Your favourite flowers for scent? Not roses, lavender or sweetpeas

[Koulibiak]

I’m looking for recommendations for scented flowers for my garden, beyond the usual roses, lavender and sweetpeas. Last year I sowed nicotianas, which smelled divine of an evening. Can anything top that? Or would provide similar scent but in the morning? Ideally something I can grow from seed, but I am open minded. I already have star Jasmine, brugmansias, a daphne, sweetpeas and scented leaf pelargoniums. Thank you 🙏

Hi OP how do you feel about salvia for the lovely blackcurrant scent?

Stocks, freesias, honeysuckle.

Nicotania (tobacco plant). The scent comes in the evenings, and is heavenly.

Honeysuckle, philadelphus, lilac

Daphnes - there are lots of options and they smell divine. My parents have a lovely variagated one that flowers for months on end and fills the air with wonderful scent.

Philidelphus 100%, divine

You already have some of the plants I would have suggested. Honeysuckle is beautiful. For ground cover alyssum has a beautiful honey smell when brushed/knocked and grows very easily

Lilly of the valley

I came on to say nicotiania 😍😍 can’t wait for summer to smell them again

Ooh lots of lovely things!

I haven’t managed to grow freesia or honeysuckle 🙁.

I would love a philadelphus but don’t have the space. Likewise lilac.

I have salvia amistad, it’s not very fragrant, I will research other types.

Off to look up stocks.

Thank you for the suggestions! And for triggering olfactive memories. Just what I needed on a scent-free midwinter day 😊.

Slightly out there - but Mahonia has a lovely fragrance in season.

Night scented stock.

Hyacinth, chocolate cosmos.

Perhaps wild garlic, but isn't not a floral scent 😅

You absolutely cannot beat night scented stock. It looks very unassuming, it's not the nicest, but a pot under an open window in summer will fill your room with scent x

Night scented stocks. Sow amongst other plants as they look a bit sad and bedraggled in the day time. But come night time they are amazing, in my view even better than nicotiana.

@fingfong cross posted!

We buy multiple packets and sow them in the beds outside the sitting room.

I am trying to get off the sofa and do something useful like housework, and now I'm day dreaming about flowery summer scents 🌼 🌸
Honeysuckle and peonies get my vote!

Buddleia or California lilac??

The most gorgeous scent in my garden is that of Holboellia Latifolia (a vigorous creeper). Glorious, heady, sweet and exotic in early summer.

Do you mean for summer or now?

I love winter scent -
Sarcococca
Mahonia
Viburnum dawn
Hamamelis

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/16452/sarcococca-confusa/details

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/77125/mahonia-media-winter-sun/details

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/99308/viburnum-bodnantense-dawn/details

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/witch-hazel

Agree the Holboellias smell absolutely amazing, but only for about 6 weeks sadly

Agree with stocks, sarcococca, daphne. There’s a beautifully scented Viburnum, can’t remember the name.

Choisia has a strong scent if you like it - sort of honey ish. They get large though.

Roses!! Although I find they smell close up but don’t lend out their scent iyswim.

I also love the smell of a fig tree in the summer, but guess the space would be an issue.

Hi OP, the salvia I have with the best scent is called Amethyst Lips and it’s the woody shrub type.

I love this thread and I’m picking up some ideas.

agree with these

and another plant i really want is Elaeagnaceae Silver Berry

and of course Jasmine