The Hampton Gardener: Making Scents of It

On a mid-June morning I was trying to make sense of several very hectic weeks and as I walked through my property I was suddenly confronted with the unmistakable aroma of citrus.

At last, one of my favorite garden scents was arriving as the dozen or so mock oranges began to flower. Across the path were several Achilleas that have been growing wild ever since I bought my first one nearly 30 years ago. I can only describe the sweet smelling fragrance of this plant as similar to that of Juicy Fruit gum and, along with the nearby mock orange, this is a spot where I could sit for hours and get little else done other than catching some rays and reveling in the scents.

Aromatic foliage and flowers that are correctly combined can give you a garden, border or walkway that is pleasing to both the eye and nose for a good part of the year. Mock orange, one of my favorite shrubs, is virtually useless, save for its magnificent two to three weeks of scented blooms in June. The foliage and habit are rather nondescript, but the flowers will send unenlightened passersby looking for the orange and lemon trees.

Many trees, shrubs, perennials and a few annuals are also notable for their fragrances and, as in the case of mock orange, the aroma can simply be enjoyed by walking past or brushing against the plant. In some cases, including most of the culinary herbs, it is necessary to crush the leaf or stem to appreciate the full fragrance. Some of these scents are very subtle, such as the chocolate aroma that emanates from the

Cosmos astrosanguineus

(and I don’t care what you read, it’s not hardy, but you can dig and save the roots for replanting), while the headiness of many old roses (best scents in the morning and usually the darker colored flowers) is enough make some teeter on the edge of euphoria.

Artemisia arborescence

(and others) planted in a sheltered, sunny spot, makes a charming small, rounded shrub-like plant that can be rounded further or grown as a hedge. Its silvery filigree leaves are as decorative as they are aromatic and yellow globose flowers in the terminal leafy panicles bring some additional color in June and July. A note of caution though, don’t rely on this plant being hardy (as in perennial) until after you’ve been able to overwinter it at least once.

Eucalyptus gunnii

(Tasmanian Cider Tree,) can also be a problem in the hardiness area, but it grows quite quickly and if potted and moved indoors in the winter it may prove to be a viable specimen. Its silver-blue juvenile foliage is often used by flower arrangers and the best way to obtain a regular supply of these aromatic and decorative shoots is by cutting the plant back very hard annually by removing the previous year’s growth close to the base of the plant in early spring before any new growth begins to appear.

An aromatic tree that also lends itself to being shortly cropped for cuttings is

Populus x candicans

Arora, which is often hardy here. The foliage is conspicuously variegated with the young leaves being a creamy white, and often tinged with pink, and the plant emits a strong aroma of balsam as they unfold in the spring. Older leaves are green and for the best results the shoots should be hard pruned in late winter.

Laurus nobilis

Aurea, or Sweet Bay, is also not reliably hardy here, but it is just as useful in the kitchen as in the garden because of its golden yellow color. It often retains its foliage into the fall and winter.

The pungent to sweet aroma of Catmint foliage is well-known to most gardeners.

Nepeta x faassenii

often sold as

Nepata mussinii

is an invaluable plant for edging and rock walls with narrow gray-green leaves. Whorled spikes of lavender-mauve flowers are produced from May through September if the fading spikes are removed regularly.

The common rosemary,

Rosmarinus officinalis

, has been cultivated here since the English arrived and it has value both as a garden plant when used as a specimen and for its culinary qualities. Stems are thickly covered with narrow green or grayish-green leaves with white undersides and numerous clusters of blue flowers are carried on the previous year’s growth in late May or June. There are a number of attractive cultivars offered that show wide variations in habit and flower color. Small fresh sprigs can be used to flavor the lighter meats and fish or be used as a garnish. Dried leaves may be crumbled and sprinkled over dishes or used in stuffing.

The young leaves and stems of the purple leaf sage (

Salvia offinalis Purpurascens

) are just as useful in the kitchen as those of the common sage, but are also particularly valuable to the flower arranger for providing blends or contrasts in foliage groups. Bluish-purple flowers are carried in whorled spikes in summer. Fresh or dried leaves are useful in stuffing for pork, chicken and duck.

Santolina chamaecyparissus

is an elegant form of the lavender cotton, which can make an aromatic dwarf hedge or edging that does especially well in our sandy soils. The silvery leaves are wooly and very finely divided, carried on white felted stems. Bright lemon-yellow button-like flower heads are borne in late June and July.

The glossy green drooping foliage of

Thuja plicata

, the Western Red Cedar, emit a pleasant fruity scent when crushed. This is a splendid, fast growing evergreen subject and the cultivar

Fastigiata

is particularly suitable for hedging or screening. To encourage density, light rimming or pruning should start as soon as the plants are well enough established to make normal growth (usually the second year), around August first.

One of my favorite mid to late summer scents comes from the tall garden phlox or

Phlox paniculata

. This plant offers not only a range of flower colors that can adorn a garden toward the end of the season, but the tall stems make it wonderful for cutting and bringing indoors. A mature plant can easily send up a dozen to 15 stems so cutting five won’t hurt the display or the plant and if you have a selection of plants that mature at different times you can have cuts from these garden phlox for as long as six weeks. When cut early in the morning and when only half of the flowers have begun to open the stems will last for up to a week indoors offering a perfume not as intense as a heady rose, but still quite nice and adding an aroma to a room that few other flowers can match.

These are but a few of the plants that you might consider for your scents, but there are virtually thousands to choose from. If you want to plan such a garden I suggest you read Rosemary Verey’s classic on the subject, “The Scented Garden,” which is available in paperback. Dr. Leonard Perry, a horticulturist with the University of Vermont, has written a wonderful leaflet on fragrant perennials that you can view at http://perrysperennials.info/pubs/oh66.pdf Even if you’re not contemplating perennials I think you’ll find Perry’s article very interesting.

Andrew Messinger has been a professional horticulturist for more than 30 years. He divides his time between homes and gardens in Southampton, Westchester and the Catskills. E-mail him at: Andrew@hamptongardener.com. The Hampton Gardener is a registered trademark.