Summer Fragrant Plants

Studio 5 contributor Darin Engh shares his ideas on the perfect plants that give off a delectable and relaxing smell.


An arbor is the perfect place to sit and relax, especially after a day’s work. The scent of climbers that clothe the arbor and the nature of the structure itself combine soothing effect. The arbor’s leafy and flowery walls create a sense of safe enclosure without being boxed in; it is open and closed at the same time.
Summer Fragrant Plants:

• Rose – one of the basic ingredients to any scented garden is a rose bush.

• Honeysuckle – scent is rich, fruity, slightly spicy, honey sweet. One of the most romantic smells must be that of honeysuckle. From spring to summer they produce whorls of yellow and pink flowers that are highly scented.

• Clematis – sweet scent.

• Oenthera ‘Lemon Drop’ – yellow flowers have a sweet, astringent smell which intensifies into the evening. Flowers appear in the summer and often well into autumn.

• Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ – fragrant foliage. Excellent for xeriscape.

• Hemerocallis (daylily) – a number of daylilies have fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers, mainly in shades of yellow and orange, which appear in summer.

• Lupine – the old-fashioned flowers form distinctive spikes and have an alluring, peppery smell. Flowers are in all shades.

• Lily – many lilies and their hybrids are scented. They flower throughout the summer and come in a wide range of flower shapes and colors.

• Lavender – sweet, floral-herby. Lavender is both a classical and vital contemporary ingredient in any aromatic garden.

• Mint – the different varieties of mint are grown for their leaves; some are more decorative than other, but all have scented foliage.

• Basil – grown for its leaves. Scent is light, fresh, sweet-spicy, balsamic, and clove-like. Basil is one of the most valued aromatic herbs. Basil makes a good companion plant in the vegetable garden, especially alongside tomatoes. Most basil will thrive in pots in a sunny area.

• Datura – these plants have intensely perfumed trumpet-like flowers, which bloom in profusion throughout the summer and early fall, and are especially fragrant at night.


For more information, you can contact Darin at Engh Gardens in Sandy or online at www.enghgardens.com

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