20 fragrant plants for a garden of 1,000 scents

Article for :All parent plants

A garden isn't just for the eyes. It can also be enjoyed with the nose. Indeed, we are capable of perceiving billions of scents. Would you like to transform your flower beds into a festival of scents? Here are 20 scented plants for you to adopt!

#1 The rose (Rosa)

The shape of roses also varies according to cultivar

To Romeo, a rose would always smell as sweet, no matter what you call it. The facts are a little more complicated. Depending on the species you choose for your garden, your rose will smell floral, fruity, powdery or spicy. For example, the climbing rose 'Madame Isaac Pereire' has a raspberry fragrance, while the bushy Rosa 'The Generous Gardener' combines notes of musk and myrrh.

Fragrance isn't the only parameter to consider when choosing your plant from among the hundreds of rose varieties. Select a disease-resistant hybrid that will adapt easily to your soil type.

#2 May Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

The tradition of giving lilies of the valley for good luck dates back to the Renaissance

The scent of May lily (Convallaria majalis) is just like its white bell-shaped flowers: delicate, discreet and unforgettable. Its fresh, floral scent, enhanced by green, watery notes, inevitably evokes spring.

Behind its apparent fragility, may Lily of the Valley is a hardy plant. It can withstand temperatures down to -15°C. You can therefore plant it in the ground in most regions. Give it a spot in partial shade, under a tree, and keep the soil slightly moist.

#3 Peony (Paeonia)

The pink peony symbolizes shy feelings - Photo by Kor!An / Wikipedia

The peony (Paeonia) is the eternal rival of the rose, both for perfumers and bridal bouquets, and comes in over 1,000 varieties of flowers with very different colors and fragrances! For example, the 'Sarah Bernhardt' peony will perfume your garden with its sweet notes, while the 'Festiva Maxima' will emit a spicier scent, with lemony accents.

Peonies are hardy plants that adapt to most types of soil. However, they prefer humus-rich, acidic soils. For abundant flowering, add compost or heather soil when planting.

#4 Common basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Basil is a bit like coriander. You either love it or hate it.

We're more used to growing basil for its taste than for its smell. And yet, the camphorated fragrance of its leaves has nothing to envy the scent of certain flowers. The notes depend on the variety. Some plants, like Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum var thyrsiflora), will have aniseed accents, while others will have a spicier (Ocimum basilicum 'Purpurascens') or peppier (Ocimum basilicum 'Genovese') fragrance.

In its natural habitat, southern Asia and Australia, common Basil is a perennial plant. When grown indoors in pots, it behaves like an annual. Remember to take cuttings in spring to renew it.

#5 French lilac (Syringa vulgaris)

It comes in pink, mauve and even white.

In the song Lilac Wine, lilac wine is sweet and heady. Like the sweet, bewitching scent of its mauve flowers in a garden. The advantage of inhaling a bouquet of flowers rather than making your own alcohol from leaves? No blackouts or headaches the next day.

To ensure that your lilac blooms abundantly, you need to prune it just after flowering. Buds appear on the previous year's wood. As soon as the flowers have faded, cut back the branches by a third. But don't delay! You need to cut back in spring so that the shrub can produce branches that will bloom next year.

#6 Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac)

As its name suggests, the Arabian Jasmine is native to India - Photo by Alexey Yakovlev / Flickr

You can enjoy thesweet, spicy scentof Jasminum sambac (Jasminum sambac) long after summer. The white flowers appear in June and perfume your garden until mid-autumn. In some regions with mild winters, they even bloom all year round!

Sambac Jasmine is not very hardy. It cannot withstand sub-zero temperatures. Outside the orange zone, plant your shrub in a pot so you can bring it into your conservatory before the first frost. Alternatively, you can opt for a false jasmine, such as star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides). The flowers and scent are just as pleasant, but the plant can withstand temperatures as low as -12°C.

#7 True lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

More fragrant than butterfly lavender, true lavender is also easier to grow. Photo by Véronique Pagnier / Wikipedia

True lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is known as the most fragrant variety of lavender. While the camphorated, aromatic scent is powerful in summer, when the purple flowers bloom, the plant actually smells good all year round. The fragrance comes from lavender oil, produced by sebaceous glands. These are also present on the stem and the silvery-green leaves.

True Lavender is a Mediterranean plant. It requires little watering. When planted in the ground, water only in the first year or during dry spells. In pots, it will need watering once the substrate has dried deeply. Afraid you'll forget? Download the Monstera app and we'll send you a notification when it's time to water your plant.

#8 Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

Japanese honeysuckle usually has yellow flowers. But there are also pink and red varieties. Photo by Famartin / Wikipedia

The white and yellow flowers of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) are at their most fragrant when night falls. They give off a powerful, sweet fragrance with hints of citrus, jasmine and honey. An olfactory stratagem designed to attract insects to the plant, even when they can barely see.

Japanese honeysuckle is content with little. It thrives just as well in a garden with humus-rich soil as in one with chalky soil. However, its flowering will be richer if you add a little compost at planting and at the start of the growing season. Remember also to fertilize it regularly with a flowering plant fertilizer until late summer.

#9 Lemon (Citrus x Limon)

Some varieties can flower and fruit several times a year.

Each part of the Citrus x limon (Citrus x Limon) gives off a different scent. The white flowers give off a sweet scent with a hint of lemon, while the leaves give off a woody, spicy fragrance when crumpled. The fruit, on the other hand, combines tangy, pungent and sweet notes.

Lemon trees are prone to attacks by pests such as mealybugs, aphids and whiteflies. If your shrub is affected, spray a mixture of water and black soap on the foliage. Leave for twelve hours and rinse thoroughly.

#10 Italian immortelle (Helichrysum italicum)

The scent of Italian immortelle is powerful. Inhale it long before you see the plant. Photo by Assianir / Wikipedia

Want to turn a walk through your garden into a hike in Corsica? Plant a few feet of Italian immortelle! Its evergreen foliage gives off a spicy curry scent typical of Mediterranean scrubland. The icing on the cake is that this perennial blooms in summer. Its yellow flowers are also fragrant.

Italian immortelle can withstand sub-zero temperatures (down to -12°C), provided the soil remains dry. If you live in a region with wet winters, plant your sub-shrub in well-drained chalky soil or at the top of an embankment.

#11 Frangipani (Plumeria rubra)

The waxy appearance of the flowers makes them almost unreal.

The sweet fragrance of frangipani flowers, a subtle floral accord of vanilla and almond, instantly transports you to a white-sand beach in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Yet this deciduous shrub is not native to Bora Bora or the Maldives, but to Central America.

Behind its fragrant white, yellow or pink flowers, the frangipani hides a formidable weapon. Its sap is toxic if swallowed and very irritating to the touch. Wear gloves when pruning and repotting. And make sure pets don't chew the branches.

#12 Agastache (Agastache rugosa)

Like lavender, Agastache belongs to the Lamiaceae family - Photo by Cultivar 413/ Flickr

You don't have to wait for your Agastache rugosa to bloom to enjoy its fragrance! The green foliage perfumes the garden with its scent of anise, mint or licorice, before the first flowers appear.

Agastache rugosa blooms in summer, between July and September. If you want the bloom to last longer, remove the flowers as soon as they fade. This will encourage the plant to bloom again and save it the energy it needs to produce seeds.

#13 Poet's jasmine (Philadelphus coronarius)

No one has ever seen the poet's jasmine write or declaim verses. Photo by Maja Dumat / Flickr

Nicknamed the poet's jasmine, Philadelphus coronarius actually produces a scent close to that of orange blossom or neroli, sweet, tangy and citrusy. Unfortunately, the fragrant white blossoms last only a few weeks, between May and June.

Syringes thrive in any garden, provided the soil is well drained. However, the plant needs sun to flourish. The shrub will tolerate half-shade exposure, but will flower less abundantly.

#14 Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)

Chinese wisteria is larger than American wisteria and Japanese wisteria. Photo by Olive Titus/ Flickr

The blue flowers of chinese Glycine (Wisteria sinensis) bloom in early spring, even before the foliage appears. They perfume the air with delicate floral, powdery and sweet notes. A second flowering sometimes takes place later in the summer.

Does your plant stop flowering from one year to the next? It probably needs a good pruning. Before flowering, in winter or early spring, cut off the previous year's wood and keep the flower buds 20 to 30 centimetres from the base, as well as the twigs. Make a second cut after flowering if you wish to control the shrub's height.

#15 Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)

There's also a gardenia species with yellow flowers, Gardenia tubifera. Photo by Anna Holodna/ Pexels

At 250 euros per 75 milliliters, Gardénia is one of Chanel's most expensive fragrances. But there's no need to pay such a price to breathe in the suave, exotic scents of this shrub. You can buy a plant of Gardenia jasminoides for a few dozen euros and plant it in your garden. Between May and September, you'll be able to smell its delicate jasmine fragrance while enjoying its white flowers. Without breaking the bank.

Gadenia jasminoide loves humidity, but hates excess water. In pots and during dry spells, water frequently to keep the soil cool. Preferably use rainwater, as the plant does not appreciate limescale.

#16 Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens)

The leaves of the heliotrope are used to turning towards the sun. Photo by H. Zell/ Wikipedia

Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) owes its name to its dark green leaves that turn towards the sun. But the plant's real asset is its flowering. Between April and August, blue, white or violet flowers bloom and perfume the garden. Their sweet, vanilla-like scentis similar to that of lilac, but much more intense.

Heliotrope is a hardy perennial. If you live in a region that experiences sub-zero temperatures in winter, plant your specimen in pots and shelter it between November and March in your garage or veranda. You can also grow Heliotropium arborescens as an annual. The stems will disappear in early winter, and you'll need to create new flower beds every year.

#17 Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Thyme blooms between May and July. Photo by Isidre Blanc / Wikipedia

Love the smell of lemon and verbena, but only have room for one plant in your garden? Plant Thymus vulgaris (Thymus vulgaris)! This bushy shrub grows to no more than 30 centimetres in height, and its leaves emanate a lemony, spicy fragrance.

After a few years, your shrub will probably need to be renewed. If you have the patience, sow seeds to obtain new plants. You can also take cuttings in summer and transplant them into the ground the following year. But the quickest and most effective way of multiplying the plant is to divide the stumps!

#18 Four-season mimosa (Acacia retinodes)

Acacia retinodes has become an emblem of the Côte d'Azur, but it actually originated in Australia. Photo by Lazaregagnidze / Wikipedia

The yellow pom-pom bloom of the mimosa often heralds the end of winter and the return of spring. Not so with the Four Seasons Mimosa (Acacia retinodes). The tree blooms several times a year, even in summer and autumn. A godsend for all those who enjoy the honey-scented blossoms!

Mimosa thrives in all types of soil, provided they are perfectly drained. It can also be planted in pots, in a rich, light substrate (a mixture of garden soil, peat and pozzolan, for example). Re-pot every two years to ensure continued growth.

#19 Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)

Let's hope that the vintage trend will restore the sweet pea to its former glory!

The sweet pea, with its pink, blue, violet or white flowers, suffers from a rather cheesy image today. But its floral fragrance, with its hints of honey and musk, has the power to bring back to childhood all those plant-addicts whose grandmother had a perfumed garden.

There are two types of sweet pea: perennials and annuals. The former will start again the following spring, provided you keep the aerial parts over winter to protect the plant from the cold, and cut them back in spring, before flowering.

#20 Mint (Mentha)

Mint loves freshness. Plant in part shade and keep the soil cool.

Mint's small green leaves give off a powerful, fresh and invigorating fragrance. But depending on the variety, you'll find notes of pepper (Mentha × piperita), sweetness (Mentha spicata 'Nanah'), bergamot (Mentha × piperita 'Bergamota') or even chocolate (Mentha × piperita 'Chocolate')!

Mint has a trailing rhizome, and it's hard to contain its growth. In just a few years, it can invade your garden and compete with other plants. It's best to plant it in pots to control its growth.

By Servane Nemetz
on 10-04-2025 at 07h12