Grow these Flowering Plants for Beauty and Scent
Grow these Flowering Plants for Beauty and Scent
We all love flowering plants what not only look beautiful but that have wonderful scents as well. Since it’s the perfect time of year to plant in our lovely gardens, I’m sharing some of my favorite flowering plants and hope they inspire you to grow them too!
The Wonder and Beauty of Flowering Plants
Who wouldn’t want a warm, inviting home with beautiful accents and an amazing smell all the time? While air fresheners and scented candles may give you some pleasant smells for a short while, they are all artificial solutions with chemicals in them – let alone the terrible effect they have on the environment.
As the case for anything, there is simply nothing better than what nature has to offer. Naturally fragrant houseplants are your best bet to ensure your home and garden always smells deliciously fragrant.
In addition, growing flowers in your home offer a myriad of health benefits like reducing air pollution, preventing dry winter skin, promoting relaxation, and helping treat insomnia.
In this article, we walk you through a garden of five flowering plants you can grow in your home for beauty and scent.
Scented Geranium
Geraniums come with an array of their own unique fragrances, offering a wide variety for you to choose from based on your taste. The interesting thing about geraniums is that their scent comes from the leaves, and not the flowers themselves (which are pretty to look at, nonetheless). Scented geraniums have glands at the base of their leaf hairs, this is where the scent forms.
To stay healthy, a opt for weekly watering using a soaker hose for it will provide moisture to bedding plants without wetting the leaves and increasing the risk of fungal diseases. For optimum growth, you need to remove a green stem tip above a leaf with your fingers or using scissors.
Remember to leave three or four leaves on the stem, so that your plant can create new growth. When the flowers are in bloom, regularly remove the spent blossoms to promote growth. Make sure and prune your scented geraniums carefully. They can develop a leggy, unattractive appearance when they are neglected.
Geraniums are one of my favorite flowering plants as they are so many others as well. Not only do they come in a variety of stunning colors, but the alluring scent will fill your home with an aroma far better than any scented candle.
Lavender
A popular ingredient in countless perfumes, shampoos, and beauty and skin care products, Lavender is not only famous for its distinct mesmerizing scent, but it also offers a host of uses at home. Lavender will immediately add an instant pop of gorgeous color to any space. They are also a powerful insect repellent, a delicious herb for seasoning foods, and a main component of relaxation.
About two years ago, I planted my first Lavender shrub in my front garden, and I can’t wait to experience the wonderful fragrance it omits as well as the adorable blooms it produces too.
Although it is a low maintenance plant, lavender is best suited for those with well draining soil. Since it flourishes with very little organic matter in the land, avoid adding compost when planting lavender or it may rot. They also need little watering, and if exposed to enough rain, that just might actually be enough.
Gardenia
This beautiful flower carries an aroma that is heady and sweet, promising to keep your home smelling fresh for months – which explains why it is used as the main element in many popular perfumes. It’s best to plant your gardenia in the early spring. They perform best in day temperatures between 65-70 degrees F (18-21 degrees C) and night temperatures between 60-65 degrees F (15-18 degrees C).
Gardenias need regular and sufficient exposure to sunlight – at least four to six hours a day – so you might want to place them next to the window if they are indoors.
They also need watering once every week, and you need to keep their soil moist, but not soggy. As for the compost, Gardenias love acidity, so you will want to use an acid-based fertilizer for best results.
Jasmine
There is a reason why Jasmine is a popular name; this sweet, sweet flower is so delicate, beautiful to the sight, and smells absolutely magical. These little blooms smell their best at night, and the perfect location for them would be on your windowsill. Although caring for your exotic Jasmine plant takes some work, it is all worth it.
Jasmines – being tropical flowers – generally grow best in sunlight and warmth, so choose the location in your home accordingly to place the Jasmine plant. If you got the vining variant, make sure to install some sort of a supporting structure as the vines can reach up to 15 feet in length.
Orchids
Elegant orchids luckily come in a variety of sizes and colors, and they look absolutely wonderful in any home, adding a fresh smell anywhere you place them. Although these sophisticated flowers require a lot of care, they are still some of the most commonly grown flowers in homes – you will want to take your sweet time while choosing which one you will want to grow.
Most orchids require moist, well-draining conditions, and their roots are water-gathering organs that need a sufficient flow of fresh to stay healthy. Avoid locating your orchid in cold drafts, harsh direct sunlight, or heating vents. Very dry air, direct heat, and cold chills have damaging effects on this exotic flower.
You can keep your bloom for longer if you provide a mild, warm, and somewhat humid environment. The bloom can last for a few weeks if everything in its environment is conducive. After the bloom is over, you will need to snip off the old flower spike near the base for best long term maintenance.
Orchids are another one of my favorite flowering plants, and I make sure to always keep them blooming beautifully in my home. They are also available in so many wonderful colors and patterns now too.
Lilac Shrubs
I have a sad story to share about my wonderful Lilac Shrub. Last summer, the HOA management of my community “mistakenly” pulled my Lilac shrub up and destroyed it. Claiming it was an accident, and I do believe them, doesn’t mean I am excusing it or forgive them.
It was covering a gas meter and preventing the meter readers from reading it. Instead of checking with me first, they pulled it out and killed it! Needless to say, it broke my heart, and I was livid! I nurtured that Lilac plant for over 14 years only to have it wiped out in a few short hours.
As you can imagine, apologies from the HOA meant nothing but this year, they are trying to make it up to me. Next week, they are replanting a whole new batch of shrubs and flowers for me! I’m so excited to see them as I chose each one carefully this time.
Below, you can see just how stunning this flowering plant was. The fragrance filled my home every year, and I’ll always remain heartbroken over the loss of it. I wanted to be sure to add this wonderfully easy to grow and fragrant plant to the list of flowering plants. If you are looking to fill your home with their scent every year, this shrub is for you too!
The Lilac bush is famous for its intense fragrances and amazingly beautiful blooms (as you can see in one of the last images below.) The colors range from pinks to purples and they add a wonderful source of shade too. We loved them for the privacy they provided in our front yard every year. They can grow up to 8 feet tall too and can get up to 30 feet wide.
I highly recommend owning one because you will enjoy decades of beauty and fragrance in your garden too. Lilac Shrubs are far better than any of my favorite scented candles, and you’ll cherish the memories you make with it too.
Flowers are a sure way to spruce up any home, adding a touch of liveliness, color, beautiful smells, and an overall sense of health and wellbeing in the space. Whether you decide to grow them yourself or purchase from your local florist, taking care of your flowers will keep them alive and happy for a long time.
Research online to find out more about the suitable flowers for you, depending on whether you want to keep them indoors or outdoors. It would also be wise to look up the different ways to keep insects, fungal infections and other parasites at bay, as a protective measure for your beautiful flowers to bloom in peace.
Additionally, and before embarking on your new relationship with flowers, consider any allergies that you or your family members might have to certain flowers to avoid any mishaps in the future. Enjoy your blooms!
Don’t forget to read 15 Strange And Beautiful Houseplants You Need To Know About too!
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