The Fragrant Garden

Elements to keep in mind when designing a fragrant garden. There are so many fragrant plants you can bring to your garden, here are a few ideas.

Agastache 'Desert Sunrise'®
Item # 11834 		Agastache 'Desert Sunrise'®
Hybrid Hummingbird Mint

each $8.99
3 to 6 plants $8.79
7 or more $8.59
Agastache aurantiaca 'Shades of Orange'
Item # 11807 		Agastache aurantiaca 'Shades of Orange'
Shades of Orange Hummingbird Mint

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Teucrium aroanium
Item # 94620 		Teucrium aroanium
Gray Creeping Germander

each $5.99
3 to 6 plants $5.79
7 or more $5.59
Rosa x 'Nearly Wild'
Item # 82724 		Rosa 'Nearly Wild'
Pink Floribunda Rose

each $9.99
3 or more $9.79
  • Topic: Fragrant Gardens
  • Keywords: scented, fragrant, , Garden Design, gardens
  • Date: May 2002

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One of my favorite things in the garden is fragrance! There is nothing like the scent of roses wafting through the air or the smell of rosemary as you brush by it. There are so many fragrant plants you can bring to your garden, here are a few ideas.

Designing Fragrance In The Garden

The first step in designing fragrance in the garden is choosing the best site. I suggest creating a private, enclosed place where the fragrance of your plants will be better appreciated. You can accomplish this by first planting large evergreen shrubs to create a private wall around the fragrance garden. I also recommend placing a bench or special seating area within the garden so you can reap the benefits of the plants. The next step—and this is the fun part—is to decide which particular scents move you.

Herbs

Herbs are special plants! They are such an integral part of everyday life—we use them in the food we cook, we take them as supplements to make us healthy, and their scents are in the candles we burn or the perfume we wear. Herbs can also be a great choice for your fragrance garden. These are some of my favorites. Lemon verbena which gets to be about 12-15” high and 18” wide, but appreciates regular pinching and pruning to keep a compact shape. Rosemary ‘Madeline Hill’ which is semi-hardy here in Santa Fe, and will reach a height of 4’x 3’. Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) gets about 2’ x 2’ with beautiful dark red flowers that the hummingbirds love! Lavender ‘Du Provence’, valued for its oils in France, gets to be 30” x 24” with light purple flowers.

Perennials

A fabulous plant that has a very strong mint-like scent is Agastache rupestris or Licorice Mint. This plant reaches a height of 18-30” x 18” wide. It blooms mid-summer to fall with incredible orange and lavender flower spikes. A favorite of the hummingbirds as well! Teucrium aroanium or Gray Creeping Germander gets 3” x 18”. The lavender flowers are honey-scented and the foliage has a strong but sweet fragrance when crushed. Last but not least, roses. There are so many different types and shapes. From bushes to trailing and of course, climbing. Some of the most fragrant roses we carry here at Santa Fe Greenhouses are the English roses and the hybrid teas.

Summary

Having a private, fragrant place in your garden is good for your soul—it’s a relaxing and beneficial (aromatherapy) retreat to ease the stress of the day.