Great Perfumed Plants of Spring
Perfume adds atmosphere and a wonderful feeling of romance to any garden. The next time you visit your local nursery, think about buying some spring flowering, fragrant plants. There are many to choose from, including port wine magnolia, native frangipani and osmanthus.
Port wine magnolia (Michelia figo)
This evergreen, dense shrub comes from western China. It grows slowly to around 3m (10′) tall, and produces small, purple-brown flowers from early September to late November. The flowers are insignificant to look at, but they have a sweet, heavy scent reminiscent of juicy fruit chewing gum or bananas. Michelias grow well in frost-free areas of Australia.
Michelias like a position in full sun or part shade, and a well-drained soil enriched with compost or well-rotted cow manure. Prune after flowering to encourage new flowering growth.
(Tip: if your port wine magnolia has white scale on the leaves, spring is a good time to spray with PestOil.)
Native frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum)
This Australian rainforest tree grows to about 15m (45′) tall in cultivation, but larger in its natural habitat. The branches grow in distinct horizontal layers, and the leaves are dark green and glossy with a hairy underside. The strongly scented, frangipani-like flowers are whitish cream aging to deep yellow, followed by pear-shaped woody capsules containing winged seeds. It grows well in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and tropical areas.
Native frangipanis prefer a position in full sun to dappled shade, with protection from strong winds. This tree performs very well in the alkaline soils of Adelaide, so if you live in an area with neutral to acid soil, Don suggested applying a small amount of lime.
Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)
Osmanthus fragrans is one of the world’s best perfumed plants. It comes from China and Japan, and is usually seen in gardens as a shrub around 3m (10′) tall. It has deep green, toothed leaves and inconspicuous white flowers from autumn to spring. Although the flowers are tiny, they have a wonderful fragrance that pervades the air in the garden. The scent is often described as a mixture of apricot, jasmine and gardenia. This species is one of many with fragrant flowers used by the Chinese for scenting tea.
Osmanthus likes a protected position in sun or part shade, in a well-drained, fertile soil. It prefers the cool, moist parts of Australia, but thrives from the subtropics (Brisbane and Perth) to Hobart.
Further information
These plants are readily available at nurseries, particularly in spring when they are in flower.