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Imagine sitting on your porch with a drink in hand. With every breeze, a perfume wafts your way, and a feeling of calm descends. If this sounds like bliss, it’s time to surround your porch with sweet-smelling flowers.
Flowers are often appreciated for bright colors and showy blooms rather than scent. In fact, many popular garden flowers have no odor at all. We’ve collected a list of flowers, shrubs, and herbs that are beloved for their strong fragrance. Many of these fragrant flowers can be grown in containers on your porch, while others can be used as a foundation planting or grown along a porch railing.
Grow these sweet-smelling flowers on your porch and make every day outdoors a blissful experience.
01 of 10
Gardenia
- Botanical Name: Gardenia jasminoides
- Sun Exposure: Partial sun
- Soil Type: Well-draining, slightly acidic
The perfume of gardenia flowers is a hallmark of spring in the South. Compact gardenias like Jubilation™ from the Southern Living Plant Collection can be grown in containers or planted along the front of your porch. Gardenias may rebloom sporadically, gifting you with more fragrance in summer.
02 of 10
Lavender
- Botanical Name: Lavendula spp.
- Sun Exposure: Full
- Soil Type: Well-draining, sandy, loamy
- Soil pH: Neutral, alkaline (6.7-7.5)
Line your porch with pots of fragrant lavender, which has a lovely scent even when it isn’t in bloom. The herb could help repel mosquitoes from your porch. Lavender needs sharp drainage and grows best in a sunny spot.
03 of 10
Patio Roses
- Botanical Name: Rosa
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Soil Type: Loamy, rich, well-drained soil
- Soil pH: Acidic (6.0-6.5)
Stop and smell the roses every time you sit outdoors. Patio and miniature roses are well-suited to growing in pots on a porch. Use a wide pot to make room for the roots, and fill it with compost-enriched potting mix. Make sure to water and fertilize frequently to keep your roses happy. If you don’t like to fuss over flowers, plant low-maintenance Drift roses in front of your porch.
04 of 10
Abelia
- Botanical Name: Abelia spp.
- Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial sun
- Soil Type: Well-draining but moist
- Soil pH: Acidic, neutral (5.0-7.5)
Abelia bushes have a sweet fragrance that can be subtle or heady, depending on the variety. Pictured above, ‘Kaleidoscope’ has pink summer flowers with a gentle perfume and dramatic foliage that turns orange-red in fall. Unlike old-fashioned Chinese abelia, it remains compact enough to grow in pots by your front steps. Another variety from the Southern Living Plant Collection, Miss Lemon, also grows about 3 feet tall. Both bloom in summer and fall.
05 of 10
Clethra
- Botanical Name: Clethra alnifolia
- Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial sun
- Soil Type: Moist, rich
- Soil pH: Acidic (4.5-6.5)
Clethra or summersweet is a native shrub that should be planted in moist soil near your porch so you can catch its sweet scent. Though clethra can grow large, you can clip it each winter to keep it to the desired size. Don’t prune in spring or you may cut off the flower buds. Clethra blooms all summer long and attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
06 of 10
Citrus Trees
- Botanical Name: Citrus spp.
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Soil Type: Well-draining, loamy, sandy
- Soil pH: Acidic (5.0-6.0)
Grow a dwarf citrus tree on your sunny porch so you can enjoy the scent of orange blossoms and fresh fruit to harvest. A citrus tree can be safely grown outside most of the year in the South, but the tree must be brought indoors when there is a danger of frost. Be careful not to overwater citrus trees, which can kill them.
07 of 10
August Lily
- Botanical Name: Hosta plantaginea
- Sun Exposure: Full shade, partial shade
- Soil Type: Well-draining, loamy, sandy
- Soil pH: Acidic (5.0-6.0)
If you have a shady porch, you can plant a specific type of hosta to sweeten the air. August lily is a species of hosta known for its fragrance. These hostas bear white flowers instead of the usual purple or lavender. Common varieties include ‘Guacamole’, ‘Stained Glass’, ‘Cathedral Windows’, and ‘Fragrant Blue’. August lily is more heat-tolerant than other hostas, but should only be grown in full sun in a cool climate. Plant them along the front of your porch with ferns and heucheras. Small hostas can also be grown in containers.
08 of 10
Star Jasmine
- Botanical Name: Trachelospermum jasminoides
- Sun Exposure: Full, partial
- Soil Type: Moist, well-drained, loamy
- Soil pH: Slightly acidic, neutral (6.0-7.0)
The thick scent of a single star jasmine plant can perfume your entire yard in late spring. Let the vines to clamber up your porch posts or along the railing. You can also grow it in a pot with a small trellis or use the evergreen vines as a groundcover, as shown here. Star jasmine can survive winters in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8-10.
09 of 10
Sweet Alyssum
- Botanical Name: Lobularia maritima
- Sun Exposure: Full, partial
- Soil Type: Well-drained but moist
- Soil pH: Slightly acidic to neutral (6.0-7.0)
Sweet alyssum is the perfect filler for mixed containers and hanging baskets on your porch. Tuck it in with other flowers, foliage, and herbs that prefer partial sun. Sweet alyssum may decline or stop blooming in the heat of summer. Shear it back, and it will rebloom later in the season.
10 of 10
Dianthus
- Botanical Name: Dianthus spp.
- Sun Exposure: Full, partial
- Soil Type: Loose, well-drained, rich
- Soil pH: Neutral, alkaline (6.0-8.0)
Dianthus is a large family that includes carnations, pinks, and sweet William. The fringed flowers have a spicy scent, though some of the newer hybrids were bred for looks rather than fragrance. Dianthus must have good drainage and air circulation to thrive.
Read the original article on Southern Living
