Top 10 scented spring plants

The first flowers of spring are always a delight, and scented flowers are extra-special. With our top 10 fragrant spring plants, you can enjoy a garden filled with fragrance from late winter all through spring!

1. Sarcococca confusa

This unassuming evergreen shrub flowers in late winter, producing tiny flowers with a very sweet fragrance. Plant it next to a path where it will surprise you with its scent!

2. Viburnum x bodnantense

Viburnum x bodnantense starts flowering in mid-winter and carries on into spring, producing fragrant clusters of pink flowers on bare stems. Cut a few stems to put in a vase and enjoy the delicate scent indoors too!

3. Hyacinths

These popular spring bulbs can be grown indoors or outside, and their plump flowerspires add rich colour as well as a sweet floral scent that becomes more intense as the flowers open fully. Grow them on a sunny windowsill or in well-drained soil outdoors.

4. Daphne odora

Flowering in early spring, Daphne odora has a reputation for being fussy, but the fabulous fragrance is well worth a bit of extra effort. Plant in partial shade in a soil that’s had plenty of garden compost or well-rotted farmyard manure dug in, and water regularly until the plant is well-established.

5. Daffodils

Many daffodils are delightfully scented – Narcissus ‘Actaea’, ‘Geranium’ and ‘Silver Chimes’ are three to look out for. Plant them in pots on a patio or along a path where you can enjoy the fragrance as you pass. If you didn’t manage to plant daffodil bulbs in autumn, don’t despair – potted bulbs are readily available in spring!

6. Wallflowers

These undemanding biennials flower in a wide range of gorgeous colours from early spring, combining beautifully with spring bulbs. Look for fragrant varieties like the Wallflower Sunset Series.

7. Viburnum carlesii

Also known as Korean spice viburnum, this attractive deciduous shrub produces round clusters of pink flowers in mid-spring with a delicious heady fragrance. With a long season of interest and beautiful autumn colour, this easy-to-grow shrub is ideal for low-maintenance gardens.

8. Osmanthus delavayi

Good in dappled shade, large evergreen shrub Osmanthus delavayi flowers in mid-to-late spring, producing fragrant white jasmine-like flowers which are very attractive to bees.

9. Lily-of-the-valley

Flowering from mid-spring, lily-of-the-valley produces delicate sprays of bell-like white flowers with a very sweet scent above lush green leaves. It grows well in damp, shady areas.

10. Wisteria

This spectacular climber is fantastic for covering large walls, producing long pendant racemes of fragrant purple flowers in late spring. Give it a sunny spot with space to grow and a sturdy framework to twine around. (Mature wisterias can get heavy!)

Add both colour and scent to your garden with our fantastic range of spring-flowering plants! Visit us soon in Pickering to see what’s in store.