Fragrant Spring Plants for Gardens

Gardeners enjoy not only the sights of spring, as new life unfurls, but also the smells of spring. Spring bulbs, shrubs and flowers can all provide a sweet aroma to the garden if plant lovers choose their garden plants wisely.

Lilac Shrubs for Old Fashioned Fragrance

Who hasn’t enjoyed an early spring branch of lilacs in a kitchen vase, filling the entire room with a sweet scent? Lilac shrubs are known for their one-of-a-kind fragrance and are relatively easy to grow for most gardeners. New cultivars make lilacs available in not only the traditional purple, but also in white, pink, rose, bicolor and darker purple. Several new dwarf varieties also exist, making it easier to add the heady lilac fragrance to small garden beds and borders, or even large containers. Most gardeners trim the spent blooms before the seeds can develop to encourage more full growth of the branches and leaves for the following year.

Hyacinth Bulbs for Early Spring Fragrance

One of the most heavily scented of the spring blooming bulbs is the diminutive, but aromatic hyacinth. The flowers may only stand between 6 and 12 inches tall, but the fragrance from a single patio container or bulb garden area near the house will be significant. Hyacinth flowers are available in a wide variety of colors from white, to pink, purple, blue, peach, bicolor and more. These spring bulbs are hardy from zones 4-9 and naturalize easily in the garden, though they do not usually prefer division or being disturbed once established. See other fragrant bulb plants for additional fragrance garden ideas.

Violets for Shade Garden Fragrance

Sweet violets (Viola odorata) are beautiful, ground cover type flowering plants that grow well in shady, woodland areas. The plants themselves are short, only growing 3-4 inches tall, but the flowers are sweetly scented and bloom both spring and fall. The perennials are hardy to zone 5 and can be grown in containers and overwintered indoors in zones further north. If growing indoors, gardeners need to provide cool evening temperatures in order to induce a bloom period. The only care they need outdoors is to prevent overcrowding by weeds and other, larger perennials.

Whatever kinds of plants a gardener enjoys, whether bulbs, shade flowers or ornamental shrubs, there are beautifully fragrant options available. To create a year-round bounty of fragrance, a gardener will need to plan for spring, summer, fall and winter plants that will add an aromatic, as well as visual, beauty to the landscape. Spring is only the beginning for fragrance garden joys.