Heaven sent August scents

Growing at least a couple of plants that will infuse the warm summer air with intriguing, hedonist scent in the dog days of August will always lift your garden to another level.

This week we look at some candidates that will fulfil this role. Spoiler alert – for those of us with parched gardens Caroline’s contributions will sound very smug.

For me it’s always climbers that I rely on – but maybe not be the obvious ones…

When I bought a Dregea sinensis in a Chelsea Flower Show sell off, Elaine and Caroline were unimpressed “Fancy choosing such a dull plant, it’s even got a dreary name dreggeeaaa ….erghhh”. Undeterred, I have experimented with finding the right conditions for this unusual climber (pot grown in warm part-shade) and am now reaping the benefit of beautifully scented hoya -like pendulous flowers just when something fresh and interesting is very welcome. Deciduous and slightly tender, the pot comes in over winter.

Next a botanical curiosity – the cruel plant …Araujia sericifera. Superficially quite similar to Dregea, but with evergreen waxy leaves and a more robust attitude to life. It’s pretty scented flowers lure in pollinators, especially moths, which can then get temporarily trapped into overnight to ensure they have done a comprehensive job of cross fertilisation, hence its common name. Flowering from now through to late autumn it can take any amount of heat and sun but it’s another slightly tender climber which needs winter protection.

Finally, a new twist on an old favourite. Trachelospermum ‘Star of Milano’ was launched at Chelsea in 2024. With scented pink flowers and variegated leaves, on paper it sounds pretty ghastly and something only Caroline would choose to grow, but actually it’s quite charming and has been repeat flowering all summer.

Normally I would include annual sweet peas in a section about reliably scented summer climbers but this year ……

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Why is Laura relying on obscure, irrelevant and fussy peculiarities for scent when there are remontant roses that are still pumping out their magical perfume well into August – and despite the drought?

My first choice is named after the grandson of King Charles X of France. Classy, eh? The Comte de Chambord was offered the throne in 1871 after the fall of Napoleon III, but he refused to give up the white flag of the Bourbon dynasty in favour of the revolutionary tricolore, so he never made it to the throne and France stayed a republic. I love back stories like that.

This gorgeous old Portland rose which hit the shelves in 1860, has fully double deep pink flowers loaded with the quintessential old rose scent. Most unusually for an old rose, it repeats flowering all through the summer from healthy shoots that seem to shrug off the blackspot affecting so many other roses in August.

‘The Alnwick Rose’ is another shrub with the capacity to keep the display going throughout the summer. Its soft pink cupped flowers have a fruitier scent than ‘Comte de Chambord’ but it’s still lovely, rather like fresh raspberries. Like most roses (and people, come to that..) this rose has a fault or two- the flowerheads tend to hang down rather and each one doesn’t last more than a day or two. As gardeners, we know that we don’t often get it all, don’t we.

My final choice is a new acquisition – R. ‘The Generous Gardener’ (can you hear my dear sisters howling with scorn at this point “Not ANOTHER pink rose, Elaine, for goodness’ sake!”). Its an English climbing rose out of the David Austin stable and is named for the wonderful National Garden Scheme. It’s another double but each flower opens to show the stamens inside like a little water-lily. And the rich scent is rose-like but somehow fresher-smelling than ‘Comte de Chambord’.

Now, dear readers, please ready yourselves for the outrageous self-congratulatory tone of Caroline’s contribution, as she surveys her gloriously green and verdant garden in the Scottish Highlands…..

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Yes my little iPhone clips of our regular downpours aren’t proving at all popular with my seething sisters, but coupled with our pleasantly warm sunshine, I can honestly say we’re having a wonderful gardening summer. The Highland tortoise has waddled past the southern hares on the back of climate change!

My sweet peas are just hitting their over-abundant stride and filling my garden and kitchen with their fabulous scent while my pots of oriental lilies threaten to overwhelm anyone with a nervous olfactory disposition.

Smug doesn’t even cover it, and we haven’t got on to the huge clumps of nepeta (catmint) and golden oregano that are lapping up our summer and if brushed past, send out such a rich scent you can you could almost cut it with a knife, especially after a shower of rain – oops there I go again reminding everyone of what a lovely wet and warm summer we’re enjoying here.

And just to cement my status as the most irritating little sister ever, my scented geraniums are supersizing themselves with the foliage of ‘Lady Plymouth’ particularly exuding her expensive perfume to anyone who cares to give her a quick squeeze.

Ahhh – lovely, but what have we missed out? What’s producing a nose-wrinkle of delight in your garden? We’d love to know.

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A hardy succulent with rich colours and a spreading habit, Louise is delighted with this cracking little plant that seems to revel in the hot dry conditions that some of us are experiencing this summer. It’s definitely her Great Plant this Month!

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These high quality garden snips make the perfect present for anyone even remotely interested in gardening, houseplants or flower arranging. Beautifully boxed in sustainable packaging, they tick all the boxes.

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An opportunity to buy one of Louises’s Great Plants! Louise and Laura will be at the Plant Heritage Plant Fair at Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking, Surrey this Sunday morning, 16 August, selling some of Louise’s superb rare plants in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice. Do go along and support the cause if you can! More details at Plant Heritage Plant Fair

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