I have a mature (20 plus years) and 4 new mock oranges. Orientation is to the Northwest of our patio, the gentle winds of spring fill our patio with the fragrance of numerous shrubs.
Josee and Ms Kim lilacs a month ago, Viburnums and now the mock orange continues on. Bayberry is coming on soon.
The downside of many hybrids, i.e. knock out roses and Lady in Red hydrangeas is that they have zero scent. The old heirlooms are “keepers.” The one advantage of the new lilacs, like Josee and Miss Kim are that they kept the fragrance but are close to the ground (6ft. max) so the fragrance is at optimum levels. The old Syringus Vulgaris often are 20 ft. tall and the fragrance is over our heads.
Thanks for posting a beautiful photo. The mock orange is a shrub I cannot live without in my gardens. And like you have shown, brings delightful butterfingers as well. Well done!
oops ...my bust ... spelling checkers are not what they are cracked up to be. I meant butterflies not butterfingers. But alas ... this fatboy loves a good, fresh butterfinger as well. Yum .. and gaining 5 lbs thinking about one.
Hansa is an old "Grandma" rose with old rose scent and resistant to about anything out there except Japanese beetles. The fragrence never quits, heat, cool day and night, it's always blooming and always fragrant. It's a haystack rose and pretty rough looking but it's the real thing.
Topaz Jewel is a newer yellow rugosa, I haven't seen what this can do yet but it's fragrance has me impressed. In the mornings it has a honeysuckle like fragrance that I can detect from 25 fet away which mellows to a more common rosey smell as the day wears on.
I had the dreaded "rose rosette" in my stand of Meidiland groundcovers and had to remove the whole stand, now I see it in my "Rainbow" Knockouts. I hope it doesn't spread to any more. I totally removed the affected roses and had them incinerated but there is no preventative for this.
I replaced the Meidiland's with "Nearly Wild", this is an awesome grower and it has huge pink singles and is taking over my bank, Google them.
I sell a ton of Miss Kim lilacs at the garden center. I can hardly keep them in stock some weeks. A terrific shrub.
One of my favorite shrubs, though it’s not scented, is my ‘Grace’ Smokebush. She’s just about ready to bloom and she’s a stunner when she’s blooming!
http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/66.jpg
