I think loniceras, most magnolias, chimonanthus, philadelphus, azaras, cardiocrinums, clethra alnifolia, lily of the valley, daphnes, viburnums, and trachelospermum should survive in your zone.

Thanks RisingPower !
I'd never heard of azaras, cardiocrinums or clethra alnifolia before!
Honeysuckle, daphne, and viburnum are on my Ultimate Wishlist, though i always thought Trachelospermum out of my range ...i would love a jasmine or jasmine smell-alike.
What I've got right now though is a west facing yard with a big old maple tree on it.I've been thinking of threading honeysuckle through the fence and using lily of the valley, irises and sweet violets as groundcover under the tree i'm gonna need a LOT of them though !!!
HAha ... i guess my real question is what are some good ideas for fragrant groundcover in part shade under a tree?
So far these are the ideas i've come up with ...
Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Mignonette (Reseda odorata)
Iris (Iris graminea, I. pallida variegata)
Sweet violet (Viola odorata)
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)
Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera)
Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
Catmint (Nepeta grandiflora, Nepeta siberica)
Double-flowered Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile 'Flore Pleno')
I think the chamomile might need more sun than i got, and these are plant ideas i got through combing the web, I just don't know how feasible it is in reality...

If anyone knows ...let me know!

Thanks
Vee

I think you'll find most of those not to be that fragrant, maybe try some hostas like plantaginea or guacamole, lily of the valley and the sweet violets are the only ones I can recommend from there. Agastaches and a few others of those are only fragrant if brushed up against quite hard.

With the cardiocrinum giganteum it only flowers once every 4 years from a flowering size bulb but it is very fragrant. Loniceras will provide a lot of fragrance but be wary of the climbing varieties, they tend to get out of control.

I think the best plants for that area would be clethras and hostas, maybe put a few foxgloves in there for a bit of colour.

Are there any nurseries/garden centers nearby that you can visit? Botanic gardens? You've got some good choices for partly shady groundcovers, but if you throw them all together your garden space will look, well, thrown-together.

It's good to see plants personally, and even smell 'em, before you drop $ on a bunch of plants, especially your first year.

Alternatively, head to the nearest book store and check out a book on fragrant plants or perennials and look for some ideas there as well, then come on back to the forum and get the inside dirt!

Jim

Hyacinths are fabulous in the early spring. I love lilacs, but they get way too big for the spot your talking about.
Martha

VV,
You could try some of the Lillium family, Black Dragon is a favorite, they have a pervasive fragrance and are very hardy (L. rubrum also). Most of the trumpet lillies have a good fragrance, are hardy in your zone, and take up little space (although some can get quite tall!). My only problem comes from deer (they love lillies). If you have a sunny spot they could work for you - first year so-so, second year much better, third year WOW!

Bloom time depends on species but could be June and July.

Sweet Williams grow like wildfire under my maple tree in Missouri and they swell sooooo sweet.Hyacinths do too!Then of course I have my daffodils planted there also which are surrounded by grape hyacinths.My Hostas help to keep the folage pretty all Summer. Bleeding hearts and Lillies with 4 Trinity plants,Solomon's Seal for Seasonal color.But be careful...those Maple trees put out a thick mat of tiny roots close to the surface of the soil that makes the Perennials dificult to break through!! I am thinking about sinking some perennials in pots so the Maple tree roots won't crowd it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sweet Williams in May

Why not sweetshrub, Calycanthus occidentalis?
You can try White Ginger as an annual, unless you dig the roots in late autumn.
kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: sweetshrub

I'd recommend Corsican mint as a steppable ground cover. It has a very strong mint fragrance when touched, and is very hardy. I've usually seen it in herb specialty nurseries. Cardiocrinum lillies are wonderful, but do take some special care. You'd need good deep loamy soil, protection from slug and snails - and about four years before the bulb would get to blooming size. Then your "mother" bulb will give up the ghost, but produce small bulbils at the base. A stand of blooming Cardiocrinum giganteum is fantastic though.

Thanks everyone for the great advice!
I've been discovering maple trees are hard to deal with... *sigh*!
I'll be going around to the nurseries soon, now that i have lots to check out :)
Thanks again,
Vee

We grew masses of lily of the valley under a maple tree back in my old home in zone 5. Nothing is going to grow right up close to the trunk part. I don't know about under maples, but mint is extremely adaptable and hardy. I have seen hostas growing under maples but I personally have no experience with them.

Sweet Autumn Clematis. Mine perfumes my yard and two of my neighbor's yards for 2-3 weeks in Late summer/early autumn.

~Chills

There's an annual that I love to grow "flowering tobacco" and one smells like jasmine...and they attract hummingbirds too if I remember correctly:)

The flowering tobacco is nicotania, can smell wonderful, but I discovered the modern hybrids are smaller and bred for color/looks, not scent, so you have to get the old fashioned kind, which I have only seen in seed packets. It's easy to grow, a lot like petunias, which can also smell nice, like the purple ones.

Hello!
I agree with docmom on the Hyacinths. They smell wonderful. Though mine have already lost their bloom until next year. I also agree with wpoo on the Sweet Williams those smell great and bloom through the summer, for me, even in 1/2 day of shade. These produce quite a few seeds for me, though I think are biennial.
I also am very pleased with the smell of Four O'Clocks though they are an annual mine have reseeded nicely. This year I have lined my driveway with them to welcome me with fragrance and color when I come home. :)
I plan on using Creeping Thyme (Walk on Me Plant) for ground cover and I think this is really only frangrant when it's disturbed or walked on. I don't have a photo and didn't want to link to some one elses page. It has a nice color also.
I have also just planted honeysuckle hoping for it's fragrance and I had started with small plants so I can't say much for it's fragrance but I hear good things.
I do have Lily of the Valley's though I can't smell them unless I am down on the ground smelling them, but that's probably just me. My neighbors must think I am crazy but I hear they are fragrant.
I am also planting, this weekend, some Nicotiana and Jasmines-day and night blooming. I am sorry I can't say more about them, but I have gotten them for their promise of fragrance.
I hope that you do well in your search for fragrance because I feel there is nothing more relaxing than your own garden :)

How about petunias? don't know if that was mentioned, but they smell terrific.
Nicotiana also smells great..There's one called, Only the lonely, that grows anywhere from 4-6' tall..they are super fragrant. Pinetree Gardens sells the seed.
Stargazer Lily's, though they only bloom a short time, will scent the entire garden. Toni

I definitely would suggest the hostas. Mine are great in august. The warmth and humidity really keep the scent in place for you. some of the azaleas are scented. This year i'm considering adding a azalea viscosium to my mix.

But i'v got to sniff it out first.

its important that you know what scent you want. I cann't stand some that have musky overtones (i'm allergic to musk)
some with things that smell 'foxy/catty' and those strange
'something-is-dead odors' all of which get put into the
fragrant list.

You'll want things that relaease their scents on their own
such as flowers to attract pollinators. things that
are scented when you brush against them or touch them, and things that will smell when you walk on them. And you will want the odors to 'mix' well.

take the time to read about perfumes-- since that is what
smalls are.

Don't forget to think about herbs. Pines/firs as well as flowering trees, mulches(cocoa shells or pinebark),and
annuals. Also some form of enclosure will help contain the scent.

some plants not mentioned already are peonies and pansies,
sweet grass, milkweeds, muscari and tulips

diggerb