Sweetly-Scented Shrubs (Zones 4 - 7)
Judging by the tsunami of “likes” on our Facebook page, you all love fragrant plants. Fuel that passion with these 16 shrubs that we promise will fill the air with haunting, romantic fragrance—some sweet and others spicy, laden with showy flowers or with sneaky little blossoms you never see coming—all of which will greet you from a block away. (Let’s make it 17–because who can resist the seductive fragrance of a Royal Star Magnolia in bloom!) For fragrant shrubs perfect for zones 8-11, click here.
Spring Bouquet Laurustinus
Zones: 7 – 11
Beautiful evergreen shrub with lightly fragrant pinkish-white flowers.
Chestnut Hill Cherry Laurel
Zones: 6 – 10
Glossy foliage on a dense, vase-shaped form; stalks of fragrant white flowers appear in spring.
Dwarf Nikko Deutzia
Zones: 5 – 8
A wonderful spring accent becomes quite showy when covered by double, fragrant blooms.
Jelena Witch Hazel
Zones: 5 – 8
Rich coppery-orange, fragrant flowers apear on the bare branches of winter-blooming shrub.
Summer Snow® Gardenia
Zones: 6 – 11
A more cold-tolerant variety of the favorite famous for its legendary fragrance and white double flowers.
Summersweet
Zones: 4 – 9
Love it for the profusion of fragrant white flower spikes that attract butterflies. Native to the eastern United States.
Golden Lights Azalea
Zones: 3 – 7
Extremely hardy selection which provides a massive display of fragrant, golden-yellow, single blooms.
Ignatius Sargent Rhododendron
Zones: 4 – 8
Large trusses of showy, fragrant flowers appear on this dense evergreen shrub.
Henry’s Garnet Sweetspire
Zones: 5 – 9
Fragrant flowers in very early summer add to the year round interest of this award winning plant.
Snowflake Mock Orange
Zones: 4 – 7
Dense branches are covered by spring-blooming, fragrant double flowers on this dense, dwarf shrub.
Black Tulip™ Magnolia
Zones: 5 – 9
This is the darkest, most dramatic tulip magnolia of any on the market, with rich, deep burgundy-red 6 inch fragrant blooms.
White Bell Winter Heath
Zones: 6 – 8
Small evergreen shrub with abundant, bell-like, sweetly-scented flowers in clusters.
Brookside Miniature Lily of the Valley
Zones: 6 – 9
Clusters of fragrant white flowers cover the dwarf, compact plant in early spring.
CranRazz Nectar Bush
Zones: 5 – 10
Bright, fragrant cranberry-red flowers adorn long flower spikes reaching up to 8″ long.
Golden Crane® Hydrangea
Zones: 6 – 10
Jasmine-like scent is a rare trait in hydrangeas; this one blooms earliest of all.