Flowers with scented leaves
Summer flowers are even better with scented leaves. I think there is nothing nicer than a stroll through a garden. Whether it’s my own garden or one I am visiting. Fortunately, many gardens are open to the public throughout the year. And particularly during the summer months. I visit them to learn about which plants grow best in particular situations and micro-climates. And also to inspire me.
Wherever the garden is, the experience is made even better when there is fragrance in the air. I especially like plants with scented leaves that release their fragrance as we brush past them.
Most of the plants on this list are prolific growers and can outgrow their allotted space quite quickly. Where space is limited, grow them in pots. Lift the pots off the ground on a regular basis, to ensure that the roots haven’t passed through the holes in the base of the pot to escape into your garden beds. I grow several of them in raised beds. This way I control their spread into the pathways through judicious removal of stray growth.
Origanum majorana and Origanum vulgare
We grow herbs like marjoram and oregano for culinary purposes. They are often overlooked as a source of colour and fragrance in the garden. Grow along the edges of borders and pathways to release their fragrance as you touch them.
These two are the same family of plants. Marjoram (Origanum majorana) refers to the more tender perennial that is often grown as an annual or biennial. Whereas oregano (Origanum vulgare) is hardier and will usually live for many years. As Mediterranean plants, they do not like cold, waterlogged soil. That said, in our north facing garden, several marjoram and oregano plants have happily make it through very wet autumn and winters!
Check out a specialist herb grower to find several different Origanum varieties that are easy to grow in all but the coldest areas of the UK. All the plants will have flowers with scented leaves to add to colour and encourage pollinators to your garden
Monarda
Monarda are also known a bergamot or bee balm. The leaves have a warm citrus smell similar to Bergamot oranges (the oil of which is used to fragrance Earl Grey tea). It is a well-behaved plant, although vigorous, but not invasive. In some areas Monarda are short-lived, so lift and divide plants every few years, replanting only the strongest clumps. It grows to 90cm high and 90-120cm spread and it is mostly self-supporting, so there is no need to stake it. Monarda prefers full sun or dappled shade, the more shade there is, the fewer flowers it is likely to produce.
Powdery mildew can be an issue in dry summers and it is unlikely to survive sitting in waterlogged ground over the winter. However, if you can provide free-draining, but moisture-retentive soil in a sunny spot, Monarda will provide you colour over a long period. They start to flower in July and with regular deadheading, will continue to flower into autumn.
I grow several varieties for the different colour flowers and even the leaves vary slightly in fragrance. If you have space for them, I recommend growing more than one.
Salvia
There are many varieties of sage, from the culinary herb, Salvia officinalis, to pinapple sage that flowers with bright scarlet blossoms in late autumn and winter (if provided a frost free environment). Many are hardy throughout the UK, preferring free-draining soil and some protection from harsh, cooling winds. They propagate readily from cuttings.
Aloysia citrodora
Lemon verbena is a large shrub with pale green, narrow leaves that are strongly scented of lemon. It produces tiny white flowers tinged with pale mauve during summer. Eventual height 250cms and spread 250cms. It is not fully hardy, so in cooler areas of UK, protect from cold during winter. For example, grow in a large container and move under cover before the first hard frosts. Lemon verbena prefers full sun and most soils except heavy clay and where possible, give it a sheltered position.
Aloysia citrodora is relatively pest and problem free and can be propagated by softwood cuttings. Uses in the kitchen include adding a lemony kick to salads, chicken and fish dishes and for making syrups, icecream and even lemon verbena sugar.
Agastache
Giant hyssop, Korean mint and Anise hyssop are just of few of the common names for Agastache. If you have a well-draining spot in full sun, you can’t go far wrong with this plant. It’s easy to grow from seed, in modules and seed trays or direct sow into the soil where you want it to grow. Height 50-100cm and spread up to 50cm.
Agastache is available in a range of colours from white to purple and even in orange tones. I grow a dark purple variety called Black Adder and have recently bought a white one. These flowers with scented leaves are superb for attracting bees, butterflies and other pollinators to your garden, we regularly see a wide range of insects visit the flowers.
The leaves have a range of fragrances from liquorice or root beer to sweet lavender or even a hint of bubblegum! I pick a few leaves from each stem on a warm summer’s afternoon and dry them to include in homemade pot pourri.
Melissa officinalis
The fragrance of lemon balm is fresh, zingy and lemony and I use it to make a refreshing infusion for friend’s who prefer not to drink tea or coffee. It is fairly unfussy about growing conditions, but does like well-drained soil. Although it prefers a sheltered spot, it is growing well in our windswept, north facing, hillside garden.
Lemon balm grows to 50-100cm high and up to 50cm spread. It produces white or pale mauve flowers during summer and will readily self-seed in the garden. I’ve found that it responds well to a Chelsea chop, encouraging bushier grow and later flowering. I use the cut stems in flower arrangements (they wilt at first but soon pick up again) and for drying for pot pourri.
Nepeta
Catmint or catnip has a pungent aroma, somewhere between mint and lavender with herby tones too. Nepeta varieties offer a range of flower colours as well as different size of leaf and plant. They are useful flowers with scented leaves. I grow a relatively short variety at the edges of borders and ‘Six Hills Giant’, which grows to 90cm tall in the centre and back of borders.
They prefer full sun and don’t do well on soil that is constantly wet. Snip off the stems with faded blooms to encourage continued flowering throughout the summer and autumn. The slightly floppy stems of the taller varieties need supporting, but to shorter varieties are ideal for softening the edges of paths and for brushing against as you walk around the garden.
Nepeta are generally easy to propagate from seed or from cuttings. This spring, I grew a white flowered variety from seed started in a pot on the kitchen windowsill in early April and pricked out into individual pots during May. They were ready to plant into the garden by early June.
Santolina chamaecyparissus
Lavender cotton forms a compact mound of grey, almost wooly shoots and intense yellow flowers from mid summer. The foliage is aromatic when crushed. To enjoy the fragrance, plant at the front of a border or on the edge of a path.
It prefers poor to moderately fertile soil and full sun, making it ideal for Mediterranean gardens, rocky spaces and growing in containers. It is frost hardy, but worth protecting in cooler areas. In spring, cut back flowering growth from the previous year to within 2.5cm of the old growth.
Mint
There are masses of mint varieties to choose from. Considered all varieties as thugs in the garden. Mint is best grown in a large container to prevent it from becoming an invasive nuisance in your garden beds. To ensure a continued supply of mint, lift and divide plants every few years, replant the young, vigorous clumps in a new container.
I keep a pot of chocolate mint near the front door for ease of access. We enjoy the mint fragrance each time we pass it.
Thifty tip
For many of these flowers with scented leaves, the plants grow readily from cuttings in a jar on the windowsill. Take cuttings now and then grow on in pots in your kitchen or greenhouse.
More information
The article, Flowers with Scented Leaves was written originally for Amateur Gardening magazine in early summer 2024. I have updated some of the specific varieties and images and have added further plants to the list. Additionally, I’ve included to help you find the suggested plants.
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