Dwarf Radicans Gardenia. Allow to branch naturally, rather than shearing, and you will get more flowers.

Satsuma mandarin or maybe a kumquat.

Can you grow daphne in SC?? A combination of sweet box (Sarcococca sp.) and winter and summer blooming daphnes should provide you with lovely scent at least 9 months out of the year. And there are of course gardenias.

I just looked those up.. I love that idea !! Thank you that's exactly what I will do

Daphne was something I was going to suggest yesterday on your other thread. Drat. Why didn't I?

It tolerates certain things: pruning (even hard pruning)... well that's all that I can think of in that list. It must have good drainage. Loves morning sun but needs protection from hot, midday sun. Ideally it would like slightly acidic soil but that's ideally. And we don't all have that. A drink now and then of iron chelates helps it there. That is also good for your other acid-lovers.

ETA: I only mentioned it can tolerate hard pruning because I discovered that. You won't need to prune it if you don't want to. It won't get up to 5'.

Check out Daphne x transatlantica Summer Ice which bloomed in my garden from some time in April until well into November, really unusual in NH. White edged leaves and a few white flowers all season; not a stunner, but quietly lovely all the time. The voles eventually ate mine, but if I could find a replacement, I would plant another with vole defenses. Mine had well drained but moist soil, but I think this one might be less fussy than many Daphnes.

Sad story Babs, those are beautiful and would be a shame to loose. Get those vols!!

Anywho, does it smell all summer too ? Also it says good dry air.. I'm in SC, although within the usda zone requirements , I have HUMID air.. anyone in humid air ever tried this shrub

Raulston Arboretum has 13 kinds of Daphne.

https://jcra.ncsu.edu/horticulture/our-plants/results.php?search=daphne

They've also been able to accumulate an assortment of Sarcococca as well.

https://jcra.ncsu.edu/horticulture/our-plants/results.php?search=sarcococca

So then the next question is if your part of the State is similar enough to where they are near Raleigh for their results to be relevant. Or if your local climate and soils are significantly different, would actually exclude these plants. If that seems likely then look for a nearby arboretum, botanical garden, college campus or other landscaped site where a comparative diversity of plantings is present, see what they have there. There may be some such place quite near you that you haven't thought of. For instance in my area at least a few of the community colleges have horticulture programs, with associated plantings on their campuses. One of these is mere minutes by car from my house.

The native Calycanthus is fragrant. I had it my old place, but I'm sure it would be much happier in the humid south. It actually did reasonably well in z4 WI, but it was in a very protected site. I'm not certain how much shade it can handle.

Woodlanders

No plants bloom all the time, unless you get into some tropical plants. Most plants have their seasons of bloom.

Daphne odora is the one to get of the daphnes. No other daphne smells as good in my opinion. It blooms in winter into spring.

Regarding Sarcococca, there are numerous ones. S. hookerian var. humilis remains lower growing, but creeps along by stolens and can creep under your stairs. It can be gradually spread to quite a size. It usually stays a 8" to a foot high and not much more but spreads horizontally maybe 6" a year.

S. confusa, ruscifolia, orientalis, saligna, hookeriana var. hookeriana -- are just some of the higher-growing ones....up to three or four feet with arching branches. All bloom in mid-winter to spring depending on your zone.

so my local nursery has Sweet Shrub and not Sweet Box. I like he sweet shrub because it blooms and smells more in summer than any other season and it actually puts out a bloom of sort. Question is, is it really a strong smelling plant or do you have to be right on it to smell it ? I assume by the name i should be to smell it a couple feet away at least !?

Also I am working with mainly shade with indirect light, and only 2-3 hours of full direct sun mid day, will that be ok ?

ohhhhh Abelia looks pretty too ! which would be more fragrant between that and sweet shrub ?

Can you grow Osmanthus? The scent is delightful and I can smell it from yards away. Here most bloom in autumn, when most other stuff won't. It will take shade or sun, can be pruned, different species have different growth habits. The other plant that I always can smell from a distance is Edgeworthia, but I don't think that it's hardy where you are. It blooms in late winter/early spring.

If you want an abelia that has a nice fragrance, stick with A. mosanensis. The fragrance of most x grandiflora cultivars is virtually undetectable IME.

btw, the bloom period on the sweetshrub is typically very early summer - usually over by the end of May with maybe a sporadic bloom here and there in summer - and the fragrance is not a strong carrier nor is it uniform for all plants: "Sweetshrub flowers have a sweet, fruity scent often described as pineapple, strawberry, melon, banana or bubble gum. Scent is highly variable from plant to plant, and some have little fragrance or even an objectionable odor. To ensure a pleasantly-scented plant, either buy while in bloom, propagate by cuttings from a fragrant plant, or purchase a named cultivar known for good fragrance."

interesting..

Sara I will have to look into those

gardengal I will have to ask my nursery what version they have, that may change things if they have the wrong one.

In my yard, Abelia mosanensis fills it with scent. Not sure if the evergreen Abelia's are quite as fragrant.

Abelias are sun lovers. Most scented kinds of Calycanthus I have sampled were sour smelling, like fermentation - definitely buy in bloom, when you can check for yourself.

i don't think i have enough sun then. The sun comes behind the house and gives this area all shade except for 2-3 hours direct overhead sun mid day.

I may just have to forget about a good smelling shrub and go with a good mixed shade, summer bloomer. its tough because its not even really mixed sun although its only a couple hours of sun its 3 hours of the hottest part of the day sun !

Have you considered a deciduous rhododendron/azalea? Short bloom time, but some have incredible scent, and I don't think that the few hours of midday sun will bother them. Many have really lovely fall color, and you could consider planting an adjacent, relatively small clematis to grow into it to give it a long bloom time.

i have considered it but i have soo many azaleas and enough hydrangeas that i need something else. My yard is the perfect hydrangea and azalea yard but i cant do any more. i need some variety or your right, that would be pretty.

I suggested it even though you have mentioned having rhodies and azaleas because the deciduous ones looks fairly different to my eye from the evergreen ones, and I don't know which you have. Some of my deciduous rhodies bloom in June and July, well after the typical rhodie and the fall color is lovely.

Alternatively, plant another type of shrub and relatively near to it plant some Nicotiana, which is annual here, but I don't know about your area. Has a lovely wafting vanilla-y scent starting late afternoon and continuing into the evening.

If you decide to go with Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus), I'd look for one of the clones that have been selected for fragrance. I had 'Athens', which was nicely fragrant and wafted during early evening hours, but another is 'Michael Lindsey'. Good luck!