Fragrant evergreens bring two valuable qualities to the garden: year-round greenery and beautiful scent. From perfumed flowers to aromatic foliage, these versatile shrubs add sensory interest to garden borders, hedges and containers, keeping outdoor spaces engaging even through the colder, darker months.

Fall is an excellent time to plant many hardy evergreen shrubs, giving their roots time to establish while the soil is still warm and seasonal rainfall helps keep the ground moist. While yew, camellias and arborvitae are popular choices for evergreen structure, there are also varieties that offer the added pleasure of fragrance – making them as beautiful to smell as they are to look at.

When thinking about how to plan a fragrant garden, these five scented evergreens are well worth considering for a backyard that delights the senses in every season. (And if you're heading out to plant this weekend, I highly recommend this Berry & Bird spade, available from Amazon.)

1. Daphne

Landscaping with evergreens can help to soften boundaries, guarantee privacy and also provide habitat for local wildlife.

Daphnes are prized for their intensely fragrant flowers, making them a beautiful addition to an evergreen border.

Native to parts of Asia, Europe and North Africa, the genus includes more than 50 species, with many evergreen varieties producing clusters of four-petalled blooms. Alongside their heady scent, these shrubs bring structure and year-round greenery to garden borders.

'Daphne is one of the best fragrant evergreens, helping to create a colorful but calm space wherever they are planted,' says Mike Murphy, garden expert and owner of You Had Me At Gardening.

'While it will vary on the exact variety, most can be grown from USDA hardiness zone 4 and up, although in cooler zones, you might experience some leaf drop depending on the winter weather.'

For the best results, choose a sheltered spot with well-drained soil, as daphnes can be particular about their growing conditions. 'Daphnes do best in a sheltered, sunny spot in the garden border,' Mike adds. 'Be warned that these shrubs are slow growing, though, often only producing a few inches of growth per season to eventually reach their mature size, usually around 3 or 4 feet tall. For this reason, it is best to purchase as large a plant as you can afford.'

For a compact evergreen with variegated foliage and wonderfully perfumed pink flowers, consider Daphne 'Perfume Princess', from Trees.com.

2. Osmanthus

Osmanthus shrubs, also known as tea olive, are prized for their wonderfully fragrant flowers, glossy evergreen foliage and ability to bring year-round structure to garden borders.

Native to Asia, these versatile shrubs range from compact hedging plants to substantial evergreen specimens, with some varieties producing a powerful, sweet fragrance that can perfume the garden from late summer into fall.

As a former professional gardener, I have grown both Osmanthus fragrans and , and can highly recommend them for adding scent and structure to an outdoor space. O. fragrans is particularly renowned for its intensely fragrant flowers, while O. × burkwoodii offers small, glossy leaves and clusters of sweetly scented white blooms in spring.

You can find Osmanthus starter plants available at Walmart.

Depending on the species, osmanthus can be grown across USDA hardiness zones 5–10, although O. fragrans generally prefers warmer conditions, typically zones 8–11. Many varieties have attractive, holly-like leaves with toothed edges, and some can eventually reach 10–20 feet tall. Growth is generally slow to moderate, making these shrubs relatively easy to manage with occasional pruning to maintain their shape and size.

For a more formal look, can also be trained into a small multi-stem tree or clipped into an elegant topiary form in a suitable container. This makes it a lovely choice for a modern cottage garden, where sculptural evergreen foliage, delicate flowers and beautiful fragrance can work together to create a space that feels both polished and natural.

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3. Portuguese Laurel

Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica) is a handsome evergreen shrub that combines glossy foliage with clusters of fragrant white flowers in late spring and summer. Often grown as a privacy hedge, it offers more than year-round screening: plant it near a pathway, patio or entrance and its delicate blooms can add a welcome touch of fragrance as you pass.

Native to the Iberian Peninsula and parts of southwestern Europe, Portuguese laurel is valued for its rich green leaves, reddish stems and ability to form a dense, attractive screen.

It generally grows best in USDA hardiness zones 6–9, depending on local conditions, and adapts to a range of well-drained soils. Once established, it can tolerate some shade and periods of dry weather, making it a useful option for garden areas where other shrubs may struggle making it a low-maintenance hedge plant.

As a former professional gardener, I particularly like Portuguese laurel for its foliage, which I find more refined than that of the commonly grown cherry laurel. It is also relatively easy to maintain: an annual trim after flowering can help keep a hedge neat, although more frequent pruning may be needed if you want a particularly formal shape.

If you're looking to add evergreen structure and seasonal fragrance to your garden, Portuguese laurel is well worth considering. Just be sure to check the plant's identity when buying online.

4. Myrtle

Common myrtle (Myrtus communis) is one of the prettiest evergreen trees that brings year-round foliage and a wonderfully aromatic quality to the garden. Native to the Mediterranean, it is particularly admired for its sweetly scented summer flowers, each with a striking cluster of long, curling stamens that give the blooms a delicate, almost fluffy appearance. The glossy leaves are fragrant, too, releasing their fresh scent when brushed or crushed.

Accustomed to the warm, sunny conditions of its native range, common myrtle grows best in a sheltered position with plenty of sunlight and moist but well-drained soil. It is generally suited to USDA hardiness zones 8–10, although protection from cold winds and hard freezes can help it thrive at the cooler end of its range. In colder regions, growing myrtle in a container allows you to move it to a protected spot during winter.

Common myrtle can be kept as a compact, shapely shrub with occasional pruning, making it a lovely choice for a sunny patio, courtyard or container display. A good starter option is this compact myrtle tree, available from Amazon.

5. Artemisia

For an evergreen shrub with a difference, some shrubby artemisias offer aromatic foliage in beautiful shades of silver and gray-green. Their finely textured leaves bring contrast to garden borders, pairing particularly well with ornamental grasses and flowering perennials.

While many artemisia species lose their foliage or die back in winter, certain shrubby varieties can retain much of their silvery growth in milder climates, especially when planted in a sunny, sheltered position. It's one of my favorite plants with silver foliage.

Growing conditions and mature size vary by species, but some shrubby artemisias can reach around four to five feet tall. Most appreciate plenty of sunlight and well-drained soil, and their drought tolerance makes them useful in gardens that experience hot, dry summers. In colder regions, foliage may die back during winter, so check the hardiness of your chosen variety before planting.

It's important to choose artemisia carefully, as not every species is suitable for every garden. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), for example, can spread aggressively and is considered invasive plants in parts of the US.

For a more ornamental option, consider southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum), a fragrant, finely textured shrub with soft gray-green foliage. Alternatively, 'Powis Castle' is valued for its feathery silver foliage and rounded habit, although its winter performance depends on local conditions.

This 'silver lining' variety from Plant Addicts is a hybrid between two North American species Artemisia stelleriana and Artemisia ludoviciana, and it is also deer resistant.

If you are looking for native plants that are fragrant evergreens, juniper is an interesting option. With scented needles, juniper can add an aromatic touch to your borders, and is beautiful in holiday wreaths.

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