Try fragrant plants around the front door to your home
Story by Jennifer Williams
Treat yourself and your guests to an unforgettable entrance by placing fragrant plants at your home’s entry. While there are thousands to choose from, your climate and site conditions are going to dictate which plants will work best for you. The plants in this plan are for a sunny location with average to slightly acidic soil. If you are not familiar with your soil, a simple soil test through your local extension office will help. If starting from scratch is not on your agenda, you can also use this plan to update your existing entrance. Add a few fragrant bulbs or annuals between existing plantings, or if you have some old shrubs that are losing their vigor, replace them with more fragrant varieties.
Vining plants are great sources of fragrance in the garden. The key to working with climbing plants is to ensure you have a structure strong enough to support the weight of the vines – or in the case of the roses or wisteria, strong branch-like canes or vines.Whether you start from scratch or work with your existing landscape, I highly recommend choosing plants with sequential bloom seasons, to not only extend your enjoyment but also to prevent overwhelming your senses!
Rhododendron ‘Fragrant Star’ is a slow grower, taking about 10 years to reach its full 4-5 feet height and 2-3 feet width. The winter/early spring bloomer will be covered in fragrant white blooms. Photo courtesy of Monrovia, to shop for this plant, visit www.monrovia.com, and search for plant item number 4765.‘The Pearl’ tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa ‘The Pearl’) is a beautiful compound flower on a 3-foot spike, bringing a light airy look and smell to the garden throughout the summer. Photo courtesy of W. Atlee Burpee Company, www.burpee.com.‘Soft Music’ Oriental lily (Lilium ‘Soft Music’) has blush pink fragrant blooms that will permeate the air throughout the summer. Photo courtesy of W. Atlee Burpee Company, www.burpee.com.Mock orange (Philadelphus x virginalis) is a moderate grower, reaching 10-12 feet tall and wide. It is good choice for those in USDA Zones 4-7. Photo courtesy of Monrovia, to shop for this plant, visit www.monrovia.com, and search for plant item number 6430.‘Miss Ruby’ butterfly bush (Buddleia ‘Miss Ruby’) features bright magenta blooms and reaches 4-5 feet tall and wide. Photo courtesy of Monrovia, to shop for this plant, visit www.monrovia.com, and search for plant item number 7440.Rosa ‘Cecile Brunner’ (climbing form), also known as “the sweetheart rose,” has nearly perfect, light pink blooms spring through summer. Photo courtesy of Monrovia, to shop for this plant, visit www.monrovia.com, and search for plant item number 9079.Fragrant sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans, O. fortunei) is a great slow-growing large shrub (10 feet tall, 6-8 feet wide) with dainty white blooms in spring. You are likely to smell the sweet scent of the blooms before you see them. Photo courtesy of Monrovia, to shop for this plant, visit www.monrovia.com, and search for plant item number 6315.High Tea Mix four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) is a wonderfully bright mix of white, light, and dark pink flowers, growing up to 24 inches high. For marvelous evening fragrance, sow these annuals outside after the danger of frost has passed or start seeds indoors. Photo courtesy of W. Atlee Burpee Company, www.burpee.com.
