6 Unusual and Low Effort Fragrant Flowers That Will Make Your Patio Smell Incredible
Create a scented flower-filled space for entertaining this summer that will set your garden apart
The scent of unexpected fragrant summer flowers on a warm summer's evening is irresistible. An easy way to elevate outdoor entertaining spaces is by choosing easy-going flowers that perform well for patios, terraces, courtyards and small gardens. In addition think about other areas that would benefit from scent too, such as paths, porches and pergolas.
The dining area is also a good spot to focus your efforts on. Fragrant plants such as sweet-scented climbers or night flowering nicotiana will add something special to the mix when you gather round the table. In addition to popular choices like lavender, roses and sweet peas there are a multitude of other more unusual fragrant summer flowers to discover that will make you stop in your tracks every time you pass by.
This prompted us to ask the experts for their take on the best fragrant summer flowers to scent your space that have been overlooked up to now. The plants they've chosen can transform gardens, delight the senses and attract beneficial pollinators. Some of these low-effort, high-impact scent plants offer evening or night fragrance too. (one of my absolute favorite's is bee balm, and if you can't wait to grow it from seed you can find established bee balm plants at Amazon.) It's easy bringing scent to your garden, and careful selection can provide a succession of fragrance to last right through summer.
1. Polianthes tuberosa
If you're looking to add beauty, fragrance, and a little luxury to your landscape, few flowers can rival tuberose. Famous for its opulent, intoxicating fragrance, it grows significantly stronger and sweeter at night.
This makes it a go-to choice if you're entertaining and looking for unusual fragrant summer flowers to plant that will take center stage in the evening.
Native to Mexico, tuberose has been treasured for centuries as one of the world's most fragrant flowers and remains a favorite ingredient in luxury perfumes.
A few stems in a vase can perfume an entire room for days, making it one of the finest cut flowers you can grow. Find tuberose tubers here on Amazon.
'If I could only grow one flower for fragrance, it would be Polianthes tuberosa,' says horticulturist Peggy Anne Montgomery, representing Flowerbulb.eu. 'As summer blooms begin to fade, one flower is just getting started.
'Tuberose sends up elegant spikes of creamy white blooms that fill the garden with an unforgettable fragrance often compared to gardenia, orange blossom, and jasmine. The sweet perfume grows even stronger in the evening, turning patios, porches, and moon gardens into an outdoor retreat. They are the highlight of my evening walks around the garden.'
''The Pearl' is especially prized for its lush, double flowers that bloom from late summer into early fall, just when many gardens are running out of color,' continues Peggy Anne. 'Growing 24 to 28 inches tall in full sun, it fits beautifully in borders, containers, and patio pots while attracting bees and butterflies.'
Plant the bulbs in spring after the danger of frost has passed. Give them full sun, rich, well-drained soil, regular watering, and a monthly organic fertilizer during the growing season. In colder climates (Zones 3-7), simply lift the bulbs before winter and store them indoors until spring. In Zones 8-10, you can often leave them in the ground year after year.
Peggy Anne Montgomery is a horticulturist with more than 35 years' experience in the industry in the Netherlands and the US. Her home garden has appeared on television, in gardening books, and magazines. Today, she is an executive account manager at the Garden Media Group, where she represents Dutch Royal Anthos, the largest consortium of Dutch bulb growers and exporters in the US and Canada.
2. Trumpet Lilies
If you're looking for one flower that delivers height, elegance, pollinator appeal, and one of the most memorable fragrances in the garden, trumpet lilies deserve a place in every landscape.
'When gardeners think of fragrant lilies, they often think of oriental lilies,' says Peggy Anne, 'but trumpet lilies (Lilium regale) get my vote for best fragrance. Just last night I cut a single stem for our living room table, and the house filled with its spicy fragrance. Some flowers catch your eye. Trumpet lilies capture your senses.' You can find trumpet lilies at Amazon.
When warm summer evenings arrive, few plants can rival the intoxicating perfume of trumpet lilies. Their rich, sweet fragrance, often compared to jasmine, citrus blossom, and honey, drifts through the garden, transforming patios, porches, and outdoor living spaces into an unforgettable summer retreat.
But these lilies don't stop at fragrance. They grow taller and produce more flowers each year, eventually reaching up to six feet tall, each carrying as many as 25 enormous, outward-facing trumpet blooms that can stretch 6 to 8 inches long. The result is a spectacular display that attracts a wide variety of pollinators.
Plant trumpet lilies in the fall in a sunny border or near a deck, patio, or open window where their perfume can be enjoyed day and night. Their sturdy stems make them exceptional cut flowers, filling bouquets with dramatic beauty and a fragrance that perfumes an entire room for days.
Easy to grow and hardy in Zones 3–8, trumpet lilies can also be grown in pots, and return year after year, making them one of the most rewarding perennial bulbs in the garden
3. Monarda ‘Electric Neon Purple’
'Monarda, more commonly known as bee balm, is extremely fragrant,' says certified arborist Peter Lowe of The Dawes Arboretum. 'Monarda ‘Electric Neon Purple’ provides a vibrant shock of color in the early summer garden.
This bright purple is one of the newer colors available in the Electric Neon series. In our Learning Garden at The Dawes Arboretum, this selection has shown a fabulous ability to retain solid, clean colors in both flower and foliage.
'The contrast between the dark green leaves truly makes the large purple flowers pop from across the garden. It has also shown resistance to powdery mildew that has yet to make an appearance on this plant in the four years it’s been in our garden.' It grows best in airy and open conditions, in Zones 3-9.
Choose from a selection of bee balm varieties at Nature Hills.
Coming from the mint family, the foliage of this bee balm provides a sweet, lovely scent if you're looking for inspiration on how to plant a fragrant garden. That aroma attracts many visitors to the garden from hummingbirds to butterflies and the ever-present bumble bee.
'Plant in full sun from morning to early afternoon, and protect it from the late afternoon sun in a bit of shade,' advises Peter. 'Space the plants approximately 15 inches apart to allow good air circulation. Standing about 24 inches tall and 30 wide, this beauty will be a showstopper in your garden, especially when planted en masse.'
Peter Lowe is the Garden Program Manager at The Dawes Arboretum. His vast experience in the green industry has been broad, spanning growing and propagation, arboriculture, design build as well as landscape and plant care. Peter is a certified arborist and has worked in public gardens for over 20 years. He is passionate about connecting people and plants.
4. Honeysuckle Vine 'Goldflame'
'Honeysuckle vine is extremely fragrant, and we currently have it growing in our Learning Garden at The Arboretum,' says Peter. 'It smells like very sweet honey. It grows the best with full sun on an arbor, and it can be pruned into a mounded shrub. It can grow well over 10 feet, and will bloom all summer long.'
Opt for a handsome cultivar like 'Goldflame' (Lonicera x. heckrottii), available here at Amazon.
Deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen, climbing honeysuckles twine around a support. Grow them so they cover trellises with foliage and flowers, as well as scenting the air. Plant near a path or seating area to enjoy the fragrance as you walk by or sit in the garden.
Choose a strongly scented variety of honeysuckle vine. Not all are scented so it's good to know which ones are. 'Objectively, most plants have some type of fragrance to them, no matter how distinct or not,' explains Peter.
'Additionally, fragrance is very specific to each cultivar rather than an entire genus (the family of the plant). Some plants in the genus may be unscented, but other plants within the genus are celebrated for their distinct scent.'
This twining vine features fragrant rose pink flowers with yellow interiors that bloom profusely from June to August. It's easily grown in full sun to part shade, and semi-evergreen in warmer winter climates, thriving in Zones 5-9.
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5. Night-Scented Stock
Now it's my turn to contribute with my own suggestions for unusual fragrant summer flowers. I love sitting in my garden on summer evenings (once the watering and deadheading is done) and always make sure I include some night-scented stocks (Matthiola longipetala) in my summer planting selection.
Plant evening scented stock seeds, available here at Amazon, from February to May depending where you live. It thrives as a hardy annual across Zones 2 to 10.
In my opinion this is one of the best unusual fragrant summer flowers you can grow, and I love its delicate star-shaped blooms too, which are so much more subtle than the showier daytime variety of stock.
It's easy to overlook night-scented plants when you're planning what to grow in spring, especially as you’ll need to sow this annual every year to bring its beautiful fragrance and color to your yard. But it will be so worth it for the wonderful scent the tiny flowers produce and the ease of growing them.
This heavily scented hardy annual releases an intoxicating, spicy-vanilla perfume at dusk. The mauve and white blooms are a classic for container gardens on patios, where you can enjoy their evening aroma long into the night, as well as near open windows or doorways where you can also appreciate their perfume.
6. Nicotiana alata ‘Lime Green’
Another night-scented variety of unusual fragrant summer flowers I can't get enough of is the 'Lime Green' nicotiana, which I discovered only recently. I like it because it's one of the more unusual fragrant summer flowers, plus the unique color is best shown off in the evening light and it's nice to have scented choices for the night garden.
Find Nicotiana 'Lime Green' here at Select Seeds or buy the lime, white or red variants of the Star Maker series here at True Leaf Market if you fancy a mix of colors.
Typically when I think of nicotiana (also known as tobacco plant) the much more common white varieties come to mind. While these are generally deemed to be the most fragrant types of nicotiana the bright chartreuse-colored flowers of this cultivar also have an intense evening scent that truly sets them apart.
The prolific trumpet-like flowers open at dusk and are a magnet for moths all summer long. This variety also attracts bees and other beneficial insects to your garden. Easy to grow, it's a great choice for large patio pots as it likes being planted in well-drained soil in a sheltered, sunny spot. It's also great in the middle of a border.
If you're entertaining plant up a pot of these beauties for the porch so your guests are treated to a waft of intoxicating scent when they arrive.
This tender perennial is winter hardy to Zones 10-11. Therefore, it is grown as an annual in cooler zones. Sow seeds outdoors after all danger of frost has passed or indoors 6-8 weeks prior to the last spring frost date.
These unusual fragrant summer flower choices should inspire your choices. Now find out how to plant a scented border for year round perfume, and how to use fragrance in the yard for wellbeing to tap into the health benefits of scent.
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