Confederate Jasmine - Trachelospermum jasminoides
Confederate jasmine, also known as star jasmine, is an attractive, fast-growing flowering vine that produces masses of fragrant, white, star-like flowers starting in mid spring and continuing into summer. The fragrance will scent the whole yard. While it is not a true jasmine, its jasmine-like scent has earned it the jasmine name. Confederate jasmine is easy to grow and will grow up to 40 feet in length. It is exceptionally drought-tolerant and will thrive in almost any soil. Plant this fragrant wonder in bright sun or partial shade. It can be trained to grow along a deck rail, the top of a fence, and up and over arbors, pergolas and other structures. It will also grow up concrete walls. With careful pruning, confederate jasmine can be grown in pots, hanging baskets, or indoors in a sunny window where it will bloom even in winter. see more details, photos and care tips
Little Gem Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora
Unlike other larger growing evergreen southern-type magnolias, which take many years to start blooming, the smaller Little Gem Magnolia will start to produce it's fragrant flowers on plants that are only a year old. The highly fragrant, lemon-scented white blooms are about 5 to 6 inches across and appear starting as early as May or June and continue all the way to first frost in fall! Little Gem has a much faster growth rate than its larger cousins. It matures to a height of about 20 to 25 feet with a width of about 8-10-feet, making it an excellent choice for those who want the beauty of the traditional southern magnolia, but don't have a lot of space to spare or work with. It can be grown branched to the ground or "limbed up" to form a small tree. I especially like using Little Gem as espalier (trained to grow against a large wall), but it is also perfect planted in staggered or straight rows to create a screen or buffer or as a stand alone landscape specimen. see more details, photos and care tips
Ruby Spice Clethra / Sweet Pepper Bush / Summersweet - Clethra alnifolia
'Ruby Spice' is a summersweet cultivar that produces an abundance of extremely fragrant, rose-pink flower spikes. The very pretty, bottlebrush-like flowers are produced for up to 6 weeks during mid to late summer and are very attractive to butterflies. It is a densely-branched, rounded, deciduous shrub that typically grows 4-6’ (less frequently to 8’). Summersweets are somewhat unique among late summer-flowering shrubs because of their ability to bloom in shady locations. Ruby Spice is easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade, but prefer some shade and will even grow in almost full shade. It is not picky about soil as long as the soil remains consistently moist. Soils should not be allowed to dry completely out. The plant will spread by suckers to form a nice patch. Remove root suckers unless naturalized look is desired. A great plant that is way underused in southern gardens. Great for use in boggy to damp soil around the house or in landscape beds. A very nice addition to the shade garden, butterfly garden, or along stream banks or pond peripheries.Good flowering shrub for shade or woodland gardens. Also appropriate for moist soils along stream banks or pond/water garden peripheries. Plant near a patio to enjoy the fragrant late summer bloom. see more details, photos and care tips
