Fragrant Shrubs & Bushes

Glossy Abelia

• This evergreen shrub (Abelia grandiflora) grows up to 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide. It features dark green, glossy leaves. Between mid-summer and fall, it offers small, scented, trumpet-shaped blooms of white with pink. Glossy abelia likes earth that drains well and thrives in full sun to part shade. It grows in zones 6–9.

Red Chokeberry

• With white scented blooms in the spring, red foliage in the autumn, and berries in the winter, red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) offers year-round attractions in your garden. Growing up to 10 feet tall and enjoying either full sun or partial shade, red chokeberry spreads via suckers. The shrub is deer tolerant and thrives in zones 4–9.

Angel's Trumpet

• With fragrant, large, trumpet-shaped blooms set against a large shrub growing 10 to 15 feet tall and up to 10 feet wide, angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens) is an impressive bush. Growing equally well in a container or in the soil, angel’s trumpets' blooms (in white, pink, or yellow) arrive in early spring and die out in the fall. Plant it in well-draining soil and in full sun; bring it indoors during cool winters. It grows in zones 10 and 11.

Butterfly Bush

• Attracting butterflies and bees, the butterfly bush (Buddleia) sports dark green foliage and clustered spears of lightly scented flowers in many colors, including purples, whites, yellows, and oranges. This easy-care shrub is deciduous, and different varieties grow between 5 and 12 feet or taller. Blooms last from summer through the first frost. Plant it in in the full sun in zones 6–9.

White Fringetree

• A North American native shrub with clusters of white, fragrant blooms that appear before foliage in spring, white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) grows 15 to 30 feet tall. It requires well-draining soil and full sun. An easy-to-grow bush, white fringetree grows in zones 3–9.

Cinnamon Clethra

• This easy-case shrub eventually grows into a 12-foot tree. Small, scented, ivory blooms appear in early summer; peppercorn-like seed capsules adorn the branches in the fall. The leaves also turn golden in the autumn. When they fall, they reveal reddish brown bark. The bark peels off in small patches in the winter, revealing gray bark beneath. Cinnamon clethra (Clethra acuminate) grows in full sun to partial shade in zones 5–8.