How about some david austin english rose bushes? Jude the obscure is one possible. To back it up you could have mandevilla laxa climbing over the side of the garage maybe? One thing i've noticed, it does look a bit shady there, does it get much light during the day? If it doesn't maybe you want to consider more shade loving shrubs, possibly some azaleas, rhododendrons or some hostas.

How about Hosta plantaginea? Just a thought...

Hi Linda, If she were my neighbor I might consider poison sumac! But seriously, I second the suggestion of Hosta plantaginea. It does very well in a space like that and has a wonderful smell from large (for a hosta) white flowere. In fact it and it's hybrids are the only fragrant hostas, as far as I know. Mandevilla laxa would not survive your winters, but lily of the valley would. And boxwood is very neat and nice and smells good too. Best of luck to you. Jerry

Mandevilla laxa is root hardy to -20c, it would survive, it does here, providing it's up against a wall. The plantaginea is just one of many hostas which are a possibility, guacamole is another.

Don't forget to check the lists at the FAQ page. The link is at the top of the main Fragrant Plants page. There are lists of fragrant plants there, and fragrant plants which do well in mostly shade (houseplants). I would also recommend going to your local Home Depot and nurseries to see what is hardy in your area and to see what fragrances appeal to you. Many of the things that I would recommend to you will not survive your winters, but the local nurseries will know.

I don't think that would be a good spot for lavender. Lavender needs hot blasting sun for most of the day. Without that, it gets stringy, mildewy, roots rot and no blooms.

I agree that the hosta would be great there. Also, some day lilies. There are a couple of fragrant ones.

PS sounds like your neighbor is one of those you need to be sure not to talk to :)

Following Mehitabel's suggestion of daylilies, try looking into Hemerocallis citrina, the night-blooming citron daylily. This plant is amazing! And it would look great interplanted with Hosta plantaginea, which is another evening bloomer.

The hemerocallis lilioasphodelus and mary vaughn are also well worth considering.

If you like lilies, I would grow several types of fragrant lilies, including the orientals. From daylilies, to asiatics (some of which are fragrant also), to the trumpets, to the orientals, and now the orienpets, to the species martagons, to the cardiocrinums (gorgeous), to formosanum (blooms in fall), you could have something blooming virtually all of the time, and fragrant, too!

If you want vines, you can use the fragrant clematis varieties, such as paniculata, or armandii I think it's called now - it blooms in the fall with a wonderfull vanilla fragrance.

Another fragrant hosta is 'Honey Bells'. The oriental lilies will really hit you with their fragrance, though. I can smell mine before I open the gate to the backyard (and they are situated to the rear of my property).

Good luck!

SusanLynne

Thank you. AL of these Ideas are wonderful!! I will have to make a plan with all of them and sketch it out. I am hopign to get this yard done this year so I can enjoy it more the following years :^).

I think I will be off to the Library to get some MORE garden books :^))

Sweet Autumn Clematis. in my neighborhood I can smell it as get within 4 houses of my house on a good warm autumn day. It is a monster too (which means you won't have to see her either). The only downside is that it will need to be trimmed heavily each winter/early spring to get it to grow and flower its best.

~Chills

Would Osmanthus fragrans make it up there? You might consider that even as an annual! Smells great! Also, try white ginger.
You might consider getting a product called a Scarecrow. It's a lawn-sprinkler/whirlygig that's activated by motion. One foot in your direction whatever gets water-blasted! It's often used for dogs/raccoons.
While I hate this person is donating unsolicited advice, it's too bad she doesn't become a mastergardener and give advice to whoever asks. (She's got too much time on her hands and needs to volunteer!)
kevin

Sweet Autumn Clematis is astoundingly fragrant, but you only get it August to September... better to plant that, and then some super-smelly stuff in between.

- You can get some VERY fragrant daffodils for early spring.

- Later in spring,and through summer, you can plant a ton of different fragrant dianthus that will drive her crazy. They can handle the part shade fine.

- Roses that are the most scented and that would tolerate that kind of shade... the best one is Darlow's Enigma, a beautiful white climber.

- Early spring, White Forsythia carries for like a block, and I think you could find one that'd fit your space. Blooming in mid-spring, a dwarf cultivar of a VERY fragrant viburnum like "Korean Spice" will produce a whole lot of smell in a relatively small, tidy bush. For summer, maybe a Buddleia - they're all a sprawling, untidy mess though, with the exception of White Ball in my experience. Honeysuckle is always pungent too. I'm not sure how any of these fare in afternoon shade.

- Don't give up on lilacs entirely - some of the dwarf forms are very small and very fragrant! I think Miss Kim can handle a little shade too.

- If you're looking for something annual but architectural in the summer, there's always Nicotiana sylvestris - fragrance carries for a block or more, and part-shade tolerant. Also, moonflowers will space out the vine-derived fragrance for a couple months before the clematis starts, and if you get some really fragrant sweet peas you can have it unbearably perfumey out there by May or June.

- Other annuals and perennials that are very fragrant and have smell that carries - fragrant stock (you can get regular stock AND evening stock so it's 24-hour smelly), four o'clocks, some phlox, DEFINITELY sweet william... I'm trying some Zaluszianskya this year and we'll see how it goes! All of these prefer more sun but can do some shade, if it's not too bad.

Lily of the Valley is waftingly pungent - and it's INVASIVE so she'll be picking it off HER lawn too! heh heh...

- When in doubt, Oriental lilies can be the smelliest thing next to lilacs. They want sun, but maybe a few well-placed ones at the front of the section would get enough. My neighbor has one called "Silk Road" that I can smell practically a quarter mile away. It's astounding. Since you're in a good climate for them, you could probably get a really good selection of super-fragrant lilies going (everything but the Asiatics) from late June to late August.

...all I can think of for now... let us know how it goes!

Hi,
Just a note "from the other side" of the fence. Your neighbor may just be a busy-body or may have a real and serious problem with flowers - which might be related to some of the scents. My husband is allergic (ie literally CANNOT breathe!) with some of the strong scented flowers. He does fine with nicotinia, alyssum, honeysuckle which all are sweet. Has a problem with our lilac ( its clear across our huge yard and I can't bring any in for vases). We have an old damask type rose which I think is real strong - but he is ok with it, but can't handle bunches of roses. The lemony scents make his eyes swell, but he is fine with bee balm (monarda). Maybe if your neighbor knows you'd like an attractive yard but don't want to cause harm, you can figure out what specific kinds bother her? (And I know, some folks you just can't make happy no-how...)