Fragrant Summer Flowers

A garden is not only about sight but also about scent. The best fragrant plants perform their magic in summertime.

The spicy scent of herbs, the delicate fragrance of roses, the exotic aroma of frangipani and the heady perfume of jasmines are just some of the fragrances plants hold in store for us.

Ironically, plant scent is not there for the benefit of the gardener. It is a vital form of communication between plants and pollinators. A chemical language made up of volatiles that evaporate and float through the air to attract pollinators. It is a clever mechanism to ensure survival and the production of fruit or seeds.

No species of plant produces the same scent. Those with flowers will have a more pronounced fragrance in the daytime when it is hot and sunny to invite pollinators like bees and butterflies. Those with a strong and seductive fragrance wafting out at dusk or at nighttime will attract the pollinators that work in the darkness like moths and bats.

Sweet, floral and fruity smells

It is not surprising that the words ‘floral fragrance’ conjures up the rose in our minds. Anyone with a romantic heart, when presented with a bunch of roses, will instinctively stick a nose deep into the heart of a bloom to have a smell. But, with the hybridisation of modern roses breeders did not concentrate on fragrance as a main attribute. They rather focused on disease resistance, repeated blooming, and a longer vase life for rose stems.

David Austin English Roses

English rose breeder, David Austin, set about developing a completely different range of garden roses. He crossed fragrant, once-flowering old roses with repeat-flowering modern roses. Thus created roses with a powerful, spicy fragrance and the charming quartered blooms of the old-fashioned type roses. He called them English Roses.

English Roses to try

‘Roald Dahl’ – Soft orange-red buds open to medium-sized cupped rosettes of perfect apricot. A robust rose with a lovely fruity tea scent. It would make a wonderful rose hedge and is perfect for a large container.

‘Jude The Obscure’ – Soft yellow blooms with a strong, fruity fragrance. Very free-flowering with large incurved, chalice-shaped flowers.

‘Queen of Sweden’ – Exquisite buds open to half-enclosed cups, eventually becoming wide and shallow upward-facing cups with a myrrh scent. The colour begins as soft apricot pink, gradually changing to soft pink.

Frangipani

The scent of the very popular Plumeria rubra commonly called frangipani, is at its most bewitching at dusk. It is a small garden tree for tropical and subtropical regions. Frangipanis are also quite willing to grow successfully in temperate climates and the winter-rainfall Western Cape. It is deciduous with a spreading growth habit with sturdy succulent stems tipped with oblong leaves from spring to autumn.

This tree flowers for months on end in summer. They have creamy white flowers with yellow centres. The flowers have a heady and tropical scent reminiscent of a mix of jasmine, gardenia, citrus and spice. The flower carries the symbolic meaning of welcome, so plant this exquisite tree at your garden gate.

More to know about Frangipanis

Member of the num num family (Apocynaceae).
Hybridised into a range of flower colours (which can be scarce locally, but worth the hunt!).
Not fussy about soil as long as it drains well.
Quite drought resistant.
Grows easily from truncheons taken in winter. Allow them to callous over before rooting them in a gritty medium.
Float the flowers in a shallow water bowl to fill your home with fragrance.

Gardenia

The gardenia is affectionately known as the flower of love. It gives meaning to any kind of love whether with romantic intentions or not.

The pure white single or double flowers set off by polished, dark green leaves. They are day and night scented with a spicy, zesty fragrance with coconut undertones. It is much loved by moths at night.

Gardenias have a long flowering season from late spring to autumn with a main flowering flush around Christmas time. There are many species and hybrids of gardenia in cultivation across the world. Plant them in a pretty pot on a cosy patio. The perfect place to spend long and sultry summer evenings.

Gardenias to try

Gardenia augusta ‘Aimee Yoshiba First Love’ – This plant has exceptionally large, double white flowers which are heavily scented. The plant is a well-rounded, and upright, lush shrub.

Gardenia augusta ‘Impulse’ – Single-flowering gardenia with a dwarf growth form that requires some light pruning to keep it bushy.

Gardenia thunbergia (wild gardenia) – Indigenous gardenias are equally fragrant. They are large shrubs or small trees with a sculptured appearance and decorative fruit. The wild gardenia is distributed up the eastern coast of South Africa near Grahamstown to Kosi Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.

More to know about Gardenias

Gardenias like warm, humid gardens in subtropical regions. You can also grow them in cooler climates in pots. Make sure they are protected against cold winds and frost.
Morning sun and afternoon shade in summer is ideal for gardenias.
When in flower, you can move potted gardenias indoors to a room with plenty of natural light for a short period of time.
The soil must be an acidic, light and well-draining. Use a palm peat-based medium enriched with a handful of bone meal and slow-releasing fertiliser.
Water regularly but not excessively along the soil level. Don’t leave containers standing in water or it will cause the plants to die.
Yellowing leaves can be a sign of a magnesium deficiency. Correct this by applying a dose or two of water-soluble Trelmix (a micro-element tonic) in spring.
Feed gardenias often with a fertiliser for acid-loving plants.
Deadhead spent blooms regularly.

Madagascar jasmine

Marsdenia floribunda is a member of the Apocynaceae family and is classified as a vigorous climber with very strong stems. It needs a sturdy trellis or lattice to hold on to. It is not a climber normally planted in the garden. Rather grow it as a very exotic potted specimen in a protected courtyard, conservatory, or covered patio.

The leaves are large, oval and glossy. The small trumpet-shaped, waxy flowers are pure white with a rich and heavy jasmine scent. Mature plants will also produce large fruit.

Years ago, florists often used the flowers in bridal bouquets, hence another common name, bridal flower. The old botanical name for Madagascar jasmine is Stephanotis floribunda.

This plant can be challenging, as it has very specific needs. This plant needs heat combined with high humidity levels in summer.

More to know about Madagascar jasmine

Best position is light shade or very bright light close to a sunny window.
The potting medium must be acidic and very well-draining. Use a palm peat-based mix and add perlite or coarse river sand. Or use a specialised potting medium used for fynbos like proteas.
This jasmine likes to be root-bound.
Mulch with an acid mulch like milled bark and replace regularly.
Feed monthly in spring and summer with a fertiliser for acid-loving plants.
Water only when the soil feels dry in summer and keep rather dry for short spells in winter.
When humidity is low, don’t overwater this plant. Rather mist the plant often or grow it near a water feature. You can also place on a pebble-filled saucer topped up regularly with water. Otherwise, wet the concrete of the brick floor near it. It will survive winter in a dry atmosphere and with very little water.
If it becomes too vigorous, prune to reduce its size in late winter. Take care to protect your hands as it bleeds a milky latex which is a skin irritant.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Brunfelsia pauciflora ‘Floribunda’ hails from Brazil and encapsulates all the good things of a fragrant shrub. It boasts soft shades of ever-changing flowers, romantic scent, and lush green foliage. This member of the Solanaceae family earned itself a RHS Award of Garden Merit.

It covers itself in hues of deep purple, lilac, and white flowers, carried simultaneously on the long-blooming shrub. This is what led to its common name. Although brunfelsia is associated with spring, it will bloom at any time in summer if it likes its location. It will release a cloud of aroma at night. The fragrance ranges from a heady musk to a spicy clove.

More to know about brunfelsias

Brunfelsias grow very well in cooler spots on the southern side of the house. This is also where hydrangeas, azaleas, and camellias will flourish.
Soil must be moist and rich with liberal quantities of compost added and slightly acidic. Keep the plant mulched with rotted pine needles or milled bark.
Water regularly in summer and less in winter.
Give a spring dose of micro-element fertiliser like Trelmix to correct yellowing leaves. Feed throughout the summer with a product like Starke Ayres Acid Loving Plant Food.

Forest bride’s bush

Pavetta lanceolata is a large evergreen shrub or small tree that grows to 2m x 3m high. It has a wide distribution in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Interestingly, it is a member of the coffee family, Rubiaceae. The side branches have a drooping habit and are densely packed with shiny and leathery dark green leaves. The leaves have a spicy potato smell when crushed.

Masses of four-petalled, tubular flowers borne at the tips of branches smother the plant from September to January. These typically peak around Christmas time. The flowers are fragrant and sweetly scented. They attracting butterflies and feeding honey bees with nectar during the day, and pollinating moths by night.

Numerous pea-like berries follow after the flowers. These are a favourite of fruit-eating birds, often dispersing the small spherical seeds close to the mother plant. Under her protection, it is not unusual to find a harvest of young seedlings. Use it as a hedge or screen plant and is stunning in containers.

More to know about Forest bride’s bush

Best position is full sun to light shade.
Soil type is alkaline to neutral.
Give it plenty of water until established.
You can train a young plant into a specimen tree for a small garden. Prune the lower branches off and cut back the tips of the remaining ones to about 3 or 4 nodes.

Fresh and herby plants

Some herbaceous shrubs and herbs contain fragrant essential oils secreted by glandular hairs on the surface of their leaves. Herbs such as rosemary, lavender, mint and pelargoniums. As the oils build up, a lovely scent is released when the leaves are crushed by a hand or by the wind. Although pleasant to a gardener, their scent repels pests. This makes them a good plant to have around veggies.

Pelargoniums

Some of our indigenous pelargonium species are well-known for their fragrance. These pretty and fragrant plants are also are easy to grow. Plant them next to pathways where passersby brush against them. You can also pot them up to display near seating areas such as a patio or near a braai. The foliage scents are reminiscent of rose, lemon, spice and mint. The leaves are perfect for brewing herbal teas. You can also use the flowers in salads and for garnishing cakes and puddings.

Pick these Pelargoniums

Rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens). This plant has numerous glandular hairs on soft leaves which are strongly rose-scented.
Nutmeg-scented geranium (Pelargonium x fragrans) has nutmeg-scented grey-green leaves.
Peppermint-scented geranium (Pelargonium tomentosum) has very attractive velvety leaves with a peppermint scent. It is perfect for shade.
Cintronella pelargonium or lemon-scented pelargonium (Pelargonium citronellum). This plant has star-shaped crisp green leaves with a strong lemon scent. It is a good mosquito repellent.