PU, I can smell those stinky flowers all the way from here.

Ick, I need a clothespin on my nose around those plants.

i am so glad that you said that, guys; my neighbor LOVES the smell of privet flowers and I thought I was the crazy one who thought that they stunk to high heaven. PU indeed.

And wildly invasive as well.

Not so much the flowers, but I always loved the way these smelled while I was pruning them. I had several in South Florida years ago where the custom was to limb them up quite severely leaving only foliage at the top. This required a lot of pruning which I really, really enjoyed purely for the aroma. I liked it so much that after we moved north I kept a potted ligustrum for years so I could remind myself of the aroma from time to time but finally gave it up when winter space issues forced a decision.

Smell is sometimes subjective. Some say umbrella magnolia flowers stink, but I find their smell intriguing. Many flowers that have "odd" smells (not sweet) are meant to attract flies and wasps as pollinators instead of bees.

cearbhaill, are you saying the foliage of ligustrum smells good? I think its likely you are thinking about foliage of wax myrtle or bay laurel both of which smell aromatic and fragrant.