Scented plants for a small container garden

[withouttea]

Hi - I'm really enjoying my little garden, and with encouragement from two veteran gardeners, am growing things I've never tried - I had lovely tulips and my alliums are beautiful. I also grow herbs (I like to cook).

We have a paved garden area that has to hold our table & chairs too. We're west facing - lovely late afternoon and evening sun.

I've found I love scented plants - they just make me so happy. My preference is for blue, purple, silver, pink and a touch of red (I have just planted scarlet geraniums on the balcony).

I've already got a bay, a camellia, various other herbs, lavender, sweet peas, cosmos, a small California lilac, and a couple of acers, all in pots. There are two established roses wedged in by the house from previous tenants. I've also got strawberries in hanging baskets.

What else could I grow? Not just this year but next?

Have you considered phlox or scented stocks?

It’s an annual, but Nemesia Wisley Vanilla is worth growing for the scent.

Tobacco plants, sweet peas

Not a showy flower but good mixed in with other flowers. There are other non smelly varieties. Annual though
www.sarahraven.com/flowers/seeds/annuals/nicotiana_alata_grandiflora.htm

Trachiospermum Jasminoids (Star Jasmin). Climber. White flowers.

Something for winter. Christmas Box - neat green shrub, unassuming white flowers but in Jan/Feb the smell is amazing. If you have a bright sunny day, wrap up with a cuppa. Gets you through the months in the garden when there’s nothing much going on.

You can get small varieties of lilac which you can grow in a larger pot. Lilac is one of my favourites for scent.

Great suggestions! I love the idea of winter colour & scent as well as summer - my garden is a bit of a one season affair right now, apart from the camellia.

I'm finding my little garden is doing wonders for me.

Thank you!

Salvia hot lips, I love it! Lemon balm, santolina?

Sorry just seen your colour requirements - santolina (cotton lavender) has a yellow flower.

I'm fairly new to salvias but I believe many of them (all of them?) are scented. I sowed annual ones the other year with variegated leaves and pink/purple/blue flowers and they were beautifully scented! I included hot lips as it's quite unusual and is hardy.

I have masses of erysimum Bowles Mauve which is a lovely purple colour. It's supposed to have a fragrance though I haven't sniffed it lately! I like scabious too (not sure if it has a particularly strong fragrace but the bees like it - mine is blue-purple). Both were bought from Morrisons/ Asda/ Homebase. Oh and they're both perennial/ half hardy.

Do you have any fuchsias? Morrisons have a million varieties for £1 in plastic sleeves. Most are annuals but some say hardy on the front, mine have survived the winter. They get going really fast and would fit your colourscheme. Loved by bees!

Finally I'll add nasturtium! Not really in your colourscheme (I have seeds called salmon baby from Wilko though!) but it's so easy to grow and trails everywhere! I always add some to my pots and baskets. Also loved by bees. Think I've seen one called scarlet emperor (?) in Homebase in the bedding plant selection in previous years. Otherwise it's orange/yellow/red.

You could grow runner beans up a cane wigwam or canes tilted towards a fence or wall. Wilko sell plastic discs to make an instant wigwam for £1 if you don't fancy faffing with string. Red or white flowers depending on which variety you choose and delicious beans!

Enjoy!

Sorry the red nasturtium is Empress of India! Seeds available at Wilko amongst other places.

Looks like there's now a hot pink nasturtium! Jewel Cherry Rose, I must get my hands on some

here

I've since found nasturtium ladybird rose and ladybird cream! And nasturtium black velvet. All available on ebay for pennies

Not sure they quite fit your brief but they're edible and look pretty and sooo easy to grow from seed

Nasturtium ladybird rose not on ebay (just the cream one, cherry baby and black velvet) but it's this one:

here

You know I'm going to have to get ALL these plants, don't you!

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions.

Sorry for filling up your thread! I found the salvias I sowed outdoors the other year:

here

They're Clary bouquet/Clary sage/ Clary clarissima depending on where you look! I bought mine from Aldi where all seeds are about 39p

I'm rubbish at germinating from seed but these came up reliably. I protected the seedlings using the dreaded slug pellets and some thin twigs to ward off cats and birds until they got a bit bigger. They grew really fast once established.

Lovely scent!

@gingerkitcat I know what you mean about germinating from seed. I did my cosmos from seed this year (first attempt) and they are pretty wonky. I sewed exactly as per the instructions but by the time the frost had passed, they were looking limp and leggy. I planted them out and they seem to be 'finding their feet' but aren't anything like the ones in the garden centre!

It's much harder than I remembered from enforced childhood GW viewing circa. 1980 (sigh).

I've made a splendid list of plants to try/get. Wonderful!

Scented geraniums. Mostly leaves, so will fit in any colour scheme and you can have diferently scented plants.

Old fashioned Pinks, ( sorry my plant of the moment) they come in white through to purple, smell divine, have a long flowering season if dead headed and have silvery leaves.

I got some Nemesia Wisley Vanilla today! They are very, very pretty - not very strongly scented, but it was raining so I'll give them another sniff later.

Pinks are a great idea. Tragically I'm going to have to buy some more pots too (happy days).

Asda and lidl have been good places for planters lately.
I've just ordered ingredients to make huge hypertufa planters though.

Where did you find the nemesia? I can't find it online :(

I@superloudpoppingaction it was in a local garden centre in Bristol. They only had four plants!

Very lucky!
I've been going up to random whiteish pink plants and smelling them just in case.
No luck so far.
I got more planters in Asda just now.

My garden Centre did at least have chocolate mint which smells amazing

I'm filling them with grow bags from lidl which seem to be decent.

I haven't tried Lidl - but I often buy plants at Aldi and they are great. I bought a pair of clematis a few weeks ago - they were only a fiver - even my Veteran Gardening Guru neighbour admired them. (And bought one!).

Update - the nemesia smells divine in the evening sunshine (it's Wisley Vanilla). I've also had two plants arrive from the RHS - these are Christmas Box. One is for me, and one is for a friend with a shady garden (apparently they do well in shade).

I've taken to carrying my list of plant desires with me everywhere.

Thank you everyone

Our local Tesco had £5 salvias today - white, pink and blue. Excellent value and beautiful fragrance.

What about a Daphne for winter scent?

honeysuckle too.