Have you ever walked around your neighborhood and all of the sudden caught a whiff of something? As long as you’re not walking your dog, it could be one of these six fragrant plants doing what they do: making the world smell a little sweeter! Some of these plants emit their scent in the daytime, while some release their fragrance at night. Plant any or all of these in your yard and you’ll add an often overlooked sense to your landscape and create an amusement park for your nose!
- Michelia (Michelia alba) – One of the few trees which are fragrant, the Michelia Tree is known for its sweet perfume smell and beautiful canopy. The flowers give off a scent all day long and are especially potent at night. The Michelia flower extract is used in one of the most expensive perfumes in the world, Joy perfume. This perfume wasn’t created, it was harvested from nature. Now who wouldn’t want this tree in their yard instead of a plain small tree?
- Night Blooming Jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) – This plant is by far the most potent smelling plant on this list. You will be able to smell this plant’s fragrance throughout your entire yard when it is in bloom. Night Blooming Jasmine is a very versatile plant, it can be kept as a small bush, grown as a hedge, or trained into a tree. No matter how you let it grow, it will produce a ton of flowers for you and when they are in bloom, sitting outside looking up at the night sky will have never smelled so sweet!
- Miami Supreme Gardenia (Gardenia augusta ‘Miami Supreme’) – Welcome to Miami… Supreme Gardenias that is! Miami Supreme Gardenias are one of the best Gardenias for your yard because it has one of the biggest flowers. This type of Gardenia is always grafted so it is less prone to diseases, has a huge flower that looks like a big rose, and a beautifully subtle smell to add to your landscaping. With minimal care you can enjoy the flowers mostly in the Fall through Spring months and if you already have one, your most likely reading this article from your phone since your nose is probably stuck somewhere in the flower.
- Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) – Schweeeeet Almond! One of the lesser known fragrant plants out there, Sweet Almond flowers all year round and produces long, white spires of flowers. When in bloom the entire bush will become white with flowers and fill your yard up with the sweetest smell. This plant is kept as a bush and loves a heavy pruning to keep it smaller and full.
- Magnolia – Is there a bigger fragrant flower than the Magnolia? That would be amazing! The Magnolia Tree blooms in the Spring and Fall with flowers as big as your opened hand. When the Magnolia flower opens you will be hard pressed to walk by it without putting your nose to the flower! Besides its beautiful and sweet smelling flowers, the tree itself is beautiful with large leaves that are green on the top and brown underneath.
- Banana Shrub (Michelia figo) – We are Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! Well that is only partially true, but this plant’s flowers do smell exactly like ripe bananas. Sound weird? It is but so delicious smelling you’ll be tempted to taste one. It blooms heavily in the Spring and intermittently throughout Summer. If left alone the Banana Shrub can grow to 10 feet tall but also can easily be kept to a smaller size with regular pruning. Put this plant next to your front door and it will amaze all your friends!
Do you have any other fragrant plants in your yard? Let us know and share your experiences!
