When designing a garden, gardeners often focus on color and form, neglecting fragrance. But fragrance is just as important, and perhaps more so (especially if you’re stranded in a place that reeks of cat piss). 

Many famed perfumes were once derived from flowers, created through a careful distillation process. Still, perfumes are only a careful imitation – nothing beats the unadulterated fragrance of magnolia on the breeze, evoking an intense nostalgia for better times. 

While some fragrant flowers may not stand out visually, they make a leisurely stroll down the garden path worthwhile. To concentrate fragrance in one place, contain your bouquet of flowers in raised garden beds, which also helps delineate garden paths. 

1. Old Garden Roses       

Old garden roses once adorned the great houses of nobility in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays, they are a bygone relic, bypassed for modern hybrids that bloom all season long. Modern roses, cultivated to withstand stressors, tend to lack the robust smell of old garden varieties. For roses that retain the favorable scents of antique roses but display repeated flowering and vigor, David Austin roses are a good middle ground – Rosa Ebb Tide has a beautiful dusky purple color and a fruity scent. Nonetheless, roses of any kind look marvelous careening down a trellis. 

2. Sweetshrub  

If you’re one of these people who ascribe to the belief that cantaloup is the “garbage fruit,” then you might want to skip this plant. However, if you aren’t averse to the smell of melons, sweetshrub is an eccentric flower with rouge petals that resemble water lilies. Since its smell is highly variable, it might be better to take cuttings from gardens instead of growing via seeds. 

3. Gardenia   

The fragrance of gardenia has been described as heavenly, which is no hyperbole. ScentAmazing® Gardenia is a stellar variety that effortlessly transforms your garden into a fragrant paradise, featuring lustrous white flowers and dark, glossy foliage. Gardenias thrive in acidic soil amended with compost or peat moss. Since both gardenias and rhododendrons prefer acidic soil, gardenias make outstanding companion plants for these classic southern plants, along with azaleas. 

4. Chocolate Cosmos   

Chocolate cosmos is a sweetly-scented flower that looks good enough to eat – but don’t. Its chocolatey scent is reserved for the olfactory senses only. Curate a medley of similar plants in shades of cocoa, mocha, and bitter chocolate for chocolate-themed garden, or plant with complementary flowers like deep-red dahlias or velvety petunias for a decadent feel. 

5. Lilac     

Renowned as spring’s most fragrant flower, lilac (Syringa vulgaris) doesn’t hold back at its height. As lilac shrubs take at least three years to become established, container lilacs are recommended because they will bloom quicker. But if you want the full effect of splendiferous blooms, it is well worth it to grow lilac shrubs. Once established, it can tolerate a wider range of soils, but new plants will require well-drained soil high in organic matter. 

6. Herbs            

Herbs like thyme and lemon balm are recommended for lasting scents. They’re a great alternative for urban gardening or those with limited space and can’t afford sprawling plants. Grow a lush topiary of basil in either outdoor herb beds, where they will receive plenty of sun, or indoor herb planters for easy convenience. Pinch basil flowers when they appear to promote growth. Several purple varieties of basil, grown for ornamental purposes, produce lovely spires of mauve flowers. 

7. Jasmine         

The rich, intoxicating scent of jasmine is legendary, and those who seek its fragrance at night can consider growing the fragrant night-blooming jasmine, or night-blooming jessamine. Night jasmine is actually not a true jasmine but part of the nightshade family, which also includes tomatoes and potatoes. Jasmine can’t handle cold winters well; some gardeners in northern climates choose to grow it as a houseplant or experiment with elevated rolling planters. 

8. Daphne odora 

When one thinks of intoxicating scents, the fragrance of roses, jasmine, and magnolia, make their way too many lists. However, less well-known is the Daphne flower. Daphne odora is an underrated plant that has a floral, citrusy scent reminiscent of an orange-sherbet. They are also early-bloomers, blooming during late winter or spring. Packed with fragrance, clusters of pale flowers sit atop deep green foliage. 

9. Flowering Crabapple

Crabapple is a pretty ornamental that festoons branches with magenta flowers that give way to jewel-like fruit. The fruit is overwhelmingly sour; consumption is not recommended. Despite the name, crabapples smell nothing like apples. Some flower varieties have the classic scents of apple blossoms, while others are redolent of Eastern spices like cinnamon. 

10. Lavender 

During the heat of summer, lavender fills the air with its heady fragrance. To evoke the feel of the French countryside during the summertime, consider designing a Mediterranean garden. When dried in stalks, its signature fragrance lingers, and for this reason, gardens are drawn to it. Lavender grows best in warm, dry environments like these found in California; for northern gardeners, 'Silver Mist' is a hardy variety with ghostly foliage that can handle a freeze. Cut back lavender to maintain its appearance and reduce susceptibility to pests. 

11. Garden Phlox     

Garden phlox is a flower that smells like its appearance, boasting a candylike, vanilla scent that manifests on warm summer days. It’s also a pollinator magnet for birds, bees, and butterflies. A versatile native plant, it is ideal for perennial beds, a native garden, or a mixed border.