Create a unique experience in your yard or garden by adding flowers that smell like candy and other foods including popcorn, chocolate, honey, different fruit, clove, and more! These beautiful flowers not only smell great, but they're attractive to pollinators, as well.
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Last week, I shared some of my plans for our yard and garden this year. I mentioned that I wanted to create a scent-sory experience on the deck. What does that mean? Well, I want to create a space with flowers that are full of fragrance. Specifically, flowers that smell more like candy and other foods than floral. The idea all started with two flowers that I'm currently growing from seed - popcorn cassia and chocolate cosmos.
I've been growing popcorn cassia from seed for a few years now. The plant smells just like buttered popcorn! It's my first year growing chocolate cosmos. They apparently have a chocolaty smell to them. So I started wondering what other flowers smelled like different foods and went down a rabbit hole, taking notes of all different kinds of flowers to possibly add to our deck this summer
Flowers That Smell Like Food and Candy
I wasn't really sure if this idea was going to work out. But it turns out that there are several flowers that smell like sweets and other food. Not only are these flowers a fun way to add fragrance to your yard and garden, but they'll add gorgeous color and many will attract beneficial pollinators, too.
Popcorn Cassia
Popcorn cassia is treated like an annual here in zone 7. It's a fast growing flower with lush green foliage and bright yellow flowers. Once established, the plant enjoys full sun and smells delightfully like buttered popcorn! It does get rather tall, so it grows best in a large pot with well-draining soil.
Chocolate Cosmos
I cannot wait until the flowers start forming on these cosmos. Not only will they smell like chocolate, but they have a gorgeous, deep dark brown color. These are also an annual here in Jersey and prefer full sun. They're another tall flower that will make a bold statement in a large pot or flower patch.
Sweet Alyssum
I love sweet alyssum! They grow tiny clusters of white flowers and look great as an accent plant in arrangements, but also stand out on their own. They're a perfect addition to cottage style gardens and have a sweet honey-like scent to them. They enjoy full sun and need regular watering.
Pineapple Sage
Pineapple sage was on my list to grow last year. I saw plants available early on in the summer, but never grabbed one. After that, they were hard to find. I won't make the same mistake this year. Just like the name suggests, pineapple sage does have a pineapple scent to it. It is edible, but its bright red flowers attract pollinators, like hummingbirds.
New Jersey Tea
The NJ Tea plant was a wish list plant that I'm finally getting this year. Not only do I love the history behind it (it was used as a tea substitute during the Revolutionary War), but it's also a native plant that's attractive to pollinators. The clusters of white flowers are said to have a sweet, honey-like fragrance - like sweet alyssum.
Plumeria
Plumeria is a gorgeous, tropical plant with stunning, bright flowers that are typically used in Hawaiian leis. You can't pinpoint the scent to one sweet or fruit. However, its scent is described as citrusy with notes of peach, coconut, and melon all commingling with a floral fragrance.
Scented Geraniums
I always plant at least one geranium during the summertime. Sometimes it's just a floral variety. Sometimes it's in the form of a citronella plant. But this year, I'll have to look for scented geraniums. They come in a variety of scents like strawberry, lemon, orange, apple, and peppermint. While they have tiny flowers, these geraniums are mainly grown for their scent.
Grape Hyacinth
Hyacinths are popping up everywhere this time of year. The grape hyacinth isn't a true hyacinth, but you'll see them in greenhouses and stores sold near the real thing. They're named for their tiny, grape-like cluster of flowers. The flowers are said to have a grape-like scent as well as an earthy grape-like flavor.
Dianthus
Dianthus, or carnations, are easy to grow flowers with beautiful, fringe-like petals. Their scent is very similar to clove mixed with vanilla. Not only do they smell great, but they're also a great flower to plant for bees and butterflies, too.
Agastache/Anise Hyssop
Agastache is one of my newest favorite flowers to grow. I've added them to pollinator patches of flowers. They're big and tall, and the bees and butterflies love them! Plus, they're available in many varieties. And the scent is compared to warm root beer, anise, and mint.
Borage
Borage is a new addition to our yard. It has hairy leaves and stems and star-shaped blue and purple flowers. It's an absolute bee magnet! Plus, the entire plant is edible. It not only tastes like cucumber, but smells like it as well.
Stock
Stock flowers are simply stunning! They prefer cooler seasons and their tall stems are topped with ruffled clusters of flowers. They're perfect for cut flower gardens, cottage gardens, and adding early color to the yard. They also smell like a combination of clove and cinnamon.
While I actually have a lot of these flowers growing in our yard already, I can't wait to add a couple more of these fun scented flowers later this spring. It's a playful way to add fragrance to your flower garden.
Photos from iStock, Johnson's Nursery, Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels
