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irish_rose_grower

Suggestions wanted for a fragrant plant for specific area

irish_rose_grower
18 years ago

Hi. I have an area that borders my cement patio in my back yard. There are old broken down cinder blocks which were cemented into the perimeter of the patio (no idea why???). They are not flush with the patio, they are raised about 3 or 4 inches. I had a bunch of orangey tiger lily type of plants which did great. The foilage spilled over and covered the ugly cement blocks. the problem was that there was a type of invasive weed that was interwoven into the roots of the plants and it was taking over the garden. I am digging up all of the plants and tossing them.

Now I have an area about 5' length and about 2 wide to plant something fragrant. It should also be leafy so it can cover the cement blocks.

I'm in zone 7. It can be annual or perrenial. I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks for any ideas you have.

Maureen

Comments (5)

  • jview
    18 years ago

    Hi Maureen,
    My first thought is that you might enjoy a combination of fragrent hostas (such as Hosta plantaginea) and fragrent geraniums. The hostas are perenials and are quite neat. The geraniums are not winter hardy here on LI so they are commonly treated as annuals. They are very fragrent if someone brushes past them. Of course there are many other possibilities and very likely others will offer excellent suggestions.
    Jerry

  • jimshy
    18 years ago

    What's the direction/sun exposure, and what's the soil like where you are? A row of Daphnes could look really nice, and might like the conditions, but they can be fickle growers. Many fragrant vines -- honeysuckle, jasminum beesianum and x stephenese, and possibly some trachelospermum varieties, are all hardy in zone 7a and work fine as groundcovers, as do annual vines like nasturtiums.

    Finally, if the cinderblocks are placed with the holes facing up, you could plant aromatic herbs like lavender, sage, thyme and other perennial or annual plants right into the holes!

    Hope this gives you some ideas,

    Jim

  • Heavinsent
    18 years ago

    Daturas might be nice depending to the light. I also like Jim's idea about the herbs!

  • Peggy
    18 years ago

    If you don't mind an annual, Sambac Jasmine might be nice since it has such a long bloom time. Mine never seem to get too 'viney', they seem to be just a bit sprawly which might help disguise the cinder blocks. I like the idea of the Jasmine or Trachelospermum too. You could train a vine up a trellis and still have room for something at the base as filler.
    Peggy

  • ozarkmtman
    18 years ago

    Hi,
    From your description it sounds as though you are referring to the chinese naturalized species daylily Hemerocallis fulva which has orange blooms, and foliage that would ultimately cascade enough to cover your cinder blocks.


    There is another species that may be of interest to you that has lemon yellow flowers that are quite fragrant, though it is now hard to find in the trade. That would be the mouth-full Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (syn.flava), the so called custard lily.


    Of course many other vigorous varieties of daylilies would do as well in that same enviroment given that fulva did well there but, the custard lily is an heirloom that deserves to be planted more often. Unforunately it is very, very hard to find in commerce. Indeed sadly so, as it was highly regarded by our ancestors for it's heady, sweet summertime fragrance.
    Here is a link that gives a picture for you of both species:

    http://www.tripplebrookfarm.com/iplants/Hemerocallis.html

    If you wish to persue the site for futher information then click on the link to their home page at the bottom of that page.

    As I said, though, many other varieties of daylilies should do well there, if that is indeed what you had that was rooted out. You can run a search on especially fragrant varieties of modern hybrids but, many will not even hold a candle to flava as, sadly, as with roses, fragrance has largely been ignored by the plant hybridizers of our recent past. Thankfully, recent hybidizers are focusing on this most outstanding attribute of flowers.

    Flava may be worth the effort to obtain, just to have something so rare, fragrant, and a part of authentic old fashioned gardening history.

    Good Luck!

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