Just about everyone in New Orleans grows confederate jasmine, and the whole city smells wonderful in late spring. Immediately afterwords, the gardenias come in.

If we have a warm winter, the night-blooming jasmine starts in June and blooms again in the fall. Sadly, mine died back last winter in the cold and I will have to wait until September for it to bloom. Some don't like the extremely sweet scent these have, and my neighbor complains bitterly, but he complains about plants in general and is justly on my s!*@-list.

The rose with the most scent is Champney's pink cluster and will perfume a quarter of an acre, but generally only in the morning. The great thing is that it blooms from March until December around here. Not enough people grow it, but I am trying to change that.

In the back yard, I have some nameless apricot Hedychium with a wonderful scent that carries. They are normally blooming by this time, but a late freeze did in the caterpillars that eat the overhead oak tree leaves, so I think there hasn't been enough sun.

Oh, and I almost forgot about the citrus, but since so many people on this forum live in citrus-producing areas, I will leave that one alone.

I also have Mandevilla suaveolens and Mirabilis longiflora. Pelargonium triste and some other tuberous pelargoniums are night-scented but not exactly wafting. Last year I grew Datura inoxia, which was great, too.

My greatest night scent plant of all, however, is a winter bloomer, the fishbone or ric-rac cactus, Selenicereus anthonyanus. One open blossom is all it takes.

:-)

~Christopher

Mirabilis longiflora also "gets around" here, Nik, like M. jalapa. I try to dead-head it before the seeds disperse.

My mother got our original plant of Selenicereus anthonyanus from a random assortment of cacti and succulents in small pots for sale at one of the big box stores -- Walmart, Home Depot or such. That was some years ago. She liked the leaves and had no idea what a treasure it was.

What a romantic image you describe, Nik.

I'm with Christopher too, mundane petunias, that seed themselves everywhere in my yard, fill the air with a sweet scent. But I don't just enjoy the floral scents. I just like the smell of greenery and fresh soil around me.

Cath

Some lily bulbs just arrived in the post today, along with a few herbaceous peonies, and yesterday I planted three lilacs in pots. I'm looking forward to smelling them all come spring.

Whenever I pass a path, I can be surprised by the After 8 scent of Chocolate mint (Mentha x piperita piperita), refreshed by the citrusy rush of
Bergamot mint (Mentha aquatica 'Citrata'), Lemon thyme or the relaxing scent of lavender or the rose geraniums.

If I'm adventurous enough I might crush the Greek myrtle to enjoy it's pungent smell or just inadvertently brush against the golden oregano spilling on the stone pathway on my way to it.

All that might be punctuating by the wafting of Osmanthus fragrans, until August brings it's own surprises...

Their scents aren't unique to evenings, but I mostly notice Dianthus superbus and Dianthus arenarius at night. Their scents are quite different from the clovey fragrance of many carnations. They're almost soapy with a delicious light hard to describe quality. I have some in containers by the door.

Jasmine of all sorts is great. The sambac scent probably appeals most to my nose. Citrus is blooming and smells heavenly right now.

A few plants that always waft some fragrance for me would be Tagetes lemonii (Mexican marigold) and 'Allen Chickering' Salvia. No matter what time of day, I can smell them when I'm near them.

Jay