Plants benefit humans in so many ways. One of their most useful attributes is fragrance, which can flavor soothe, heal and add allure to food, cosmetics, candles and potpourri. Most importantly it attracts the pollinators that ensure food production.

A new crescent-shaped display garden (conveniently located behind the nursery outhouse!) shows off an array of scented plants. Some, like the tricolored sage, thyme, agastache, monardella and salvias, feature fragrant foliage. Others, including the ‘Perfume Princess’ and ‘Eternal Fragrance’ daphnes offer perfumed blooms.

Designed by Christie and Kristen, Shooting Star’s fragrance/pollinator garden answers one of our customers’ most pressing questions: Where can I find a plant that takes hot summer sun and smells good? Most of the plants in our new garden fit that description. If not fragrant themselves, they complement the plants that are.

“Wait a minute,” you may ask. “I thought you said daphnes need afternoon shade?” We chose the most heat-tolerant winter daphne, ‘Perfume Princess,’ and the summer-to-fall blooming ‘Eternal Fragrance,’ a cultivar of the sturdy Daphne transatlantica  and sited these sweet-scented shrubs to the east, north or where they’ll be shaded in the afternoon by the outhouse’s shadow.

Take a look at our growing list of scented all-stars!

Agastache

Hummingbird mint thrives in our hot, dry summers. It’s a favored pollinator plant for butterflies and hummingbirds. The minty (some describe it as a root-beer) fragrance pleases the nose while repelling the deer. Agastache is a fairly undemanding perennial but must have good drainage to survive our winters.

Aster

Asters are a great favorite with butterflies migrating through the fall garden. They add soft blues, lavenders, pink and white to the autumn palette, a dreamy contrast to the earthy red, orange and gold coloring on tree and shrub leaves. They pair beautifully with ornamental grasses and goldenrods. Two of our favorite asters — ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ and ‘October Skies’ — are also fragrant. Choose asters in varying heights to add pollinator stops in every part of your garden

Daphne

Once you’ve  identified well-drained spots in your landscape, daphnes can be an undemanding,  rewarding addition. They are evergreen, drought tolerant and produce fragrant flowers. The super-perfumed winter daphnes (Daphne odora) are challenging to grow if you’re dealing with heavy, wet soil. To overcome this, plant them on a berm above the soil line.  A newer variety called ‘Perfume Princess’ is a more sun-tolerant plant; otherwise, winter daphne does better when planted in afternoon shaded spots.

‘Summer Ice’ and ‘Eternal Fragrance’ are varieties of the species Daphne transatlantica. Their fragrance is light and sweet and they bloom in bursts from spring through fall. ‘Eternal Fragrance’  is compact and slow-growing to a mature size of 2- 3  ft. tall by wide. ‘Summer Ice’ (shown here blooming in early November) has a cream edge and grows about 3-4 ft. tall by 4-6 ft. wide.

Lavender

In the language of flowers, lavender represents tranquility and calm. There’s a lavender to fit every garden, from the dwarf ‘Wee One’ to the substantial French intermedia hybrids including ‘Sensational,’ Phenomenal’ and ‘Grosso.’ Lavender flowers are also highly valued for sachets, calming essential oils and cooking, especially baking. Nothing is more refreshing in summer than the scent of garden lavender.

Monardella

Our native coyote mint is a great favorite with pollinators, including bees and butterflies. Its refreshing scent is welcome on hot summer days. ‘Russian River’ is a vigorous, lavender-flowered selection  while ‘Marian Sampson’ is a low-growing bright red blooming groundcover.  Both are great choices as thrilling spillers in rock gardens.

Myrtle

Myrtus communis ‘Compacta’ and ‘Tarentina’ are small evergreen shrubs, growing slowly to about 3 ft. x 3 ft. The intriguing  downward curling leaves grow around a circular stem and have a pleasing floral pepper aroma. Starry white flowers form black berries late in the season.

Nepeta

We love nepetas for their mint-menthol scent (which definitely repels deer),  but even more for their pollinator power. They draw a variety of insects from butterflies to wasps. Prune them back after their late-spring flowering for a repeat bloom in summer.

Oregano

Oregano is one of the most versatile of the Mediterranean herbs, not only for cooking but also for a variety of garden uses. Its leaves add piquant flavor to Italian, Greek and Mexican dishes while the clustered flowers are especially pleasing to butterflies. Golden oregano adds bright spots of foliage color to drought-tolerant gardens. Ornamental oreganos including ‘Kent Beauty’ and other low-growing varieties such as ‘Amethyst Falls’ feature hop-like blooms that are lovely spilling across rocks. Their foliage has an aromatic scent but is not edible.

Rosemary

Who can resist the tantalizing aroma of rosemary? There’s something about its resinous scent that sharpens the appetite, whether added to a sauce or for seasoning meat or fish. Brush against it in the garden and you’re instantly in Italy. Bees love the azure blue flowers. Rosemary plants are versatile, long-lived shrubs that add zest in any garden situation. Especially useful on slopes.

Sage

We chose the tri-color sage as a color accent in the new fragrance garden. Sages can be highly ornamental as well as flavorful in soups and poultry seasonings. Another great drought-tolerant herb.

Salvia

Our customers’ favorites for both spring and hot summer color — and they’re deer resistant and drought tolerant. Salvias have mint-scented foliage, which deer avoid. Salvia nemerosa varieties such as Caradonna, Marcus and Dark Matter bloom first, in late spring into early summer, followed by hot-weather favorites from the microphylla and gregii species. In fall, the Texas native Autumn Sapphire, Black n’ Blue Salvia guarantica and Windwalker (a tall cross between Salvia microphylla and darcyii) add color and substance to the garden until frost.

Teucrium

We love introducing gardeners to germanders: this Mediterranean herb can fill many roles, from groundcover to low hedge. And it’s drought tolerant, evergreen, and best of all, fragrant in flower and sometimes in foliage. The honey scent is a great magnet for bees. Teucrium chamaedrys (wall germander) can easily be sheared to encourage hedging. Teucrium aronianum displays soft gray foliage, while the leaves of ‘Summer Sunshine’ (shown) are a golden green. All teucrium flowers are a bright pink.