

I also want to get some fragrant dianthus since my Telstars have no smell. I've got lilies, but their fragrance is not at the top of my list - smells like Noczema to me! However, my wife loves them.

I've got a few other fragrant plants, but they have yet to bloom. Some of the ones I have that should bloom shortly are orange jasmine(Murraya paniculata), night blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides.)

I've been wanting to try nicotiana sometime. Is it better planted as a cool season annual in the South?