12 fragrant bushes for a scented garden all year round

Fragrant Bushes for Spring

Fragrant Currant – Ribes odoratum

Bush with a rounded, bushy habit, Fragrant Currant offers many qualities. In spring, its numerous tubular flowers, blending yellow and orange, give off a scent clearly perceptible around the shrub. They are followed by black fruits, edible but of limited culinary interest. Thornless, this ornamental currant bears dentate foliage of a bright green that turns a magnificent purple in autumn. Hardy to at least -15°C, this bush about 2 m across fits well in hedges as well as in borders.

Ribes odoratum

• Needs

Plant in any ordinary, deep, cool soil, even calcareous, in full sun or partial shade

• Scent

Sweet yet pronounced, Fragrant Currant’s scent resembles carnation. It is noticeable some distance from the bush.

→ Discover all our varieties of Flowering Currants and our guide: Flowering Currants — planting, growing and maintenance

Burkwood Viburnum – Viburnum burkwoodii

Essential in a scented garden, Burkwood Viburnum lights up spring with its small white flowers tinged with pale pink gathered into numerous globes of around ten centimetres. The scent is then a pure delight! Foliage, deciduous to semi-evergreen, is borne by a bush of about 2.50 m, with an occasionally rather untidy habit. Green during growing season, leaves again highlight this superb bush in autumn when they take on particularly warm colours. Hardy to -20°C, this viburnum is easy to grow and stars in the garden several times a year. Variety ‘Ann Russell’ differs from the species by less vigorous growth and a more compact habit.

Viburnum burkwoodii

• Needs

Plant viburnum in fresh but well-drained soil, not too calcareous, in full sun or partial shade.

• Scent

Close to lily, it also gives notes of jasmine and tuberose. Very powerful, it is truly noticeable several metres away!

→ Discover our wide range of Viburnums and our guide: Viburnums — planting, pruning and cultivating.

Lilac – Syringa

Lilacs are emblematic of a scented spring. These bushes, hardy and very easy to grow, have an upright, dense habit, forming a well-branched bush that softens with age. Fast-growing, lilac produces in April–May clusters of melliferous flowers in a range of colours, from white to deep burgundy, with various shades of pink and blue. Some even offer blends such as variety ‘Sensation’. Single or double, flowers appear above mid-green foliage, in pyramid-shaped thyrsi that are easy to recognise. Recent hybrids, such as Bloomerang ‘Dark Purple’, provide repeat flowering once summer heat has passed. Fast-growing, lilacs can exceed 6 metres, but some dwarf varieties, like ‘Bloomerang Pink Perfume’, do not exceed 1.30 m, allowing planting anywhere, even in a pot on a terrace.

Syringa Bloomerang Dark Purple

• Needs

Lilac grows in any ordinary, well-drained soil, even calcareous ground. It tolerates full sun and partial shade.

• Scent

A scent full of nostalgia, which inevitably recalls grandparents’ gardens and has become a reference. Sweet and tender, it blends floral and aniseed notes.

→ Discover all our lilac varieties and our guide: Planting, pruning and maintaining Lilacs

Fragrant Bushes for Summer

Butterfly Bush – Buddleia

Small bush or handsome bush, Butterfly Bush grows from 1.20 m to 4 m depending on variety. Its open silhouette showcases deciduous or more or less evergreen foliage, green to silvery, with a downy underside. Between June and October, long melliferous spikes adorn the plant and attract butterflies. Wide choice of colours is available, including vivid blue in ‘Empire Blue’, white with ‘White Profusion’ or pink such as ‘Summer Beauty’. Many shades exist and some are even bicoloured, as offered by the variety ‘Flower Power’.

Hardy down to -20°C, fast-growing and disease-free, they establish well in all gardens, especially as they tolerate pollution and cope well with heat and drought. Dwarf varieties, such as ‘Nanho Blue’, even make them suitable for terraces.

Buddleja ‘Nanho Blue’

• Requirements

Buddleia grows in any well-drained soil, even poor and calcareous. Plant in full sun and preferably sheltered from wind.

• Fragrance

Dominated by honeyed scents, it reveals musky notes and a hint of carnation. Scent is clearly perceptible when passing close to the bush.

→ Discover our selection of Butterfly Bushes and our leaflet: Planting, pruning and caring for Butterfly Bush.

Japanese Styrax – Styrax

Somewhat little-known, the Japanese Styrax is gaining popularity every year. It certainly has many assets! This bush with an elegant habit displays a layered silhouette, whose horizontal branches bear deciduous leaves of a beautiful dark green, slightly bluish on the underside. In autumn they blaze in beautiful yellow and orange tones. This original bush is also valued for its fragrant flowering in early summer, a multitude of white bell flowers, whose drooping habit further emphasises the bold graphic effect. Dry drupes, creamy-white, follow the flowering. and rarely exceeds 3 to 4 m. Hardy (-15°C), very disease-resistant and easy to grow, it is worth discovering and using in the garden or in a pot.

Styrax japonicus

• Requirements

Styrax prefers light, neutral to acidic soils, rich in organic matter and moist. In the warmest regions, plant in part shade. Elsewhere, it can tolerate sun. Simply avoid scorch-prone, burning exposures.

• Fragrance

Its fresh, mouth-watering scent is both vanilla-like and sweet.

→ Discover our Styrax species and our guide: Planting, caring for and pruning Styrax

Clerodendron – Clerodendrum trichotomum

Known as Clergyman’s Tree, Tree of Luck or Turquoise Tree, the Clerodendron is an original bush with an exotic appearance. Its leaves are deciduous and green in the species type, variegated with yellow which turns white with the season for the ‘Variegatum’ cultivar Variegatum. The well-marked veins give attractive relief to the foliage, whose underside is downy. When crushed, the leaves emit uncommon peanut notes. From July to October, the plant bears panicles of white star-shaped flowers with purple calyx, very fragrant. These are followed by small round berries, resembling delightful turquoise gemstones set in a bright red casing. Adding to these qualities are rapid growth, very good disease resistance, low maintenance and good hardiness (-15°C). What more could you ask for?

Clerodendron trichotonum

• Requirements

Easy to grow, Clerodendron is content in any well-drained, moist soil, in sun or part shade. Avoid heavy, poorly aerated soils saturated with water in winter, as well as excessive heat in summer.

• Fragrance

While the peanut smell of its crushed foliage can be surprising and not to everyone’s taste, the jasmine-like fragrances of its flowers are on the other hand a delight, especially at dusk.

→ Discover our Styrax species and our guide: Planting, caring for and pruning Styrax.

Fragrant bushes for Autumn

Autumn Camellia – Camellia sasanqua

With such a species name, Camellia sasanqua (pronounced ‘What does it smell like?‘) had to be included in a selection of scented bushes. This small camellia with evergreen foliage, typically glossy, thick and leathery, stays within reasonable proportions (1.50 to 3 m), making it easy to fit even into modest spaces or in a pot. With slow to moderate growth, it has the particularity of flowering in autumn, generally between October and December, with single or double flowers in shades of pink, red or white. There are varieties with a pronounced scent, such as ‘Setsugekka’, with single white flowers and golden stamens, or ‘Yume’, with highly scented pink-and-white flowers and a record flowering.

Although Autumn Camellia tolerates drought reasonably well once established, it is somewhat more sensitive to cold (-10°C), especially when cold is prolonged.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Yume’

• Requirements

Like all Camellias, Sasanqua requires acidic soil. Lime is its enemy! A light soil rich in humus and remaining cool suits it well. Heavy, waterlogged soils in winter should be avoided. Sun exposure is possible in the north of France. Further south, prefer partial shade. In all cases, shelter camellia from cold, drying winds.

• Its fragrance

Fragrance can evoke jasmine tea or lily, but not all varieties offer the same intensity.

→ Discover our Autumn-flowering Camellias and our guide: Planting, pruning and caring for Camellias

Chalef – Elaeagnus ebbingei

Although it may seem discreet at first glance, Chalef really makes itself noticed in autumn. It is not its small cream bell-shaped flowers that catch the eye, but the powerful scent they give off. Ideal for hedges, topiary or even in a pot, this bush with evergreen foliage bears dense leaves, green with a silvery underside in the species, or bright variegation, as in ‘Limelight’, or ‘Gilt Edge’. Orange edible fruits follow the flowering. Very hardy, tolerating wind and sea spray, this fast-growing bush reaches from 1.70 m to 3 or 4 m. Its branches can carry a few thorns.

Elaeagnus ebbingei

• Requirements

Undemanding regarding soil type, Chalef even grows in poor, dry, calcareous soil. A richer, fresher substrate also suits it. Comfortable in sun or partial shade, it is also ideal for creating windbreak hedges by the sea.

• Its fragrance

Very powerful, especially compared with the size of its flowers, it is noticeable from afar. A Chalef hedge fills the whole garden in autumn with scents of carnation, jasmine and honey.

→ Discover all our Chalef varieties and our guide: Planting, pruning and maintaining Eleagnus.

Fragrant Osmanthus – Osmanthus heterophyllus

At first sight Fragrant Osmanthus may resemble a holly, but it stands out by a powerful perfume that spreads late in the season. Its glossy foliage is strongly thorny and remains all year round. Green in ‘Gulftide’, it offers variegation with ‘Tricolor’, or purple foliage in ‘Purpureus’. The bush, with a compact, bushy habit, bears bright white flowering in autumn, followed by night-blue fruits. Very easy to grow and adaptable, Osmanthus tolerates sea spray, is resistant to disease and shows honest hardiness (-10°C to -15°C). This makes it an ideal bush for novice gardeners. It tolerates pruning well but is fairly slow-growing.

Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Tricolor’

• Requirements

Plant Osmanthus in light, rich, well-drained and cool soil, but not calcareous. Avoid waterlogged soils in winter or soils that are too dry in summer. Comfortable in sun north of the Loire, it copes perfectly with partial shade further south, provided it has enough light to flower well.

• Its fragrance

Noticeable several metres away, it is dominated by scents of jasmine and gardenia, to which notes of apricot and peach are added.

→ Discover our range of Osmanthus and our guide: Planting, pruning and maintenance of Osmanthus.

Fragrant bushes for Winter

Bodnant viburnum – Viburnum bodnantense

When it flowers on its naked wood, between November and February, Bodnant viburnum brings a touch of cheer to the winter greyness. Its bright pink buds open into many clusters of pale pink flowers with a gentle scent, surprising at this time of year. Its foliage, deciduous and strongly veined, takes over in spring in bronze tones before greening during the season and then turning crimson in autumn. The Bodnant viburnum varieties ‘Dawn’ and ‘Charles Lamont’ are quite similar. Both easy to grow and hardy (-15°C), their growth is moderate and the bush eventually reaches 2.5 to 3 m.

Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’

• Growing conditions

Plant Bodnant viburnum in sun or partial shade, in any type of fresh, deep soil. It can tolerate some lime, but not too much. Shelter from cold winds.

• Its scent

Its scent is surprising in midwinter, and its vanilla notes, blending heliotropic and carnation, are particularly noticeable when temperatures rise a little.

→ Discover our wide range of viburnums and our sheet: Planting, pruning and caring for viburnums.

Mahonia – false holly

Hardy bush, Mahonia offers scented winter flowering in terminal clusters of bright yellow, which are then followed by decorative midnight-blue berries. Its foliage, thick and leathery, is deeply divided and spiny. Evergreen, it turns a nice red as temperatures fall. Some, like Mahonia aquifolium ‘Apollo’, stay under 1.5 m, while others can reach 5 m, such as Mahonia media ‘Charity’. Easy to grow, this exotic-looking bush is suitable for borders, beneath deciduous trees or even in containers.

Mahonia

• Growing conditions

Although it prefers neutral to acidic soils, Mahonia can accept some lime, especially the species aquifolium. A moist, light and well-drained soil suits it perfectly, but it can cope with less ideal conditions. In the South, place it in partial shade or dappled shade. Further North it can tolerate a sunnier exposure. In all cases, avoid heavy, waterlogged soils.

• Its scent

Sweet and floral, it blends notes of honey and narcissus, dominated by scents reminiscent of lily-of-the-valley.

→ Discover our selection of Mahonias and our sheet: Planting, pruning and maintaining Mahonias

Wintersweet – Chimonanthus praecox

Deciduous bush with an upright habit whose winter flowering is among the most fragrant, Chimonanthus blooms from December to February on naked branches. Its small waxy yellow bells, tinged with purple at the heart, only appear after a few years of cultivation. In season, the bush displays dark green foliage and forms a mass about 3 m high, ideal for showcasing colourful foregroud flower displays. It can also perfume a terrace if grown in a pot. The variety ‘Grandiflorus’ has bolder-coloured flowers and slightly longer leaves. With slow growth, Chimonanthus withstands temperatures down to around -15°C.

Chimonanthus praecox

• Growing conditions

Chimonanthus tolerates most ordinary soils, even calcareous or heavy ones, provided they are drained. It grows well in partial shade or sun but prefers exposures that avoid scorching midday sun.

• Its scent

Powerful and clearly perceptible, even in cool weather, its scent is quite complex. Notes of hyacinth, honey, spices and jasmine are all present.

→ To learn everything about this bush, see our sheet: “Chimonanthus: planting, cultivation, pruning”

Some tips for enjoying scents in the garden

Scent in the garden can be a real asset but, if used poorly, it can go unnoticed or, on the contrary, become cloying.

Here are some tips to make the most of it :

• Use bushes whose scented flowers come into flower in different seasons, so they perfume the garden throughout the year.
• If several scented bushes flower at the same time, do not place them side by side. Some scents do not mix well.
• Place favourite scents near the house or along a frequented path so you can enjoy them fully.
• Plant scented bushes along the axis of prevailing winds. Scents will then reach you more easily.
• For plants with truly powerful scents, take care not to overwhelm or cause nausea. Placed near seating areas or house windows, they can, for some people, become bothersome.
• Bear in mind that the strength of a scent, for the same plant, can vary with temperature, humidity or even time of day (or night). Some days are therefore more favourable than others for filling the nostrils.