Fragrant Plants

Tops in Mt. Cuba Center's first Echinacea trials in 2009 and was still one of the top ten in the 2020 trials! It also garnered the most pollinator visits in their 2018-19 trial years likely due to its strongly fragrant flowers. Pure white rays surround the dark orange tipped rounded cones of disk flowers on the 3-5" wide flowers atop sturdy 24-30" high stems beginning in late spring and continuing into early fall. PRAIRIE PILLARS™ Fragrant Angel Coneflower is a hybrid Coneflower selected for its exceptionally long flowering season that lasts from late spring or early summer often into fall, briliant color, extra large flowers, and improved branching habit over the original Mac-N-Cheese as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12787

Clusters of 2" wide primrose yellow fragrant 4-petalled flowers are produced in mid to late spring into early summer atop the low growing spreading stems adorned with deep green fuzzy foliage of this native perennial wildflower. Prairie Sundrops, a.k.a. Meadow Evening Primrose, is a dayflowering species of Evening Primrose with a low somewhat bushy habit and it does spread somewhat by rhizomes which is great for naturalistic settings like meadows, prairies and roadside plantings and it is reportedly relatively easy to control in garden settings as well. An adaptable native perennial that is tolerant of wet to dry soils including clay but it seems to prefer an acidic pH. The flowers attract butterflies and larger native bees. Item# 11662

The deep berry colored, dark-eyed flowers cover up the plants from late spring or early summer into fall atop sturdy branching stems on compact plants attracting a variety of pollinators but especially bees and butterflies. PRIMA™ Berry Coneflower was selected for its tight compact habit and excellent flower power. Its compact enough to create excellent container specimens as well as for summerlong color in the garden and landscape. Echinaceas typically do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny sites. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13320

In warm orange and yellow shades, the large, fragrant, upward facing flowers are centered by a large dark, nectar rich cones tipped in dark orange and red tones and the ray petals tend to be lightest at their tips deepening into orange tones nearest their base. PRIMA™ Tiger Echinacea or Coneflower was selected for its compact mound of clean deep green foliage that is topped by by sturdy 12-18" high stems that flower for months beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into fall. This is a hardy clump forming perennial that will do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny site. The compact habit of PRIMA™ Tiger Echinacea lends it to use as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13079

6-8" wide, soft to deep orange, spidery, star-like flowers can remain open for 2-3 days. An easily grown cactus-like plant with 1.5-3" wide, flat, scalloped branches to 8'. Great in hanging baskets. Item# 10314.

6-8" wide, soft to deep orange, spidery, star-like flowers can remain open for 2-3 days. An easily grown cactus-like plant with 1.5-3" wide, flat, scalloped branches to 8'. Great in hanging baskets. Item# 11581

Solid purple clusters of fragrant flowers open late in the day attracting larger butterflies, bees, and especially the mystical hummingbird moths. The Purple Four O'Clock grows to form a large tuber from which it will return to grace your garden year after year and they flower continuously throughout the summer months. Easy and reliable and may reseed under good conditions. Item# 11174

The rich-purple tubular flowers arch outward from the center of the ball like clusters of buds that are perched atop sturdy stems and are produced for weeks in summer often lasting into fall and attract hummingbirds and larger butterflies. Purple Rooster Bee Balm, a selection of the native Monarda didyma, has outstanding disease resistance as well as some of the deepest purple flowers among its peers. This is a slowly spreading, winter deciduous, herbaceous perennial that will prefer a moist, well-drained, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Purple Rooster won high marks in Monarda trials at Mt. Cuba Center, the headquarters for the American Horticulture Society. Item# 12317

Rounded clusters of raspberry colored buds open to 2" long tubular, nectar rich, raspberry wine colored flowers in summer. Raspberry Wine Monarda is a disease resistant selection with strongly fragrant, deer and rabbit resistant foliage that can be used to flavor teas. Bee Balm is a clump forming, slowly spreading perennial well suited to moist, well-drained soils in a sunny garden setting whether in the herb garden or in mass as an informal groundcover. Item# 11400

Masses of 1" wide yellow-eyed bluish purple daisies absolutely cover this plant for weeks in late summer and fall. Raydon's Favorite Aromatic Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum oblongifolium and the big brother of the slightly more compact October Skies, is a medium-sized, herbaceous, densely mounding shrub-like perennial that matures to about 3' x 3' at the time of flowering. Excellent fall color for the garden as well as drought tolerance and pest and disease resistance make this an excellent addition to the perennial or wildflower border and landscape. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators but seems to be especially popular with bees. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Prefers good to excellent drainage and a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Named the 2016 Plant of the Year by the Garden Club of America and selected for the 2003 Theodore Klein Award. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13164

Deep red to near maroon, starry flowers to 2" across are borne in late spring and early summer on this moderately dense naturally rounded evergreen shrub. The Red Star Anise's medium to dark green foliage has a licorice or anise-like scent when crushed. This Louisiana native is a natural component of the understory along drainages and flood zones in the southeastern portion of the US and generally prefers light shade, morning sun, to filtered shade over full sun as well as a moist well-draining acid soil. These plants originated from an eastern Louisiana native population. Not a spice plant. Item# 596

The extra large flowers of this old favorite are created by deep fuchsia inner petals surrounded by crimson outer petals. The long lasting flowers open at night and often last through the day. An easily grown cactus-like plant with 1.5" wide, flat, scalloped branches to 8'. Item # 784.

Dense bottlebrush-like flowers composed of fragrant frilly white to cream colored flowers are produced atop the tips of the bare stems in late winter or early spring. Redneck Nation Fothergilla or Witch Alder is a moderately dense growing small to medium sized deciduous suckering native shrub with showy gray-green and bronze new growth that matures to blue-green in summer and produces fall color in shades of red, orange, and yellow. This species is new to science as of 2020! The the cultivar name is in honor of its original discovery by botanist and naturalist Fred Nation in Baldwin County, Alabama and the species name honors Dr. Ron Miller. Provide an average moist, well-drained, acidic soil in full to partly sunny location for optimum vigor and flowering. Redneck Nation Fothergilla can be used as a low growing and low maintenance informal hedge or as a specimen plant in the garden and landscape as well as in naturalistic settings. Flowers will be similar to those shown although this is an image of Mt. Airy Fothergilla. Item# 12165

The show starts in early summer and may last nearly until the first frost with this reliable and fragrant Garden Phlox. It produces large domed clusters of bright purplish pink flowers on tall sturdy stems with mildew resistant, deep green foliage. Phlox is adored by butterflies and hummingbirds alike! Robert Poore is one of only a handful of Garden Phlox cultivars recommended for southern gardens by noted Texas plantsman Greg Grant. Item# 10161

Spikes of 1" long deep rosy pink tubular flowers emerge from dark purplish pink calyces beginning in spring and continuing until fall. Rosie Posie Agastache develops into a dense rounded mass of fragrant foliage that is topped by the long-lasting dispaly of colorful flower spikes. The tubular flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The neat habit of this Agastache lends it to use as a container plant as well as in gardens and landscapes. Provide a well-drained soil in full to mostly sunny conditions for optimum vigor and flowering. Image courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc. Item# 11910

An old favorite and an excellent performer Royal Red Butterfly Bush produces a continuous wave of rich reddish-purple spikes of flowers that are adored by butterflies, bees, and other beneficials. The flowers are richly fragrant with an aroma reminiscent of honey. Royal Red is vigorous and fast growing quickly developing into a medium-sized deciduous shrub that flowers from late spring until frost. Item#  630.

The large deep purplish red petals of Ruby Glow Passionflower are topped with a halo of deep bluish purple filaments. A heady sweet fragrance fills the air when this beautiful passionvine is in flower and it may produce very large, up to 3"W x 5"L, yellow tropical fruit if the flowers are cross pollinated by another species, cultivar, or seedling passionflower. Ruby Glow is a vigorous growing, heat loving tropical vine that can reach 20'H under good conditions. Caterpillar host: Gulf Fritillary, Julia Butterfly, Variegated Fritillary, and Zebra Longwing. Item# 631.

Strongly fragrant 1" white star-like blooms in clusters of 3-12 are produced on new growth from spring to fall. The fragrant white waxy flower petals are used to flavor Jasmine tea and Jasmine rice. An evergreen twining climber or arching shrub growing to 8' high if left to its own devices but it can certainly be pruned to keep it in bounds. Grow it as a container plant, as a hedge, an espalier or even as a small tree form. Item#11743