I’m living in an area that occasionally gets a foul smell from nearby factories. It’s not overpowering but it is noticeable.
I’m looking for something to plant around the house that can tone down the smell. Is honeysuckle a good choice? I want something that can grow along the chain-link fence in the back yard.
What about the flowerbeds and along the driveway?
Thanks
Honeysuckle smells great when it’s in bloom, which isn’t all the time. It takes over big time, however, so controlling it can be a problem – as can most vines. If you’re not much of a gardener, that can be a plus – you don’t necessarily care if it grows out of control.
Also, you’re far enough south that you could probably grow jasmine – one of my personal faves, I’m just a wee bit too far north to do it, alas.
Local conditions make a big difference – your best bet would probably be to go to a local garden center (not one of the big chains) and talk to someone on staff there – they tend to be pretty knowledgeable.
My mum has night-blooming jasmine…mmmmm…that is a beautiful, powerful scent.
Any type of vine will get out of control if you don’t keep it cut back. Honeysuckle is good because it’s durable and takes little care. Wisteria is also very nice, purple/white flowers with a heavy scent, but it must also be cut back. Gardenia bushes are nice, they are always green, and when they bloom, which is now, they give off a nice scent.
Evergreens like pine, red cedar, spruce, fir, etc., can add a bit of the “new car” scent if the wind catches them right. Pine needles get to be a problem, especially if they grow tall enough and close enough to the house to clog gutters.
Roses are good. Won’t just grow without some care, though.
Also heliotrope, freesia, sweet pea, and lilac.
A second on the honeysuckle.
Gardenias are nice too.
A second on the night-blooming jasmine. Although you might want to make sure you’re not allergic first; I had a neighbor a few years ago with night-blooming jasmine, and it got to where I’d take an antihistamine at 9:45 every night all summer because I knew that otherwise at 10:00 I’d start sneezing my head off. Not that I objected, it smelled WONDERFUL!
The place that has probably the best year-round fragrant plantings is Hearst Castle on the California coast. I’ve been there at different times of the year and it always smells heavenly. Especially during orange blossom season. But you might check to see if there’s any information about what all they have, since they deliberately planted for maximum fragrance as well as beauty. You’ll probably want a mix to provide you with fragrance for more than just a few weeks a year.
I have a silly question about the Jasmine; Does it only smell nice at night?
I’ll check on the other plants.
BTW I now live near Austin. I just forgot to update my location
Honeysuckle and jasmine have quite a few varieties so check around. Some scents are stronger than others. Lavender and bog thyme also smell really nice.
How about Lily of the Valley? Thay have a nice strong fragrance.
While the vines are a good idea, as has been pointed out, they only bloom for a short time each year leaving you with the pong for the remainder.
So, as an adjunct, how about some fragrant herbs that you can interplant in your lawn (like chamomile and thyme) that release their scent when walked on?
And some smelly shrubs like daphne, osmanthus, gardenia and the scented pelargoniums (they come in hundreds of different ‘flavours’).
Mock Orange! It’s the best smelling plant ever. I’ll second the chamomile and the lilacs (which smell wonderful, but only last a week or so).
I just went to Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart.
They had no plants that we needed but we did pick up a Jalapeno plant. We may get more of them, along with Pablano Pepper plants. For those not familiar with Southwest Cuisine, the jalapeno is a staple for making things hotter. The Pablano is used in making Chile Relleno. The pepper is breaded and fried then served with melted cheese. It will be cool to have veggies growing outside.
I picked up a book about Trellises and Arbors from Home Depot but they didn’t have any plants I wanted. It’s a really interesting book. I may put some trellises along the back of the house just for decoration and to keep the house in shade.
At Lowe’s they had just one Honeysuckle plant so I got it. I’ll look for more tomorrow when other nurseries are open.
I like the idea of the herbs. We have lots of neighbors’ cats walking around our yard and lounging about. Maybe they could lounge in herb gardens to stir up some scent. Could I plant some catnip among the chamomile?
Thanks folks. Gee I love this board.
We have lavender in our front yard & I can vouch for the intensity of the scent. Seems to hang about for several months too. Dunno how it’d fare in TX.
And yes, we have some catnip in the back yard. It got a lot of rollin & tumblin action from the neighbors’ cat!
Yes. The night blooming jasmine flower only opens up at when it gets dark.
Confederate Jasmine.
I have it planted along my chain-link fence, and it’s exploded.
Every once in a while I’ll go out and twine the vines through the chain link fence.
You can’t kill that thing with a bazooka. I don’t even cover it up in the winter.
We also have a night-blooming jasmine. It’s a different variety from Confederate, and it does only bloom at night. It’s also very heavily scented. It even attracts hummingbirds!
Get in touch with a local gardening group and find out what does best in your area.