You could take a remnant branch of each one to where you plan on buying trees, they should know what they are. Bring the 'Before' picture with you to show form and height.

Sorry for your loss.

I'm afraid there is nothing left of them, as mentioned, they were cut down over five years ago, and while i was in a deep depression about it, i approved a generous offer from the local authorities to clean up the wreckage at no charge, they did a clean job, and if there were any scraps left, they long ago became mulch

I'm afraid this could be a very frustrating challenge. The photos are not clear enough to confirm any sort of ID and there seems to be multiple types involved as well.

There are many conifers that have a distinct fragrance and several that have thin, ropey looking foliage. Oddly, most are reported to have a fruity scent :-) You might want to seek these out at a local nursery or botanical garden to see if any match up.

Incense cedar - Calocedrus decurrens

Lemon lime cypress - Cupressus macrocarpa Wilma Goldcrest

Western red cedar - Thuja plicata

Coast redwood - Sequoia sempervirens

Various junipers could also be a possibility although no one I know would describe them as having a "lovely" scent.........usually quite the opposite. 🤐

An update! While i was out today, i passed by a garden containing a massive evergreen hedge which looks, and smells, remarkably like the trees i used to have. I took some pictures, and i cut off a small branch as a sample to take home. I know this seems pretty large as cuttings go, i wanted to get something that might be enough to continue growing on its own if such things are possible, and i'm quite sure the hedge was so colossally huge that it shall not be missed

Do you think there's any possibility that i can plant and cultivate this branch?

failing that, could anyone perhaps identify it, so that i might buy some seeds/buds/cones, or whatever this species uses to propagate?

Firstly, your trees were all different, not the same.

The large one on the left could be Cupressus macrocarpa, common in the British Isles but potentially a huge tree which I would not plant in a small front garden.

I believe the cutting is from a leylandii. If you want a tree the same as the cutting you took (I hope you asked permission) I'd take it to a garden centre and ask for the same thing. Or say you need something similar but a dwarf grower. You really do NOT want that giant in front of your house. You will not have much success trying to grow one from seed and cuttings would take an age to grow to any size even if they rooted.

Most conifers smell similar so you really don't need to get exactly the same ones.

And I know you are emotionally attached to these trees but they were not a good choice for a small front garden. The one on the left already seems to have had to be cut back hard at the top or it would have been up to the upstairs windows. If you do a bit of googling you'll see what happens when people plant this kind of tree and don't anticipate its potential size.

Agree with floral_uk, those were bad choices for a small front garden. There are so many other more delightful and interesting things you could grow in Scotland besides Leyland and California cypress. Even if you want really conifer foliar odor, you could, for example, plant a smaller growing cultivar of fir.

https://www.ashwoodnurseries.com/shop/abies-concolor-compacta.html

"... they all smelled nice, and that smell is what i want most "

That points towards the ambience of a pine forest, let the OP have it, I'd say, they had it!

None of the pictured trees is a pine. The trouble with growing potentially large trees in a British front garden is that they don't only affect the home owner. The neighbours both sides have to deal with them too. Disputes over trees, especially leylandii, are frequent and acrimonious. There is specific legislation to deal with high hedges. That's why it would be best for the OP to find varieties which do not have the potential to outgrow the site.

"... massive evergreen hedge which looks, and smells, remarkably like the trees i used to have "

Keyword is 'massive', not 'pine'. A dwarf planting of anything evergreen would never have the ambience the OP is seeking, only a massive planting will have a chance of success.

Under very ideal circumstances I have smelled my Thuja koraiensis, which is still a small plant of 2m X 1.5m. (it seems to have some epigenetic 'disease' preventing it from forming a leader...but I digress)

But I agree with you, OC, generally speaking, you need a large conifer planting to get the conifer odor. My southern pine, probably a loblolly hybrid, is finally providing that wonderful southern pine odor on hot days, now that it's almost 15m tall. (I think some it comes from the dry needles on the ground, too)

"you need a large conifer planting to get the conifer odor "

Not necessarily :-) Various conifers easily release their scent with physical contact, which is certainly plausible in a small urban garden. Cupressus macrocarpa 'Wilma Goldcrest', aka lemon lime cypress, immediately comes to mind as a likely candidate of reasonable size.

Thanks. I can imagine that's the case, I'm not familiar with most cultivars of Monterey Cypress, but surely, some of them are probably very fragrant.

OP could also consider non-conifers that have strongly scented foliage, like Cistus. From what I remember of my single plant of Cistus 'Ledon', a front garden full of it, even a small front garden, would smell amazing! Although widely cultivated in the UK, I would, of course, have no idea what cultivars would be happiest in Glasgow. On a per unit foliage basis, it's surely more fragrant that almost any conifer.

Interesting. Cistus of all varieties are grown here - a tough, no-nonsense shrub well suited to neglected areas like commercial parking lots or seaside plantings - but I cannot say I have ever noticed any kind of fragrance from them

Cistus has a strong scent? But WHAT does it smell of? not all scents are the same

OP, you may want to consider more conventional (and popular) scent gardening with roses and lilacs :-)

I think the OP would be best served going to a local nursery and asking about suitable small conifers. Glasgow isn't known for sunny fast draining front gardens of the kind which Cistus would enjoy. It is theoretically hardy there but needs favourable conditions.

I'm quite intrigued by the scent she remembers. I live four hundred miles south of Glasgow in a warmer, sunnier part of the UK and I can't say conifers release their scent very much unless you are cutting into them.

Yes, this would probably best be answered by a local nursery. Go on a warm day - you might smell something you like!

I've been making a point to notice conifer odor in the past couple weeks.

The two conifers that have the strongest odor as the smallest plants are: Alaska Cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis 'Green Arrow') and Calocedrus decurrens. The former is about 15'/4m tall, the latter about 10'/3m. However, these were only noticeable on days that were a lot hotter than Glasgow would get in a normal year! (but maybe not this year) I have one more leylandii, shading something rare until that plant is fully established, it's probably going to be cut down. It's not quite as fragrant, nor is C. x ovensii, which I'm planning to keep. (much better for this area)

Conifer fragrance is such an interesting topic, I think I'm eventually going to start a new thread on the topic, but wanted to make some concluding remarks on this one.

As pineresin (ahem) notes in this thread, the fragrance of the nootka is somewhat acrid. The incense cedar is nicer.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1842416/questions-about-chamaecyparis-nootkatensis-green-arrow