Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, lavender-blue flowers, flowering as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
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Fragrant Native Plants
Native plants with scented flowers or foliage — the ones that make a garden smell as good as it looks.
Tip: open your state below for the version of this list filtered to plants native to your region and hardy in your zone.
The plants
13 native species in this collection.
Fragrance is easy to overlook on paper and unforgettable in person, so plant the scented natives where you will brush past them — along a path, by a door, beside a bench. Some carry it in the flowers and some in the crushed leaves, and many of the aromatic-leaved species double as deer-resistant. Site them in sun, where warmth lifts the scent into the air.
Chocolate Flower
Berlandiera lyrata
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, good through zone 10 — it blooms May through Sep.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1–2 ft
- Blooms May–Sep
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, spreading 1.5–2 ft; it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil; it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, spreading 1.5–3 ft — it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, reaching 2–3 ft — it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, 2–4 ft wide, and it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, rose pink flowers; it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, reaching 6–12 ft — it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, reaching 6–12 ft, flowering as it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, cold-hardy to zone 3 — it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Showy Milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, star-shaped pink flowers; it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, 2–3 ft wide.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Fall color
Browse by state
Fragrant, near you.
Native ranges differ across the country — open your state for the list that actually applies to your yard.
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Sourcing
Where to find fragrant plants
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.