I can't barely smell phlox. I can't smell phlox at ALL. Period. And nobody tell me about zinc. I can smell everything except phlox. There isn't another of the flowers (or spices, or anything) I cannot smell if they have a smell. I also cannot taste BitrexTM. There are a few percent who cannot. I'm disappointed. It's supposed to be so murderously brutally bitter, and I can't find out. And yes, I can taste other bitter things. Dandelions, yuk, methylsulfonylmethane ugh; Tylenol, arggh, etc. Bitter soda water, nicely bitter. Swedish bitters, yup (but no thanks). Etc. I discovered about phlox some 20 years ago. My sister said, 'Ohhh... PHLOX!! I LOVE the smell of phlox". And she goes and bunches a bunch together and sticks her face in it. "Mmmmm!!" I try it and I'm like Dang! she's playing me. The stuff has no smell and she's pulling my leg...

Flower: I forgot to mention the sweet Olive.... it is the best I just love it, I go out on my patio and front porch and have to smell it every time.. it is the most beautiful sweet scent of apricots, I have 4 that are blooming right now and it's so different from any other plant I ever smelled, I ordered a synthetic oil on ebay and put it all over my house on flat cotton wipes, I even put it in the vents of my heater, it is really nice. I have 4 michelia figos that all have buds on them, they smell like very sweet ripe bananas. I also love the smell of honeysuckle, I bought a couple six packs of ground cover honeysuckle and planted them in hanging pots near my patio door, I think it will be a wonderful waft when they all come into bloom. I can hardly wait to smell them, this is my first season with all my fragrant plants. If your just getting started on fragrant plants be careful it's very very addicting but fun!!!! My other most favorite is brugmansia (Angel Trumpet), they are absolutely THE BEST! The differnt colors vary in fragrance, some smell a strong honey vanilla, others smell like a sweet lemony citrus, and another smells like a white flower scent like jasmine with the honey also. They are wonderful only smell at night, I have about 7 now and growing more, the ones by my front door smell my whole living room up when the door is open on a warm evening. So..... enjoy!!!!!! P.S. brugmansia's are very easy to root from a cutting....just stick it in water for a few weeks and stick it in the ground, they grow like weeds.

Annuals: Sweet Alyssium/Lobularia maritima - my favorite for containers. Plant with Autumn Crocus like speciosum or sativus(Saffron) for a fall show. Honey scented. Mirabilis jalapa and M. longifolia/4 oclocks open in late afternoon. Basil/Ocimum - for spagettii sauce. Tagetes tenuifolia - citrusy smelling miniature Marigolds in yellow, red and orange. Petunia old fashoned ones check newer ones for fragrance Nicotiana sylvestris/Flowering Tobacco have a Petunia-like fragrance Pansy- Orange and yellow varieties have a honeyed scent. Other colors have little or no scent. Perilla frutescens Purple or Green Shisho- use for tea. (Purple Coleus to some) Stock/Matthiola - Petunia-like scent Cheiranthus cheiri/Wallflower - marshmallow/Hawthorn fragrance Coreopsis tinctoria/Calliopsis- some people say it is sickly sweet but I like it. There are tall and short kinds. Dianthus gratianopolitanus/Cheddar Pink - Its evergreen foliage resembles a juniper from a distance. Salvia coccinea - wild scarlet sage. Most all Salvias/Sages are fragrant in flower or foliage. The Zone 8, S.melissodora is always in flower and has a Kudzu flower scent. Cleveland Sage is another semi-hardy favorite of mine. Perennials: Lilium phillipenense- Tall stemmed trumpet clusters in August. Allium tuberosum and A. odorum - These onions have the same fragrance as the August Lily. A. odoratum flowers in July followed by A. tuberosum in August. Pinch off seed heads or cut later for dry arrangements. Hosta plantaginea and hybrids/cvs. of it like 'Venus', 'Royal Standard', and 'Sweet Sue'.(These like some mid-day shade) They also share the Lilium phillipenense fragrance. Pycnanthemem muticum/Mountain Mint- This ironclad has pennyroyal scented foliage dusted with a white coating. For shade or sun.- A favorite of tiny green bees and other pollinators. Menthol scented P. virginianum and thread leaved P. tenuifolium are also good growing Se. natives. Bulbs: For winter/earliest spring in a large pot/tub that can remain undisturbed: plant Winter Aconite/Erianthus, Crocus chrysanthus cvs. and Hyacinths- Roman Hyacinths are the wild forms. Dutch Hyacinths are the big spike headed ones commonly available. All these are very fragrant on sunny winter/spring days. Galanthus imperatii like the Ginn's forms have a moderate Hyacinth fragrance as well. Gal.nivalis'Samual Arnott' is also said to be fragrant on sunny days. Narcissus x jonquilla hybrids all have good fragrance. They flower early to mid-spring. My favorite is 'Kinglet'. 'Thalia' is widely available. Vines: Gelsemium sempervirens has yellow spring flowers with a marshmallowy scent. Evergreen and hardy. Clematis virginiana/paniculata is a group of similar, vanilla scented, late summer, white flowered non-evergreen vines. As easy as they come. Clematis stans is hard to find, but has small blue autumnal flowers with a grape candy/Kudzu flower scent. Herbs: For touchy/feeley experiences Catnip/Nepeta cataria soft gray foliage with original or lemon scent. The N.x faassenii has a less pleasant smell. Calaminthas have a strong almost ether-like smell that attracts cats even more than Catnip Melissa officinalis 'Aurea'/Golden Lemon Balm- Strong Lemon candy scent. Scented Geraniums are tropical houseplants usable as annuals. They come in a wide range of scents. Rosmarinus officinalis/Rosemary - The variety 'Arp' from Texas is much hardier than most at Z6. Beautiful small evergreen bush. There is a larger one named 'Barbeque' with stems just right for Shish-ka-babs. Thymus herba-baroni/Caraway Thyme is the easiest or toughest Thyme for me. Flat cascading mats of tiny leaves. It is used to flavor a famous beef dish. Mints come in many new flavors. Spearmint, Pennyroyal, Wintergreen, Pear, Marshmallow, even Hilary's Sweet Mint. Mailorder Richters carries many of these new designer mints. These are all things that scent the air, more or less, and which would stand a greater chance of surviving in mid-south containers. With larger containers you can have more options, especially with woody things. Logees Greenhouse also offers a number of fragrant container plants, mostly indoor for the winter.

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful suggestions. I now have a lot of plants to consider. :) It's cheering me up considerably after the cold destroyed the most wonderful display my azaleas had put on. I think it zapped my poor hydrangeas, too. :( Must not think about all that damage now... So, anyway... Every year I tell myself I MUST branch out from buying just roses & irises and every year I get sucked back in to buying way too many. LOL! I've been very good this year regarding roses. Only bought one $7 at Wal-Mart, the wondeful Helen Traubul. :) Last year I did manage to add the new addiction of daylilies to my garden. Thanks to all of y'all's help, I'm even more determined to add even more new & different plant varieties. HMMMM....I wonder what I can find at Grower's Outlet this year? Off to look at their website. Have a great day!