A toss-up between annual Nicotiana, which wafts a vanilla scent through the house and gardens during the evening from early August until a freeze, and Viburnum carlesii in early May.

The flowers on Prunus x cistena are so sweet they remind me of candy. Only blooms for a few days in early May.

When one of the Tilia americana blooms it perfumes the entire back yard. This species doesn't flower heavily every year but the smaller tree is setting up for nice bloom in the next week or two.

I have many fragrant plants but these two are probably the most intense.

Viburnum carlcephalum, Smilacina racemosa, orientpets/oriental lillies

Lilac, growing up on a farm without any flower gardens, lilac was the first flowering scent of spring. All this week I threw open the windows each morning and closed my eyes as I savored the aroma. I also have an iris that smells strongly of grapes. It is around the corner of the garage and the scent entices people to look around the corner to see what it could be.

And then there is...., and ....and, and, Nice to think about all the wonderful scents that will soon be filling the air.

I love, love, love the scent of my magnolia--wish it could bloom all summer.

So many...

My favorite spring scent is hyacinth, and I so look forward every summer to the Oriental lily blooms - if Heaven has a scent, it must be lily blooms. Also love heliotrope.

HAHA I thought I was nuts when I first caught the scent of my iris - no way could they smell like grapes I thought...but yes they really do! (they are the variegated iris).

Tradescant Rose smells so good to me and you can smell it fron a distance in the morning.

The best smell though is Gardenia. I grow them just for the fragrance.

My Mock Orange bushes are blooming now. My windows are open with our beautiful cool weather and I can smell the beautiful fragrance.

My other all summer perennial fragrant bloomer is a Clematis triternata Rubromarginata. Blooms June through August.

In between these fragrance I rely on my Oriental Lilies for my summer fragrant fix.

The daphnes smell wonderful and they bloom early. The best is daphne burkwoodii. It perfumes the garden

I think the OP's sweet almond bush is actually a mock orange, at least it looks like the one in my yard...

I always plant night scented stock close to the house; some years they self-seed.

We have a Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasmimoides) climbing up our two story brick wall, in full bloom now. The house is full of sweet fragrance and the plant is covered with humming birds chasing each other. Al

Right now our fringetree smells amazing. I love sweet autumn clematis in the fall.

primula - hands down and always - my early auriculas pull me through the drab days of late winter.

A Korean spice viburnum hangs over the deck and has the most amazing scent - sadly for only a few days. Wealthy would be the person who could figure out how to put that in a bottle!
Jan

Bluebirdpeony - the shrub in your photo is a Philadelphus aka mock orange. Is that what you refer to as a sweet almond?

Because of our cool weather strong perfumes in the garden are fleeting and all the more welcome for that. On my walk to work I get whiffs of Viburnum (bodnantense in winter, carlesii in spring), Wisteria, Eleagnus, roses and Mahonia (in Winter). I enjoy them all and they enliven a Monday morning. I am waiting for the honeysuckle to open just as the Clematis montana finishes. Lime trees will come later in the year and I always love those too. And what about daffodils? Very evocative but you have to kneel down to get your nose into them. And the little wafts from balsam poplars which send me wandering around looking for the tree.

Depends on location and date! Your post makes me miss Lilacs.

Right now, doubt anything can compete with Gardenia and Jasmine. But later, moonflower vine is worth a mosquito bite to go out in the dark to sniff. Earlier, a very small Osmanthus fragrans shrub was wafting scent throughout the yard.

Viburnum juddi ( I have all those others mentioned but juddi is the best wafter), Abelia mosanensis, certain varieties of dianthus, mock orange, Drift rose- sweet drift, yep.- gardenia ( of course), Japanese crabapple and plain pee gee hydrangeas.

And, dare I say it, I love the smell of wild privet. We have banks of it here and it's wonderful.
I like wafting scents, not just stick-your-nose-in-it-and-it-smells good.

I'm so happy this thread got so many responses!

I'm not sure what my bush is. A landscaper called it a sweet almond bush, but now googling that doesnt show me familiar pictures.

It dies back in the winter though. It only gets about two feet high, flowers briefly and then stays green all summer, just to die back in the fall.

Thoughts? Could it still be a mock orange?

This post was edited by BlueBirdPeony on Tue, Jun 4, 13 at 20:14

It looks like a mock orange.

I love many of the ones people have already mentioned, but, on a more homely note, today I was transplanting some Geranium macchorizum, and I just can't get enough of that spicy apple-y scent.

And speaking of apples, I love the mild perfume in the air when the apple trees are in bloom.

Well, the freesias start off early in the spring. I should get scentless hybrid ones from now on, because the singles have divided so much the fragrance may be overwhelming the neighbors. Then, in various parts of the garden, Jasmine humile âÂÂRevolutionâÂÂ, roses and daylilies. Later I will enjoy white ginger (Hedychium coronarium) near the entry door and the harlequin glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum ) shrub on the back patio. The cymbidium chen ruby gold tiger blooms when it desires to get into the act. I am sure I have forgotten half of the scents in the garden.
I am one of those that dislikes the super-sweet scent of lilac, hyacinths, Dendrobium kingianum and zygo orchids. I thought the Stapelia hirsuta was not so bad, but then it was cloched most of the bloom period. ;-)

Edit: opps mi spelling

This post was edited by Gyr_Falcon on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 0:51

Gyrfalcon, you can be my neighbor any time with your overwhelming plant fragrances. It's a lot better than smelling my neighbor's dryer sheets when they do the laundry! I wish Jasmine, Gardenia, etc. would grow here.

My large Yellowwood tree (Cladrastis kentukea) is in peak bloom right now, and although it's not as fragrant as the Tilia (linden), it is scenting the yard and there are so many bumblebees on the flowers that the tree is buzzing!

The peonies are also in full bloom right now, and I'm cutting fragrant varieties like Duchess de Nemours, Bowl of Beauty, and Festiva Maxima and keep 2 large vases full of peonies in the house.

Miss Kim Lilac is also in bloom, however her display is meager this year for some reason (dry Spring?) and she is not as fragrant as usual.

I haven't seen Dianthus mentioned here. As I steped out my front door this morning that spicy clove scent really hit me. And then in mid summer, the very similar scent of the Clethra Ruby Spice in the shady back border of my property wafts throughout the yard.

Geranium Biocovo foliage has a strong scent, reminiscent of pine. I love it, my dh says it stinks!

Depends on which month. Right now it the honeysuckle and the hybrid roses. In a few weeks it will be the lilies and baby breath. Earlier it was my spring snow crabapple tree and irises. By July, it will be the roses and honeysuckle again.

I love my daphne's fragrance. The bad part is that it blooms in late February/early March. But is provides me with a scented reminder that Spring is a coming.

My lilac shrub. Husband likes sitting in a rocking chair underneath - and LOVES the scent. Wish it bloomed longer.

Gazania: Yea, the Biokovo foliage sure is fragrant, isn't it! I think it kinda smells like Vernors. :0p

in order...

first it was the clove scented alpine current..

then the mohawk viburnum ...

then the lilac went insane this year... having been frozen out last year ...

then an early daphne was to die for.. though not many blooms ...

and now the mock orange are coming on ...

i dont know how you would pick one.. as the best ...

wonder if i left anything out .... ah.. maybe the first lawn mow.. of my meadow lawn ... after a long cold winter.. there is just something about cut grass and weeds.. lol ...

ken

Finally got around to taking a pic of the mama Gardenia shrub. This is definitely wafting!

I have seen daphne mentioned here many times. I never thought of this plant as hardy or noticed it much when I look for plants.

You winter babies have me sold that I have to go in search of this plant. Thank you.

I love the scent of Rosemary. When ever I see it planted I run my hands over the top and enjoy the spicy fragrance in the air and on my hands

My unknown roses (think they are Ispahan Damask). They were here in a "wild" stand down by the lake, I've moved a few up closer to the house this year to get the smell up here. Following them are the lily of the valley.

I saw a terrific specimen of Daphne in Ken's garden, I quite admired it. I wish I could work more shrubs into my garden, but no more room - otherwise I definitely would consider getting one. You know, maybe I could squeeze one in *somewhere*...

marquest - When I first moved here I planted a daphne in my grandmother's memory. I recalled being enraptured by the fragrance of the one growing in her garden when my kids were little (both are now over 40). While it's a slow grower, it's very fragrant and has more than doubled in size each year I've had it. It's planted in part sun on a slope north of my house since it likes good drainage. Apparently it also likes the site I chose for it as it's thriving. While it's not front-and-center in the bed, it's definitely an asset.

Lily of the valley, lilac, rugosa roses, dianthus, snapdragons, mock orange...
I keep them next to me in a vase in the house so I can smell them

Lily of the valley, lilac, rugosa roses, dianthus, snapdragons, mock orange...
I keep them next to me in a vase in the house so I can smell them

The dried seed heads on my bee balm in the fall have the most wonderful smell. It is something like mint, but not exactly.

So, last weekend DH and I were working on a digging task together and he paused, looked around, and asked if someone was wearing perfume. Well, of course there is nobody around and we are just in the middle of our own back yard.

I took a few wiffs and looked around and realized it was a lilac bush about 20 feet away. DH shrugs and says, "smells like dryer sheets." Yeah, he really is the sentimental type. ;)

But the next day I went for a bike ride with a friend and we rode through entire corridors of lilacs, just breathing in the entire way - delightful!

To the OP, yes, that definitely looks like mock orange, which I just love. I added another one to my little clutch of them so this year's fragrance should be amped up all the more. Can't wait!

Karin, it sounds like you live in my old home town with the corridors of lilacs by the university. Sometimes we call it Zootown?

Um. so my Mahonia is first (oregon grape) and it really wafts. then the lilacs and Korean spice bush, then the Mock Orange. I have some very fragrant roses that can waft (crysler imperial, souvenir de la malmaison)
But the real winner of the smell contest though is the Silver Lindens at the Park 4 blocks north of me. I can smell them from my yard and it's a heady sweet smell.

I wish I could grow is Brugmansia (angels trumpet) When I lived in CA, it would wake me at night wafting it's fragrance into my room. I would take the flashlight out and go see it in the middle of the night. Such a beautiful scent and so fleeting. (Whereas the Jasmine reeks for weeks!)

Lola,

Is "Zootown" Missoula? Anyway I'm in Bozeman. Probably similar in terms of lilacs though!

Yes, Probably similar Lilacs goin on...and another MT college town too. People from Missoula (of a certain age, I guess) often call it zoo town.

mid summer is a lull in fragrance....

but come august.. the hosta species plantaginea... with its 6 inch trumpet flowers is sublime ... as well as many of its progeny.. like royal standard... etc ...

also.. here in the great white north.. august is time for many things that self seeded... to finally peak .. and a large area of 4 o'clocks.. can fragrance the whole yard ....

and then in fall... the fragrant autumn clematis ...

and then its winter.. and its all over ...

my point.. if you missed it.. is that there is NOT one 'best' ...

you need to plant for fragrance.. in waves.... so they bloom... one after another.. always with something coming.. something to anticipate ...

my theory.. for whats its worth ... is that the scent is a bee attractant... and by the heat of the summer.. bees are not as active.. most of their work done ... so things sorta peter out .... also.. a lot of the late summer things.. are night bloomers.. attracting the night pollinators... like moths ... [both the 4 o'clocks.. and the plantaginea]

ken

Viburnum carlesii, Lilacs, Rose 'Rhapsody in Blue', Honeysuckle, Mockorange, Kolkwitzia, Variegated iris blooms smell like grape juice, Honey Bee Blue Agastache smells like rootbeer when you touch the leaves or harvest the seeds. Lilies, 'Casa Blanca' & 'Orania', Butterfly Bush, Herbs like Fennel and Basil. Four OClocks as Ken mentioned will drift their fragrance over a 25 foot area on a warm night. Heliotrope in pots have that vanilla scent.