If you enjoy having a garden that appeals to more than just your eyes, choosing perennials with pleasant scents can enhance your outdoor space.
These plants provide lasting fragrance throughout the warmer months, making your garden a welcoming and relaxing place to be.
Lavender
You’ll love lavender for its calming, soothing scent that fills your garden all summer long. It’s tough and drought-tolerant, making it easy to care for even in hot weather.
Lavender also attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies, adding life and color to your outdoor space. Its simple beauty pairs well with many other plants in your garden.
Agastache (Hummingbird Mint)
You’ll enjoy Agastache for its fragrant, gray-green leaves and colorful flowers that bloom from mid-summer to fall. It’s a drought-tolerant perennial that attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies to your garden.
This plant loves full sun and well-drained soil. Its flowers come in many shades, adding both scent and color to your outdoor space.
Sweet Alyssum
You’ll love Sweet Alyssum for its tiny, fragrant flowers that bloom all summer. This low-growing plant forms a lovely mat, perfect for borders or containers.
It’s easy to grow from seed—just sprinkle the seeds where you want them. The sweet, honey-like scent makes it a favorite around the garden.
Star Jasmine
You’ll love Star Jasmine for its sweet fragrance that fills your outdoor space. It has bright white blooms and woody vines that grow well on trellises or containers.
This evergreen plant thrives in full to part sun. It works great to add a lovely scent to your patio or garden all summer long.
Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco)
You’ll enjoy Nicotiana for its sweet, jasmine-like scent that fills summer evenings. These plants are easy to grow and bloom from summer into fall, brightening your garden with star-shaped flowers.
Nicotiana is perfect if you want a fragrant, low-maintenance perennial that works well in both containers and garden beds. The scent also attracts pollinators, adding life to your outdoor space.
Peony
Peonies bring a lovely fragrance to your garden, especially in late spring. Many varieties, like ‘Festiva Maxima,’ have a sweet, fresh scent that brightens your outdoor space.
You can cut these blooms to enjoy their scent indoors. They also add a classic, elegant touch wherever you place them. Peonies grow well with proper care and offer beautiful flowers year after year.
Dianthus
You’ll enjoy Dianthus for its sweet, clove-like fragrance that fills your garden from spring into summer. These perennials produce charming, colorful blooms that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
They work well in flowerbeds or containers, adding both scent and visual interest. Plus, they’re easy to care for and bloom repeatedly, giving your outdoor space a lovely, lasting aroma.
Butterfly Ginger
You’ll love Butterfly Ginger for its sweet, strong fragrance that fills your garden from late spring through summer. Its delicate, white flowers look like butterflies, adding a soft, tropical touch to your space.
This plant grows tall on sturdy stems, making it a great focal point. It’s perfect if you want a fragrant perennial that stands out visually and aromatically.
Perfumed Phlox
You’ll love adding phlox to your garden for its sweet, gentle fragrance. This tall perennial blooms throughout summer, filling the air with a scent that reminds many of clove and soft white flowers.
Phlox is easy to care for and attracts pollinators, making your garden both beautiful and lively. It works well at the back of border gardens, bringing color and fragrance together effortlessly.
Irresistible Iris
You’ll love the iris for its lovely scent and striking appearance. Many varieties, like the bearded iris, offer a spicy or sweet fragrance that lingers throughout the bloom season.
Its tall, sword-shaped foliage adds texture to your garden while the flowers provide a burst of color. You can enjoy the scent anytime you brush past the plant during summer.
Mint (Various Varieties)
You’ll enjoy growing mint for its refreshing aroma that fills your garden all summer. There are many varieties, like spearmint and peppermint, each with a slightly different scent.
Mint is easy to grow but can spread quickly, so it’s best to keep it in containers or confined spaces. Crushing the leaves releases a cool, invigorating fragrance that’s perfect for teas, cooking, or just enjoying outside.
Gaura
Gaura is a light, airy perennial that adds gentle movement to your garden. It blooms all summer with delicate pinkish flowers that attract butterflies.
You’ll appreciate how it thrives in full sun and dry conditions. While not very hardy, Gaura is a lovely choice if you want long-lasting, subtle fragrance outdoors.
Tuberose
You’ll love adding tuberose to your garden if you want a sweet, refreshing scent that lasts all summer. Its star-shaped white flowers bloom from mid to late summer and release a stronger fragrance after sunset.
This perennial grows upright and reaches about 24 to 36 inches tall. It’s great for both outdoor gardens and indoor pots.
Sage Hybrid
You’ll enjoy adding a sage hybrid with reddish-orange flowers to your garden. These plants produce bright, showy spikes that bloom all summer long.
They’re great for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies while filling your space with a light, pleasant scent. Sage hybrids are easy to grow and do well in full sun.
Lilac
If you want a strong, sweet scent all summer, lilacs are a great choice. You’ll enjoy their fragrance from spring and again later in the season with varieties like Bloomerang.
These shrubs fit well in smaller spaces and add lovely purple blooms to your garden. They’re easy to grow and bring a nostalgic scent that many people love.
Northern Light Azalea
You’ll enjoy the Northern Light Azalea for its ability to handle cold winters while still offering lovely blooms. This hardy hybrid can survive temperatures as low as -35°F, making it perfect if you live in cooler areas.
Its flowers have a gentle fragrance and appear in early spring, bringing color and scent to your garden after winter’s chill. The foliage resists mildew, helping your plant stay healthy through the season.