Fragrant Plants for the Southern Garden: A Month-by-Month Bloom Calendar

Fragrance transforms a garden from visual to sensory. Here’s a curated list of reliably fragrant plants for the South, ordered by bloom time.

January

Fragrant wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox), Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima), Paperbush (Edgeworthia papyrifera, E. chrysantha), Tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans).

February

Daphne (Daphne odora), Paperbush (continues).

March–April

Koreanspice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii), Coastal flame azalea (Rhododendron austrinum), Piedmont azalea (R. canescens), Alabama azalea (R. alabamense), Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), Sweetshrub (Calycanthus florida), Banana shrub (Magnolia figo).

May

Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), Rose (Rosa spp.), Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides).

June–July

Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba), ‘Stargazer’ lily (Lilium ‘Stargazer’), Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata), Summersweet azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), Ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium), Four o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa).

August

Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus umbellata), Tea olive (repeat).

September

Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis maximowicziana).

October

Tea olive (repeat bloom).

Daphne odora

Paperbush (Edgeworthia)

Gardenia

'Stargazer' lily