May Gardens filled with Scented Flowers

In the month of May gardens filled with scented flowers is absolute heaven. Walking out of your back door with that first cup of coffee in your hand and letting the fragrance waft gently over you is a delightful start to the day. And when you open the front door ready to race kids to school, being greeted with a pleasant scent will make you smile.

Whether you need more scented plants or would like to start including some I have suggestions for you here. There will at least a couple that will suit your garden size, the colours and smells you like and your lifestyle – easy maintenance or needing more attention.

We have a selection of shrubs, climbers and spring flowering bulbs, all of them suitable for May gardens in a temperate climate. There are those which will grow happily in a pot and others that need a bit more elbow room. The list is not definitive, but will hopefully suggest fragrant flowers you are familiar with and some new-to-you ones you’d like to try.

At the end you’ll find links to related Plews blogs, including tips on pruning. Plus articles on some of the plants listed here. My aim is to inspire you and help you all to have May gardens full of scented flowers – so let’s get started.

Scented Shrubs

Lilac – Syringa vulgaris

Although we think of lilac as having lilac coloured blooms, dark purple is a dramatic choice and can be paired with viridifolia tulips for a contemporary twist on what is a traditional cottage garden planting design. White lilac, of course, is popular with spring brides.

Korean lilac – Syringa meyeri

A smaller shrub than the more commonly found lilac bushes. Especially suitable for small city gardens and large containers, it packs as much scent which is more easily appreciated as it tends to be nearer nose level!

Rhododendron ‘Irene Koster’

A shrub for the larger garden, Rhododendron ‘Irene Koster’ has strongly scented flowers which are almost orange in bud, opening to pink with deeper pink and yellow markings. The foliage is not particularly stunning, so pair it with later flowering smaller shrubs and herbaceous perennials if its going to be visible for most of the year.

Ribes odoratum

Also listed as Ribes aureum or Ribes fragrans, this spring flowering shrub has a delicious spicy scent. Cutting a flowering stem and taking it into the house will bring spring indoors.
The fragrance wafts a good few feet away, so if yellow isn’t your colour the shrub needn’t be in full view. It has a good upright shape so will fit into smaller gardens and borders. And the foliage is attractive too, slightly palmate, bright green in spring and summer, turning almost purple in the autumn.
Oh and you know me and my total passion for edible ornamental gardens – so it won’t be a surprise to know that the berries which come after the fragrant flowers are edible. The flavour can be quite tart, so you may prefer to cook them before eating.

May Gardens filled with Scented Flowers – 3 Climbers

Clematis montana rubens ‘Elizabeth’

Such a pretty clematis this one, with pale pink, vanilla-scented flowers and contrasting bronze-tinged, dark green foliage. A vigorous climber, so give it room to grow and flower in sun, shade or partial shade. Happy to tolerate chalky soil or clay and also happy in a seaside garden. Group 1 clematis for pruning (see blog link below for more details).

Rosa ‘Etoile de Hollande’

This is a good, reliable flowering climber dating back to 1879. A crimson red climbing rose with strong old rose fragrance. Rose ‘Etoile de Hollande’ has large, semi double flowers that bloom periodically from May through to October. Although it will tolerate some shade, to be enjoying May blooms you’ll need sun. A neighbours’ tall leylandii is now casting a fair bit of shade so mine now doesn’t flower until mid-May.

Wisteria sinensis

A deciduous climbing plant, usually found with lilac coloured scented flowers, although white and purple blooms are also available. Over the years the twining stems can develop large trunks, so remember wisteria needs a strong support structure at the beginning and you shouldn’t have any problems. On the topic of pruning, if you’re short on space, it is possible to grow wisteria as a standard in a large pot rather than as a climber.

Spring Flowering Bulbs and Small Perennials

Bluebells

May gardens filled with scented flowers wouldn’t be complete without bluebells. The native British species of course – Hyacinthoides non scripta. About half the world’s population of bluebells is found in the woods of the British Isles. This wild hyacinth has scented flowers reminiscent of the cultivated hyacinth that many of us enjoy as forced bulbs in our homes at Christmas.
However, the native British bluebell is under threat from hybridisation with the Spanish bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica, which is found growing in many gardens. For how to tell the difference between them, see blog link below. In Northern Ireland and Eire, it is an offence to plant or cause Hyacinthoides hispanica to grow in the wild.

Lily of the Valley

Convallaria majalis, Lily of the Valley, is a traditional posy flower in France for May Day, where it is known as Muguets des bois. Convallaria majalis has a delicious fragrance, and the second part of this plant’s Latin name, ‘majalis’, refers to the fact that it regularly flowers in May.
Often difficult to establish in the garden, you may, years later, be giving it away as the Lily of the Valley stems romp through their home territory. Lily of the Valley is a woodland edge plant so it enjoys shadier spots in your garden.

Narcissus ‘Bridal Crown’

This is one of the more frequently found scented varieties of daffodil that flower in mid to late spring. The perfume is richly fragrant, almost jasmine-like, and the creamy white flowers are long lasting, which makes it an excellent cut flower. I also like to have a pot of them on the patio table and along the path in the front garden.
It’s not the only scented daffodil of course. You may prefer the custardy yellow of double flowered Narcissus ‘Cheerfulness’ surrounded by Forget-me-nots in an informal garden. The Forget-me-nots are also scented, best enjoyed en masse (but they’re biennial so I haven’t included them as a separate listing).

May Gardens filled with Scented Flowers – some last thoughts

I have not forgotten other small perennials and humble bedding plants with scented flowers. These can delight our olfactory senses throughout the year, but many people dismiss this extra benefit. Theirs is often the scent catches you unawares as you walk past a container planted up with bedding or wander along a path next to a flower border in your local park. But I had to limit the plants chosen or merely present you with a list. Which is why you have a selection of some of my favourite scented flowers for May gardens.

Now, although planting ‘in bloom’ isn’t always advisable, with care taken at the time of planting, plenty of organic matter in the planting hole for example, it is possible. Which means I might even suggest you could buy one of the above today in your local plant nursery or garden centre.

If you’d like some ideas for how to add fragrance to your garden in May and indeed throughout the year, do get in touch and let’s see if we can help you with a planting design.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet – You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.