Maybe thyme?

To me, santolina has a slightly medicinal smell which I do not find offensive. Go to a nursery, sniff a pot of santolina and see what you think.

For scented foliage you could try: sage, thyme, oregano, lavender, bee balm, mint, lemon balm, catnip, and more. It all depends what you are looking for.

It was a good suggestion to find some santolina some place and smell it for yourself. Everyone is different when it comes to scents. What works for one doesn't work for another. I was having a discussion about boxwood with co-workers the other day. One lady liked it alot and another was in the same camp I was - not liking it and thinking it smelled like cat pee. Since you seem happy with your boxwood, I'm guessing it doesn't smell that way to you so maybe what smells good to me might not be your cup of tea.

FataMorgana

You are right. I should try to find some - even if just to satiate my curiosity. I already grow lavender, sage, thyme and oregano. I was hoping to try something different. I had always heard that bee balm was invasive. Is that the case?

Bee Balm, nah. I wouldn't consider it invasive at all. If it is happy, it will spread but then many perennials will spread a bit if they are very happy with a location. It is a wonderful and pretty native plant.

FataMorgana

I love Santolina, I find the smell very soothing as well as pretty. Mine is in blossom right now and it is just gorgerous

Patricia, are you sure that you aren't thinking of something else? I've certainly not experienced anything like what you've described regarding the smell nor the blue bottle flies.

What Patricia says is true. My husband and I planted it on our hillside and when it bloomed it was terrible, yes it smelled like cat or dog poo. The plant did not smell only the flowers. Every year my husband had to go up and cut all the flowers off.

Lovely plant with a fair fragrance. Can't beat the fragrance of Lavender.

It’s a beautiful plant but I agree, it smells kinda like a body odor / cat poop mix. It took me a while to find out where it was coming from. It’s still in my yard but likely because it’s furthest from my house and I don’t smell it inside.

Here are the flowers

There are cultivars with less chrome and more lemon yellow flowers which I prefer. However, many people clip the plants regularly to stop them flowering and keep them compact. They can splay and sprawl if this is not done. Can't say I've ever noticed a problem with the smell of the flowers, but perhaps that only happens in intense, hot sunshine.