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You can add a whole new dimension to your garden with delicious fragrance so shop with your nose and sniff out these winners

Scented summer evenings are a thing to treasure. With the right plants, trees and shrubs, your garden will awaken your senses as you water your plants or sit and relax.

There’s nothing quite like walking through the garden with the subtle scent of honeysuckle or roses.

Plants emit scents to attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees, which are vital for the garden to thrive.

But it also brings sound and movement as bees bumble happily around your sweet garden.

Whether from flowers or foliage, there are lots of ways to add fragrance. So shop with your nose.

If you’re looking to buy a rose plant, go in July, August or September, ensuring they are in flower so you can get a good idea of their scent.

FLOWERING PLANTS

Viburnum works hard to bring fragrance to the garden. It has beautiful, heady flowers that arrive in early spring. Try Viburnum carlesii or juddii for spectacular flowers and a sweet aroma.

For something bigger, philadelphus, known as mock orange, has hugely scented blooms. ‘Belle Etoile’ is one of my favourites. Or breathe in lilac, lavender and rose, planted in beds and borders.

If you are looking for scent out of season, try Daphne, which is probably one of the strongest perfumed flowering plants. It brings a lovely scent earlier in the year than most other plants.

Or get night-scented phlox. It’s a small plant – I have one in my garden – that doesn’t smell at all in the day.

Then, in the evening, it suddenly kicks in with a very special fragrance.

FOLIAGE PLANTS

Scent is not just about flowers. Foliage plays an important part, plus you get to reach out and touch a plant’s foliage to get that beautiful scent.

Rosemary is an exceptional plant, not only as a top shrub for your garden but also for its culinary uses.

Sage and oregano are also superbly fragrant herbs.

Sage comes in a variety of colours, including purple, gold and the classic silvery green. And oregano blasts out the freshest scent.

Another top choice for fragrance is Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, otherwise known as Russian sage.

It has incredibly aromatic foliage. Or try Santolina chamaecyparissus – cotton lavender – which has a soothing scent similar to thyme. Mexican orange blossom has sharply fragrant leaves that, when crushed, emit a citrusy smell.

CLIMBING PLANTS

Climbers are particularly useful plants when it comes to smell.

When they are used to embellish archways, fences and patios, they surround the whole area with their delicious scents.

Jasmine officinale is a beautiful white flowering climber to keep in

mind, as well as that old classic, honeysuckle, which is renowned for its perfectly sweet scent.

Companion-plant both early and late Dutch honeysuckle for fantastic colour and fragrance continually from May to September.

Late Dutch honeysuckle will take over from the early variety in June or July. Cytisus Battandieri is another beautiful plant and it smells of fresh pineapple. And not forgetting sweet pea, which is a great classic addition to any fragrance garden.

FUN FOR KIDS

It is a good idea to get children involved in the gardening and with school holidays coming up, it will keep them occupied and away from the tech and telly.

Kids love plants that bring vibrant colour, texture and, of course, weird and wonderful smells.

Lemon verbena is a top plant that is easy for little ones to grow, with the added bonus that is smells of zingy lemon sherbet.

Mint is always popular with children and comes in loads of exciting varieties, including peppermint, spearmint and even chocolate mint.

Lemon-scented thyme is another herb that has a zesty fragrance they will love.

And if there are any chocoholics in the family, then plant up some chocolate cosmos, which has unique deep crimson flowers that smell like chocolate too.

Fragrance adds so much to the garden. So go wild and create a whole sensory experience with a clever choice of plants.

Not only will it be a treat for your nose but you will attract those important pollinators, which return the love to your garden.