Plants With Scented Leaves

Russian sage is a sub-shrub grown as a perennial. Grow it not only for its panicles of lavender flowers that bloom from summer to fall but also for its stems and foliage. The plant's silvery stems are graceful, and its feathery, silvery leaves are scented. It reaches 4 to 5 feet high, making quite a statement. Its long bloom period means gardeners will enjoy a pop of color in their yard all throughout the growing season.

Sweet woodruff serves as a fragrant ground cover with whorled leaves and star-shaped flowers. Its scented leaves and ability to spread are its leading attributes. The aromatic foliage smells stronger once dried, making it a natural for potpourris.

Tansy has feathery, scented leaves and clusters of button-shaped, yellow flowers. At 2 to 5 feet tall, it's big enough to serve as a tall-to-medium-sized plant in a border. It was traditionally harvested and dried for use as a strewing herb, mainly for ant control: Ants dislike its smell.

You know the culinary herb, sage and its scented leaves. Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor' is basically an ornamental cultivar of the same plant. Its scented leaves boast three colors (white, green, purple). Standing 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall, it makes a good short border plant.

Yarrow's aromatic foliage bears a fern-like appearance. The fine texture of the leaves is useful for creating visual contrast with other leafy green plants. But this perennial's grown more for its blooms. The flowers come in flat-topped clusters in many colors, giving gardeners seeking particular color combinations lots of choices.

The thyme with which you're most familiar (Thymus vulgaris) is appropriately called "garden thyme" since it's a culinary herb.. It has scented leaves, but so do the ornamental thymes. Whereas the former has an upright form, the latter are creepers.

Catnip is a type of catmint, but the two are not interchangeable. In fact, they're quite different except that they both belong to the same genus, have similar growing requirements, and have scented leaves.

Plants with "mint" in their names have some of the most strongly scented leaves, and catmint is a long-time favorite because its fragrant foliage is supplemented by attractive flowers. There are different species and cultivars, and their height varies. Consequently, how they're used differs. Nepeta x faassenii 'Six Hills Giant' is relatively tall (25 to 35 inches) and works well as a small hedge. Nepeta racemosa 'Little Titch' is smaller (8 to 10 inches) and works better as a ground cover.

Bluebeard grows 2 to 3 feet tall, with a similar width. While some cultivars bear pink or purple flowers, it's best known for producing blue flowers. Bloom time is late summer through early fall, when most other shrubs have finished blooming; so bluebeard is useful in extending the season for garden color. The exact shade of its blue flowers varies from cultivar to cultivar, but what remains constant is the minty smell of its scented leaves.

Most people grow bee balm as a perennial, for its attractive flowers, but it also releases a citrusy fragrance when leaves are crushed. The "balm" in the name provides a clue for why some people categorize it as an herb.