Fragrant Plants
Outside my kitchen window grows a Mock Orange (Philadelphus virvinalis) the scent from which has been wafting in for weeks. I know that as a designer I always incorporate scents into a garden, trying to provide a surprise for each season and pleasure for the owner. But this shrub I did not plant. It was there when we moved into the house, in a side yard to which I seldom go, and it grows happily in benign neglect, right up to the eaves. But the serendipitous pleasure it brings our family each year has prompted me to think again about other plants that provide beauty appreciated by senses other than sight. So to start, here are some great smelling additions for the seattle garden.
Winter: Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’, Sarcacocca hookerana humilis, S. ruscifolia
Spring: Choisya ternate, Daphne odora, Wisteria floribunda, Clematis armandii
Summer: Lonicera japonica, Jasminum polyanthum, Philadelphus coronarius
Fall: Cercidiphyllum japonica – the leaves smell of cinnamon and apple, Itea iliciflora
And don’t forget the herbs, especially the old standards: the mints, parsley, rosemary, and the thymes.
