I've been deeply considering Tamora....

Don't post peonies! I covet the tree peony. Can't get them to live.

Sorry about the paeony - couldn't resist :0 I think the secret is to abuse them. This one I yanked out of my sister's garden this Feb. I do everything I'm not supposed to (move them, prune them) and they are quite happy.

My first real brugmansia bloom of the year since bringing them up from the basement, Xena. Has a slightly cherry, spicy, baby powder scent?

I think the biggest secret for peonies here is that it's too hot for peonies!

We have one hybrid available called itoh. I tried it. It died.

I wanna try again but they are so expensive...

I had to share this. This is Stainless Steel. A few years ago at the nursery I saw a section of Sterling Silver rose that took my breath away.

When I went to look the fragrance blew me away. I noticed that they had a bunch of roses out of bloom next to them named "Stainless Steel". The picture looked just like the Sterling Silver bloom next to me so I gave them a Google.

Read everything about how stainless steel was supposed to be exactly like Sterling Silver, but a better grower and bloomer. So I bought it.

It sent out two measly blooms that faded the moment they opened in the past 3 years. I was not impressed.

This year it actually sent out 5 perfect bloom that, so far, are lasting longer than 2 hours.

I'm smitten. The colour is superb. But the fragrance. Oh my gosh. Even out of all the old roses, David Austin's, and extremely fragrant hybrid teas this takes the cake. One bloom is scenting my whole downstairs. Old rose and lemon drops.

A few misgivings though. It is not Sterling silver. The colour is a very light grey mauve. Beautiful. But not the silvery porcelain lavender of Sterling Silver. The scent, while similar, is also not the same.

So now I think I need both.

Ordphien,
I tried a couple of lavendar/mauve roses, and Sterling Silver was just not performing for me. My sister had the same problems...weak growth, few flowers and then it took forever if ever, to produce a second bloom. We thought maybe all purple roses were a bit on the frail side.
Well, I planted Neptune and it's done very well for me. I was most surprised by how healthy the leaves are considering we get such bad black spot here. And it reblooms nicely. Very strong fragrance.

Here it is with its great big leaves waiting to bloom:

And here are blooms from last summer (colour is a bit off as photo taken late afternoon)

Neptune is gorgeous!

I have Angel Face, Poseidon, Love Song, Stainless Steel, Blue Moon, Blue Girl, Twilight Zone, and Lavender Crystal. I'm smitten with the whole purple/mauve colour.

I know Sterling Silver is supposed to be weak. But I have 4 "greenhouse" roses like Green Romantica, or Black Baccara that do well for me. So I figured I might actually have a chance. I mean. It's gotta grow somewhere.

If Sterling Silver didn't work out for you I suggest Stainless Steel. Not exactly the same, but as close as it gets I think. Not too sure about it's blackspot resistance. We don't get that here.

Have you tried Love Song? Exquisite lavender blooms. No fragrance. But that lack of fragrance is made up with some serious growing and blooming power.

raphiolepis not sure which

and yes! my crapapple bloomed too finally!!

Rosa 'Sombreuil' is starting to open...right before the rain. I'd better enjoy its tea fragrance while I can!

Oh, so beautiful...Robert, looks like your garden is really taking off! My roses are just in bud. Right now the tree peonies (5 of them) are holding court, so getting fragrance from indoor gardenia & m. figo

Wow to many beauties this month :) and how are all your crap apples flowering already :P

viburnum park farm wonderful fragrance every year

Another viburnum only this time viburnum Carlesii

magnolia stellata

Flag pole cherry lovely fragrance

Prunus avium 'Stella' slightly fragrant flowers but yummy fruit ;)

Orchid bifrenaria harrisoniae

My other apple blosson is still going strong :) Iwanagara Apple blossom nice scent

variegated Hoya parasitica one of the strongest scents from a Hoya

Artabotrys hexapetalus starting to flower again

Forgot photo of Artabotrys hexapetalus

this thread is getting better and better! I love the sombreuil, robert!

How would you describe the scent? Same question for the a. hexapetalus, brian!

Ha! I'm terrible with scent description so I'll go with typical tea rose scent. :)

Maggie, didn't you try to post something about Hydrangea 'Golden Crane'? If you do have this plant does it really have an intense jasmine like scent? I looked it up and shared it with my friend in OKC who loves hydrangeas and she ordered two!

Fenius i would go with fruity :) but the flowers only seem to last a day or two but it has lots of buds for a small plant

But is it melon fruity? like magnolia alba&co?

Not as fragrant as I expected. Maybe give it a few more days? It's already been like 5....but it is beautiful.

sedirea japonica? I've heard it has citrus fragrance but the one I had (before I killed it) was typical rose scent..How is this??

Robert, one of my fave nurseries sent out an alert for new plant - the hydrangea. I'm going to pick one up of course:). Perfect for the dappled shade I have. Supposed to have jasmine scent but we'll have to see! Will keep you updated:)

Robert I don't know if I told you. A couple of years ago at a nursery I saw a 6 feet version of Aglaie Odorata full of blooms. Alas no scent from such a gigantic plant. That's when I lost interest.
Is your Sombeuil the climbing rose also known as Colonial White or is it the tea rose Mlle. Sombreuil? (if you're not sure read this thread)

Brian Wow!

Fragrant hydrangea Maggie, keep us posted ;-)

Haha. I know all about the controversy over this rose. Being a novice I'm going to leave it up to the experts and for now go with the tag from when I got it as a bare root rose from Home Depot years ago. It's a gorgeous climber. We had company over today and people enjoyed its scent over the pink ones. :)

You novice, come on!
It is a truly lovely rose Robert.
And the pink ones are ZD ?!

Yup...or at least that's what the tag says. ; )

The white rose definitely seems more sniffable for the long haul. Its scent is more gentle. I believe one of our guests said sophisticated or something like that. :)

Robert, that's breathtakingly lovely.....

Omg Robert, so very lovely...

Is that little roof part of a pergola? Love it:)

I read that Sombreuil has terrific thorns & huge unmanageable canes, but yrs looks very sweet;)

Maggie, good eye! Yes. That's where we live when it's not too cold or hot. We wanted to screen it in to keep out the mosquitoes but I wanted the light and space for my plants (plus the birds like to fly through).

And yes, Sombreuil will tear you to shreds with its wicked thorns and its canes are out growing the arbor but I could stare into its quartered blooms for hours. I'm in love with all those petals and its scent, of course. :)

I

I went to give the rabbit some hay in the dark and smelled something incredibly sweet and found my egg magnolia in bloom.

Aw...I didn't know you have a bunny!
I know Kemistry grows this one and has described its scent in terms I didn't like but I wonder how it smells outside since he grows everything inside? :)

Robert, It has a lot of note similar to M. alba, with prominent cantaloupe and pineapple notes but waaaaay stronger than alba. Unfortunately, it's peak of fragrance doesn't last more than a few hours. This one was weird as it was 11PM when I smelled it but I usually find the peak scent is in the morning. If you like that type of scent, go with Magnolia coco instead as the scent is released in the evening and you're more likely to be able to smell it then.

Robert love your summer living room!

..Speaking of fruit scents, this calycanthus venus (finally found it this year, next goal boronia!) smells exactly like fruit salad, with liquor and all!

And my first scented bud of Blanche Moreau

I love moss roses! The moss scent is just so mesmerizing to me and the best part is you can rub it anytime to smell when the plant isnt in bloom. :)

I know! this and r. rubiginosa are fast becoming my favourites because of the leaves' scent!!

Robert, too fab:). I have a similar pergola but a huge table takes up most of the space underneath (lots of relatives haha). Also Vancouver has lots of rain so it's hard to maintain garden room.

I have Mme Hardy, which is similar I think. I was obsessed with old roses for a time.

I spend way more time outside than in - you sound the same haha

SO PRETTY! All these pictures. I wish I can smell them!

Fenius: the sedirea smells like sweet lemon peel the first few days. Now it smells like just perfume...not sweet, no musky...not really lemony either. Hard to describe. I like it, but there's a certain undertone in it that is unique? haha

Gorgeous! I want a moss rose so badly.

Peach drift. Smells peachy lol.

My Arabian jasmine are getting closer!

Fragrant 4 o'clocks have started.

Fragrant rose germanium.

Volunteer stock.

Philadelphus 'Snowbelle' is starting to open and produce its lovely scent. Every year I think I'm going to dig it up and either trash it or maybe move it since it's such an ugly shrub when it's not in bloom but I guess I'm lazy. ;)

Robert, what? Roses, and now your philadelphus is blooming already?? I thought you're Z 7? Mind is just leafing out. Or are your temps more extreme hot/cold than ours?

Maianthemum racemosa. Bought this at plant sale. I already have some in my garden that has no smell, but this one has huge plumes with super strong perfume. It's a rather sharp fragrance that filled the car, so it's best enjoyed outdoors. Very sweet plant

This tree peony smells wonderful, honest. Ok I'm lying but the flowers are the size of dinner plates!

Maggie, haha. Yes. I'm in zone 7 and you never know what the weather is going to be in Oklahoma. ;)

Snowbelle is planted in the narrow bed by the arbor and probably needs more sun. It just looks so ratty and terrible when not in bloom (it's the white flowered shrub in the middle of the bed).

Our other philadelphus (Innocence) is just budding up so should be blooming for next month's thread. :)

Your flowers are gorgeous. I'm intrigued with your maianthemum.

Robert, wow what a wonderful profusion of plants:). Love how we're all kindred spirits here. Sometimes I look around my garden & think, damn I've got a lot of plants. Now I feel more normal haha!

Yeah, it's funny how the same plant can be so different. I bought maianthemun the first time because it was supposed to be fragrant but it was so puny & did nothing. This new one is so fragrant. Who knows why.

Ha! You've only seen a fraction of my plant addiction. I shudder to think how many potted plants I actually have (not counting the ones in the ground!). :)

Denial is my modus operandi. This forum is chock full of enablers! Laugh.

That's awesome that your new maianthemun is so fragrant. I bet it makes you want to get some more. ;)

Lilacs are blooming, brugmansia has buds and aricula primroses are flowering. A big surprise for me was how much scent the Solomon's Seal puts out.

Care to share any pics, Cedar? Sounds lovely!

Robert, hah plant addiction, tell me about it. I used to have tall piles of empty pots that were a scary reminder of all my purchases. Now the city accepts them for recycling so I no longer have that problem hahaha! What I'd love to see is a photo of your basement -legendary!

Here is the latest addition: citrus myrtifolia 'Chinotto.' Wasn't planning on citrus but this found my nose:) A lot of citrus in the nursery but this variety's perfume was twice as strong , and so floriferous. And the small leaves/dense habit will make a splendid tree form one day

Yes, lilac is blooming! Mme Lemoine:

R. 'White Lights'. The very palest shell pink

R. 'Candy Lights.' Just planted this year

Ugh. You're terrible! I was just looking at some Komquats yesterday wondering which are the longest blooming and here you go throwing out another lovely option!

I've been googling c. myrtifolia, and the abundance & strong fragrance of the flowers are mentioned a lot. There was a Meyer lemon next to it, and definitely this one was so much more fragrant. The only downside is that it flowers only spring & fall.

Hope I can keep this beautiful plant alive & happy. Lots of great info on the forums here.

ps. it's supposed to be Z8a, but I don't think I'll risk it in the ground

This one came with the house (the only flowering shrub left from old regime haha) but I'm guessing it's r. luteum as it's fairly scented

Robert love your patio.
How many flushes does Sombreuil have?
Is it one major flush in April and scattered blooms later or is more like a small repeat in fall?

One major flush in spring followed by sporadic blooms in summer then a smaller flush in fall. I bet those in more mild areas probably get more blooms.

I'm excited to see what fragrant goodies people will share on the May thread. :)

fenius sorry for the late reply i was waiting for another flower to fully open! I have had 3 people sniff and they all agree there is a strong smell of sherry or like fruit cakes you have at christmas with alcohol in! it is really hard to pin down as the fragrance tends to change as the flower ages.

thanks Brian!! Off to the May thread, can't wait!