9 Fragrant Flowers to Plant in Your Garden

The following flowering plants are perfect for planting in your garden if you want to create a lush aromatic environment rich in different fragrances.

1. 1. Freesia: An herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the iris family, freesias are a popular cut flower for bouquets due to their alluring fragrance and are available in shades of white, yellow, red, and lavender. This tropical flower grows in USDA hardiness zones between 9 and 11 and has a fruity, floral scent.
2. 2. Gardenia: Gardenias (Gardenia jasminoides) are a type of evergreen shrub with dark green leaves and white flowers. Also known as cape jasmine, gardenias are part of the Rubiaceae family. These flowers give off a pleasant fragrant scent, making them a popular choice for houseplants or cut flowers.
3. 3. Heliotrope: Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) is a shrub-like plant that blooms with small clusters of fragrant purple flowers with a pleasing cherry vanilla scent, making them the perfect addition to a fragrant garden. Heliotrope is sometimes called the cherry pie flower, and grows well in colder climates.
4. 4. Honeysuckle: Honeysuckle (Lonicera) is a common name for a large family (more than 180 varieties) of heat-tolerant plants known for their sweet fragrance and delicate, nectar-filled, tubular flowers that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Honeysuckle plants have dark green to blue-green leaves and grow as either far-reaching, climbing honeysuckle vines or arching honeysuckle shrubs.
5. 5. Hyacinth: Hyacinths are beautiful, fragrant plants that can be a welcome addition to your spring garden. Many hyacinth varieties are animal-resistant (though toxic to pets), and easy for first-time gardeners to grow. Like tulips and daffodils, hyacinths are a spring-flowering bulb that you can plant before the first fall frost in your region. Hyacinths grown in the fall should blossom around early spring.
6. 6. Lilac: The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a deciduous bush that flowers with colorful, fragrant blooms typically in late spring or early summer. Before flowering, lilac bushes have dense foliage. Lilacs are occasionally mistaken for trees because they get so tall, but they are large shrubs or bushes. The lilac bush has about 10 canes from its central stem, giving it a dense structure.
7. 7. Magnolia: Magnolias are commonly found in Southeast Asia and the Himalayas but also have thriving populations throughout the Americas, where they’re popular at botanical gardens. Their showy, pretty flowers are often bowl- or star-shaped and can bloom starting in early spring. In warmer climates, like in San Francisco, California, magnolia trees can bloom as early as mid-January. Magnolia plants are annuals that do well in full sun or partial shade and emit a sweet scent similar to honeysuckle.
8. 8. Orage jasmine: Orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata) is a small, warm-weather evergreen shrub that is native to Asia and Australia. This tropical plant produces fragrant flowers in a white color (called orange-blossoms) that bloom year-round in warm climates. Orange jasmine also produces deep green leaves shaped like ovals and small red fruit that attract pollinators like insects and birds into your garden.
9. 9. Peony: Peonies (Paeonia) are large, fluffy flowers with many petals. These highly fragrant flowers have been cultivated for almost 2,000 years, and they come in shades of red, pink, coral, white, and yellow. Peonies are perennials that grow back in spring year after year—some peony plants can live up to 50 years. Peonies originated in temperate regions, so they are hardy to cold weather, though they grow best in full sun.

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