Summer is traditionally seen as the season for fragrance in our gardens. However with careful planning, you can enjoy wonderful scented flowers in your garden from spring, through summer and autumn and on into winter with our selection of plants for fragrance.

In spring, many bulbs produce beautifully fragrant flowers, the scents which herald the new season and a new year in your garden. By summer, borders, beds and containers will be bursting with colour as plants flourish and bloom. If you plant fragrant varieties, this is when you’ll enjoy scent in your garden the most. Come autumn and winter shrubs become the scented stars of the garden, adding much needed sensory element to the space when there is less colour and texture to catch the eye.

‘Perfume Princess’

Many plants will release their perfume when touched, so it’s always a good idea to plant these by pathways or steps. Alternatively, try creating a archway by planting scented climbers so that they clamber up a framework of canes. The possibilities are endless, but let us inspire you with some of our ideas.

Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ is the world’s most fragrant shrub. Traditionally used as a winter pick-me-up, bringing scent and colour when little else is in growth Daphne is a must have.

Pot up Daphne plants and grow them on in frost free conditions. When plants are well grown and all risk of frost has passed, gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for a period of 7 to 10 days prior to planting in their final positions. Transplant Daphne plants into borders and containers outdoors in moist, fertile, well drained soil that is rich in organic matter. Choose a position in sun or semi shade.

We are proud to offer you our six months of fragrance collection. We have specially selected seven perfectly perfumed planting partners to bring you an extra long season of scent and colour. Our collection includes;

Clematis ‘New Love’

Clematis Montana ‘Mayleen’ (Flowers April-June)
‘Carolina Allspice’ (Flowers June –August)
Yellow Summer Jasmine (Flowers May – August)
Creeping Plox Collection (Flowers June-September)
Clematis ‘New Love’ (Flowers June-September)
Pinks ‘Dwarf Doris’ (Flowers July-September)
Abelia ‘Kaleidoscope’(Flowers July – October)

Rose Lily ‘China Girl’ will provide your garden with a much more subtle fragrance. Their blooms are also pollen-free, so there is less risk of allergy and wont stain your clothes.

So why not try growing our plants for fragrance this year and fill your garden with wonderful scents.

Terri Overett

Terri works in the e-commerce marketing department assisting the busy web team. Terri manages our blog and social media pages here at Thompson & Morgan and is dedicated to providing useful advice to our gardeners. Terri is new to gardening and keen to develop her horticultural knowledge.