Planning a Fragrant Garden That Actually Smells Good All Season
A garden scented with succession planting is a more interesting garden․ Plant only spring bloomers and you will have three magnificent weeks of scent in April and then a garden of green leaves for the rest of the year․ The trick is to incorporate early spring-blooming bulbs‚ late spring-blooming shrubs and summer-blooming perennials to ensure that something is always blooming so it fills the air with sweet fragrance․ This is especially important in Tennessee‚ where the growing zones vary from 6b in the high country of East Tennessee to 7b in parts of West Tennessee․ Your fragrant plants and flowers will bloom at different times according to local dates of frost and humidity․
I will tell you which plants are really fragrant garden plants‚ and when they should be planted in our region‚ and how to keep them alive instead of just existing․
Pink Tatarian Honeysuckle: Your Go-To Spring Bloomer
Of the many fragrant shrubs that absolutely love growing in the clay-based soils of Tennessee‚ Pink Tatarian Honeysuckle might be the easiest to grow in this region․ Unlike other shrubs that are fussy about growing in the compact‚ alkaline soils of Middle Tennessee‚ this shrub requires very little soil improvement․ It should be planted in spring or fall with plenty of room for it to grow to its full size of 6 to 10 feet (1․8 to 3․0 m) tall and wide within three to four years․
The pale pink to purple flowers are fragrant and bloom in May․ The blossoms can be smelled from 10 feet (3․0 m) on a calm evening‚ and they bloom well in partial shade but best in places with five or more hours of direct sunlight․ One thing to know: this shrub can self-seed a bit aggressively in ideal conditions‚ so you may want to deadhead it if you want to keep it in check․
Lilies: Match the Variety to Your Scent Goal
Lilies are often described as fragrant‚ the difference between the different types is so marked that it can affect planting decisions․ Oriental lilies such as 'Casa Blanca' or 'Stargazer' produce a powerful‚ almost tropical perfume which may be found to be inappropriate in a well closed space such as a patio․ They also sometimes grow with little to no fragrance‚ bloom two to three weeks earlier‚ and have a wider range of colors․
In Tennessee‚ plant lily bulbs in fall at least 6 inches (15 cm) deep‚ before the first freeze․ Drainage is important‚ and the bulb will rot faster in still water than in cold․ If you have heavy clay soil‚ amend the planting area with some compost or use a raised bed․ Once it is established‚ a lily clump will bloom for years and multiply․ What began with a dozen bulbs‚ planted sparingly‚ becomes a thickly fragrant carpet within three years․
Phlox: The Evening Shift
Most flowers wait for dawn to show off their scent‚ but garden phlox is the opposite: it hopes to be your best night on the porch․ In spring‚ after the last frost‚ plant them 18-24 inches (46-61 cm) apart for proper air circulation to prevent powdery mildew‚ a common problem for phlox in our humid Tennessee summers․
While phlox grow well in full sun‚ they will tolerate some afternoon shade․ This can be useful in areas with mature trees․ Pruning back by half after the blooming has finished in July will often cause a second blooming in September‚ before frost arrives․
Daffodils: The Low-Maintenance Starter
The easiest way to have scented flowers in your garden is to plant daffodils at the end of October or early November‚ 6 inches (15 cm) deep‚ and not divide them for 10 years or more‚ as they will return year after year․ However‚ Tennessee winters provide daffodils with the 12 to 14 weeks of temperatures lower than 40 degrees Fahrenheit that are needed for them to bloom the next spring․
It has a much more delicate perfume than lilies or honeysuckle and a fresher‚ greener smell‚ rather than a sweet one․ It can be very fragrant in profusion‚ whether on a path or growing in the open‚ below the canopy of deciduous trees‚ where it can be seen in its spring glory․ The leaves must not be cut‚ because they store energy for the bulb to flower in the next season․
Sweet Violet: The Fragrance of Shady Places
Most of the fragrant plants want sun‚ and shady places usually have nothing at all‚ except the sweet violet to fill the void․ It grows as a low ground cover under trees or on a house's north side‚ and in spring produces small purple-blue flowers․ The sweet aroma is a bit earthy‚ but nothing else on this list quite compares․
But if you give it moist‚ humus-rich soil in a Tennessee hardwood forest's leaf litter‚ it will naturalize in a couple of seasons and fill in bare shaded places you can't plant with anything else․ And you can eat it too! The flowers can also be crystallized and used to decorate cakes‚ if you're into that sort of thing․
Yellow Trillium: A Native Worth Knowing
Although not mentioned in many books‚ Yellow Trillium is a native Tennessee woodland plant appropriate for inclusion due to its natural growth in the one garden niche where many gardeners throw up their hands in defeat‚ deep shade under mature trees․ Its pale yellow blossoms appear in early April; their scent is faintly lemony․ The foliage is long-lasting and pleasantly mottled even after the flower has faded․ Think twice about transplanting a trillium; it takes two to three years for a plant to reach full size after transplanting‚ so this plant requires more patience than the others․
Building the Layout
To make the most fragrant garden‚ plant honeysuckle and/or lilac as a single shrub by themselves for the backbone‚ lilies and phlox for the border‚ daffodils along the front edge‚ and sweet violet and trillium in shady areas․ TN Nursery carries starter plants and bulbs of most of these grown for Southeast gardens so that gardeners can avoid the guesswork associated with getting them shipped in from someone else in a totally different growing zone‚ or starting from seeds or bulbs․
Put shrubs and bulbs in at their right fall or spring times‚ and in two to three years your garden will be different every month from March through September․
