Scented flowers make a beautiful addition to any home garden. Not only do they smell wonderful, but they’re pretty too. When looking for fragrant perennials, keep the following in mind.
Perennials bloom each year, which means you don’t have to always buy new plants. Distinguish between whether you want sun perennials (which grow in full sunlight) or shade perennials (which can grow beautifully in more sheltered areas). Do some research on how much water your chosen perennial will need: some are drought-resistant, but others crave moisture. You’ll also want to look into how much food your perennials will require. Most will be fine with an all-purpose fertilizer. With the right care and attention, your perennials will last for at least two years.
Here are 10 fragrant perennial flowers to consider.
August Lily
August lily is an enchanting herbaceous perennial plant that is known for its beautiful, fragrant, trumpet-like flowers atop a low mound of foliage. Unlike other hostas, it continues to generate fresh new leaves in flushes. At maturity, it will grow to about 18 – 28 inches tall with a spread of 3 feet. It thrives well in full sun or part shade, although it will tolerate full shade as well.
Bearded Iris
With almost infinite color choices, texture, pattern, and form, Bearded iris bring magical inspiration to the garden. It features lovely, fragrant, distinctive flowers with 3 large outer petals called “falls” and 3 inner petals called “standards.” Colorful flowers that bloom mostly in early summer come in pink, blue, lilac, purple, yellow, orange, and white atop the tall, green sword-like fans leaves. Its most distinguishing feature is the fuzzy, bushy “beard” located at the upper base of the falls.
Bee balms
Bee balm, known by its botanical name of Monarda, is a beloved perennial not only for its beautiful whorled blooms but for its fascinating fragrant foliage. The bee balm flower displays an open, daisy-like shape, with tubular petals. The colorful flowers develop on the end of the square-stemmed stalks above the main foliage and bloom in mid-summer. It prefers moist, rich soil and a sunny location.
Valerian
Valerian, commonly known as garden heliotrope, is a clumping herbaceous perennial with fragrant leaves, stems, flowers, and roots. This plant can grow to about 5-6 feet tall that features the hollow, tall, and slender stems, and odd-pinnate leaves having 7-10 pairs of terminal leaflets. The flowers grow into dense clusters of small white to pink blossoms in early summer. They are easily grown in average, wet, well-drained soils under full sun.
Daffodils
Daffodils are hardy, fragrant, and easy to grow spring-flowering perennial plants. Other daffodil varieties generate white, cream, orange, purple, and pink blooms, and flower types including doubles, split-cups, large-cups and jonquilas. Daffodils prefer well-drained soil and will grow best in full sun or partial shade condition.
Hyacinth
Hyacinths are spring-flowering perennials with richly colored and highly fragrant flowers that bloom in dense clusters. Growing to a height of 8-12 inches tall and 4-9 inches wide, hyacinths produce tubular-shaped flowers that look like little starfishes, and 4-8 narrow, upright leaves. For maximum potential, they prefer full sun but will also tolerate light shade setting. Like other spring-blooming bulbs, they should be planted in well-drained soil.
Lily-of-the-valley
Another most popular spring-flowering perennial is the Lily-of-the-valley. They are well known for its pure white, nodding bell-shaped flowers and undeniable sweet perfume. At maturity, they can grow up to 4-8 inches tall and 3-5 inches wide, produce glossy leaves that are lance-shaped. Depending on the moisture it receives, lily of the valley can thrive well under full sun or full shade conditions.
Magic Lilies
Magic lilies do bring lavish magic to the garden when they open their large funnel-shaped flowers after the leaves die away. The fragrant, lovely pink flowers have 5-7 four-inch long trumpets above the naked, tall stems generally bloom during the summer months. Magic lilies mature and spread quickly, and flower best in full sun, but do well in partial shade.
Sweet Rocket
Sweet rocket is a short-lived perennial or biennial flowering plant. They produce leafy stems and 4-8 inches long toothed, hairy leaves. The flowers are very aromatic at night that comes in white, lilac, and purple blooms from late spring to mid-summer. Sweet rockets can grow up to 23-35 inches height and 18-23 inches wide. They thrive best in well-drained soil at full sun or partial shade.
Phlox
Phlox are perennial favorite among wildflowers. They are compact, low-maintenance, and long-blooming. They are known for their spicy vanilla-clove fragrance and purple-pink flowers that bloom in summer. Phlox are dense and clump-forming with attractive, strong yellowish-green foliage. At full bloom, they can reach up to 16 inches tall and 18 inches wide. They establish quickly with full sun and well-draining soils.