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Many plants have distinctive fragrances, but it is the subtle mingling of scents from a variety of plants that will tempt your senses.

The Scented Garden
edited by Kerry Kirkpatrick

The Magic of Fragrance
Let fragrance be one of your first concerns when planting this spring! Many plants have distinctive fragrances, but it is the subtle mingling of scents from a variety of plants that will tempt your senses. A scented garden will also attract a host of pollinators: bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Fragrant Xeriscape Lavenders
Because of its enchanting aroma, lavender makes an excellent addition to the xeriscape garden. Lavender is also easy to grow and resistant to rabbits and deer. Lavender plants flourish in dry conditions and don't need too much watering once the plants are established. They thrive in low fertility, alkaline, limey or limestone well-drained soils.

See Lavender Planting Tips Below

Agastache: Fragrant Hummingbird Mints
Like lavender, our Xeric Agastache are indispensable perennials for water-thrifty gardens, loving hot, sunny locations in well-drained soil. Known for it's unique licorice scent, Agastache rupestris attracts hummingbirds for several months with its nectar-rich flowers.

The Mingling of Scents
Visit 'Texas Violet' on a still morning and you'll catch the light scent of grape in the air. For the warm scent of sage, plant Salvia officinalis 'Minima'. Santolina rosmarinifolius 'Morning Mist' is a wonderful, pleasantly pungent Lavender Cotton. The deep blue and pink flowered Hyssop is a delightful fragrant herb. Another plant that grows well in 'lean' soil, Snowflake Garden Pink forms a multitude snowflake-shaped flowers that perfume your garden with their intense fragrance. The sweetly fragrant blossoms of the Berlandiera lyrata really do smell like chocolate!

View all of our Fragrant Xeriscape Perennials

The Xeric Aroma Garden
This perennial garden designed by Scott and Lauren Springer Ogden exclusively for High Country Gardens brings together the pleasures of scent and color into a single space. And while the butterflies and hummingbirds will be visiting the ‘Xeric Aroma Garden,’ the deer and rabbits will be repelled by the strongly scented foliage and bitter, unpalatable flowers. Plant this garden in a sunny spot with well-drained garden soil of low to average fertility.

It's Thyme for Groundcovers
Seek out both fragrant perennials and groundcovers if you want a season-long display of color as well as fragrance. Thyme is a fragrant, flowering herb that spreads easily, but not invasively. Because of its drought tolerance and long-lasting color, Thyme is becoming a popular lawn replacement plant and is a great groundcover choice for fragrant gardens.

View these Fragrant Thyme Groundcovers

Orange, Rose, and Cloves
The scent of Philadelphus lewisii, Lewis Mock Orange is so intoxicating that you will want it to trail into your open summer windows and surround your lounging outdoor areas. Consider planting the most poetic of shrubs, the shrub rose -- a favorite flower of poets since poetry began, and the perfect backdrop to your fragrant garden. You will love the huge overflowing Buddleia alternifolia, with it's scented lavender flowers. And the intensely Clove-Scented yellow spring flowers of Ribes odoratum are spicy garden favorites.

View these fragrant shrubs

Ultimately, fragrance is very personal
Locate your scented garden where you can frequently take advantage of its luxurious smells, allowing you to rejuvenate your spirit and unwind from a stressful day. Plant fragrant perennials in containers and small patio spaces, in addition to your landscape. You won't need to travel far or visit a spa for this aromatherapy. Having a private, fragrant place in your garden is good for your soul--it's a relaxing and beneficial retreat to ease the stress of the day.

6 Easy Tips for a Scented Garden

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We have never grown lavender without drip irrigation; we get just 13" of rain a year. DripWorks is the best way to conserve water Catherine, The Cutting Garden, Sequim, WA

Lavender Planting Tips
by David Salman

The genus Lavandula is a favorite group of ornamental herbs native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean. These sun-loving plants thrive in hot weather and grow well in the West in a wide range of soils, even compost-enriched garden loams, as long as they are well drained. Heavy, poorly-drained clay soils can be fatal. Lavender plants will be taller and wider in mild winter, hot summer climates. The same varieties when grown in cold (zone 5-6) winter climates tend to be more compact. Lavender plants require two-to-three growing seasons to reach mature size.

Lavenders are rabbit and deer resistant!

Extend the bloom Season
Plant both English and French hybrids to have plants in color from late spring through late summer. Our High Country Gardens Lavender Sampler includes a total of 8 English and French hybrid plants.

Pruning established plants
In spring, when plants begin to show signs of new growth, cut back the old stems by no more than a third to re-invigorate the plant and encourage more flowers. Harvesting the flowers each year helps maintain plant vigor.

Fertilizing
When growing lavender, be careful not to over-fertilize and over-enrich the soil as this will cause root problems and a decrease in flowering. Yum Yum Mix® organic fertilizer is the perfect fertilizing solution for lavender and other xeric plants that benefit from improved soil health and fertility without greatly increasing the soil's humus content.

Planting Tips
Lavender must be planted in full-sun locations with good air circulation and fast-draining, alkaline soil. Sandy and sandy-loams are a “must” in the eastern US and Midwest! Lavender will tolerate clay and clay-loam in dry climates.

• Ample coarse-textured compost can be added at planting time to “open-up” heavier soils. Add lime in acidic soils. In wetter climates, plant on a slope or in raised bed to facilitate faster drainage.
• Two inches of very coarse sand or small diameter gravel around the base of the plant keep the crown drier and promotes healthy plants in all climates.
• Water deeply but infrequently after their 2nd growing season. Take care not to over-water established plants.
  

Great Summer Blooming Lavender Companions: