Scented flowers

I'm conscious of how a website can only ever be a one-dimensional representation of a garden, and that it can only show what the garden looks like. But when we imagine being in a garden we think of the sounds, of birds singing and bees buzzing, and the scents too, from the flowers.

Of course, we have different responses to fragrance, and one person's scent can be another person's pong. But I try to grow as many scented plants as possible, and here's a selection of my favourite scented flowers. The links are to larger versions of the photos.

Choisya ternata (Mexican orange blossom)

White flowers, in May-June, almond-scented. This is an excellent evergreen shrub, with shining leaves. It can get rather big. I grow mine against a partly-shaded west-facing wall, and prune it after flowering.

Euphorbia mellifera

The small flowers smell sweet, rather like honey. It also has statuesque form and attractive leaves.

Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine' (Heliotrope/Cherry pie)

A half-hardy annual, which I buy as a bedding plant each year. The common name of 'Cherry pie' describes the scent of the flowers well. It's also very attractive, with purple flowers and dark leaves.

Hyacinth

As far as I'm aware, all varieties have the same unmistakable fragrance. I've grown 'Delft Blue' and 'Pink Perfection' most years, and a white variety.

Lilies

Favourites are Lilium 'Regale' and the flamboyant Lilium 'Star Gazer'. I wouldn't buy lilies that aren't scented, as to me that seems to be the point of them. Though I know that some people find the scent rather overpowering.

Lonicera (honeysuckle)

Not all are scented, but I grow Lonicera japonica 'Halliana' and Lonicera 'Belgica'. The scent of 'Halliana' in particular is one of the most beautiful fragrances in the garden.

Osmanthus burkwoodii

This shrub, which I grow against a wall, has small white scented flowers in March. It took a while before it flowered, but it has been a good trouble-free evergreen, and its scented flowers are a bonus.

Sarcococca

Tiny white flowers, but they produce a pervading scent that drifts on the air through nearby windows. Maybe best grown in a pot near the back door, so you can smell it more easily in its winter flowering season.

Tulipa 'Ballerina'

I hadn't thought of tulips as scented, but this lily-flowered orange tulip is now one of my favourites.