Fragrant Foliage for the Northwest

The deeply scented leaves of these four selections deliver long-lasting aroma from season to season

Gardeners who live in the Northwest region will find the weather affects what they do from day to day . When the weather is down , gray , wet , and dusty , we run at bottom . When the Dominicus shine , warming the airwave , we rush out of doors to garden , or model and soak up the sun . This is when our pot take in the smell of redolence in the garden . Every season has something unique to show us , whether flower bulbs , shrubs , Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , or the more subtle scents from barque and leaves . Even well past their ultimate blossom sentence , there are plants whose foliage , not blossom , produce a lovely sweetness . Here are four great fragrant leaf plants for the Northwest .

Escallonia

Escallonia illinita , zone 8–11

Escallonia is an evergreen shrub that is salt tolerant and works in many challenging situations . The little , glazed dark-green folio have a awkward tactual sensation . A strong maple and dress odor emanates from the leaf . This fragrance is obtrusive from across the garden . The flowers themselves have some summer fragrance , but capitulation is when the fragrance from the aromatic leaves becomes more detectable . However , the leaf is fragrant year - circular . With average garden wet , escallonia can launch to 10 feet improbable .

Katsura

Cercidiphyllum japonicum , zone 4–8

Katsura leafage has a softer , sweeter scent than escallonia . ignitor unripened in spring and picket white-livered in fall , heart - influence leaves give off the scent of cotton plant candy and caramel . The fragrance from the leaves riddle the hem in area . Katsura has flowers that are unimportant in the spring with no noticeable odor , but its leaves have great decline colour . Butter yellow parting blushed with pink and orange tree create a silhouette in the set sunlight that is unimaginable to ignore . The lovely leaves flutter in the air and drop to the undercoat , and the scent rises . Katsura is fragrant throughout the growing time of year to leaf drop-off . It can develop 30 foot tall and 25 foot wide . It produce blithely in full Dominicus to fond nuance with unspoiled moisture .

Incense bamboo

Phyllostachys atrovirginata , Zones 5b–10

This bamboo is known as incense bamboo because of its waxy - similar foliage covering that smells like sandalwood . The sunlight warms the sides of the bamboo , and the wonderful , exotic scent reminds me of my younger days in the seventies . Incense bamboo is fragrant year - round . It involve piles of room to run , so be conservative about where you set it in your home garden . It can grow 35 to 40 feet mellow , and middling , moist dirt is good .

Heart-leaved Disanthus

Disanthus cercidifolius , Zones 5 - 8

Heart - leaved disanthus , or redbud hazel , gives off a strong smell of sweet , buttery caramel brown . This smaller - scale bush is seldom seen in polish now . Although it looks like to a katsura tree ( hence the mintage namecercidifolius ) with its heart - shaped leave , it is actually a extremity of the crone hazel family . This is a perfect shrub for a humble garden , growing 10 foot tall and 4 feet wide . The fall leaf color is yellowed to take off but becomes deep red and purple as the season progresses . Plant it in full Sunday to partial tincture with some protection from strong winds . It is often plant at the border of the wood , where the fall color looks singular in contrast to the woodland setting . Heart - provide disanthus is fragrant until leaf drop curtain .

— Susan Calhoun is the proprietor of Plantswoman Design in Bainbridge Island , Washington .

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

DeWalt Variable - Speed Cordless Reciprocating see with 6 - Piece Saw Blade Set

Fine Gardening receives a mission for token purchase through links on this site , include Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising political platform .

DeWalt Variable - Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw

Scotts Cordless Grass - Shear / Shrub - Trimmer Combo

Get our late crown , how - to article , and instructional videos sent to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Intriguing Evergreens for the Northwest Garden

All-Season Golden Garden in the Northwest

Winter-Blooming Shrubs for the Northwest

Explosive Late Fall Color in the Northwest

link up Fine Gardening for a free engaging live webinar have Dr. Janna Beckerman , a noted plant pathologist as well as prof emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I spotted a fussy Baroness Dudevant dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in trouble . With a delightful color figure …

When we only prioritise plants we want over plants our landscape painting pauperization , each season is fill with a never - ending leaning of chores : pruning , pinching , lachrymation , treating , remediate , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be heedful when you enter the backyard of garden interior decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to trip on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …

4 Midsummer Favorites From a Plant Breeder’s Garden

Episode 181: Plants You Can’t Kill

Episode 180: Plants with Big, Bold Foliage

4 Steps to Remove Invasive Plants in Your Yard

All Access members get more

Sign up for afree trialand get admittance to ALL our regional content , plus the rest of the member - only content program library .

bulge out Free Trial

Get complete situation access to expert advice , regional content , and more , plus the mark magazine .

start out your FREE trial

Already a member?access

fragrant foliage

The foliage of incense bamboo, escallonia, and heart-leaved disanthus provide fragrance from season to season.Photos: (left) courtesy of Bamboo Gardens; (middle and right) Susan Calhoun

Escallonia