Fabulously Fragrant Shrubs
One of the underrated delights of summer is walking through a gentle waft of scent from fragrant plants, trees, or shrubs. If you want to increase the sensory experience in your garden, there are quite a few sweet-smelling shrubs you’ll absolutely love to enjoy in your landscape!
Here are seven delightfully fragrant shrubs that will grow happily in your Powell River garden.
Mock Orange
Mock orange is a fragrant shrub with beautiful flowers and a delicate citrusy scent. They bloom in mid-to-late spring, but despite their signature orange-like scent, they don’t produce any actual citrus fruit! The flowers have simple white petals and are excellent for displaying in cut flower arrangements. Unfortunately, after mock orange finishes blooming, they aren’t particularly remarkable to look at. However, they can be used in a row as a deciduous privacy hedge, and we think those few precious weeks of blooms and scents are worth the wait!
Lilac
Lilacs are classic fragrant shrubs with a scent many people consider wonderfully nostalgic. The panicles of small flowers are a hallmark of early spring. Depending on the variety, you can find lilacs in shades of purple, white, and pink, and even deep-purple French lilacs with crisp white margins. Lilacs are very hardy and low-maintenance. To encourage the best flush of blooms every year, deadhead and prune them every year immediately after they finish flowering. This will encourage them to grow bushier and produce more buds for next year’s flowers.
Gardenia
Gardenia can be a slightly higher-maintenance fragrant shrub than the others on this list, but they are truly worth the trouble. While gardenias are considered tropical, there are actually quite a few varieties that are tough enough to survive a Powell River winter. The lush white gardenia flowers are one of the most evocative and recognizable floral scents in the world, and their fragrance is widely used in perfumes. The scent has been described as warm, sultry, exotic, and sensual. Gardenias are also highly ornamental with their classic white single flowers or voluptuous double blossoms.
Giant Hyssop
Giant Hyssop offers a unique texture and style from other shrubs. It has a very upright growth habit, with spikes of bluish-purple flowers that can get up to 6 feet tall. The plant has a delicate scent of anise, licorice, and mint, and they’re popular with all sorts of pollinators.
Roses
Of course, for delectable scents all summer long, you can’t beat the famously fragrant rose shrubs! There are many varieties that have been bred specifically for their intoxicating scents. Try planting a rose garden with varieties that bloom at different times through the season, and your garden will look and smell amazing all summer long! From spicy and sweet to light and refreshing, there’s a rose to suit every nose!
Jasmine
There are many types of Jasmine, and they all have fragrant flowers. There are several shrub varieties—some have white flowers and some have yellow flowers, they all smell delightful when they’re blooming. Jasmine has glossy dark green leaves. The flowers are always star-shaped, but the petals vary across different cultivars. Some have wide rounded petals, some have long pointed petals, and some have double blooms. Whatever variety you choose, jasmine will add beauty and grace to your landscape.
Deutzia Strawberry Fields
The Strawberry Fields hybrid of Deutzia has star-shaped or cupped blossoms, with pale centers that turn deep to magenta on the edges. The flowers have a sweet fragrance and grow in pretty clusters amongst dark green leaves. Deutzia blooms for several weeks in early summer.
Visit our Powell River garden centre to explore our collection of delightfully fragrant trees, shrubs, and plants! Our staff is always pleased to offer planting and care tips so you can enjoy many sweet-smelling seasons to come.