8 Garden Smells People Love The Most

The Eight Favorite Garden Smells for Small Spaces

Selecting the right plants dictates the success of your aromatic garden. Many traditional fragrant shrubs grow too large for a balcony, but breeders have developed incredible compact varieties tailored for container life.

Here are the eight garden smells people love the most, along with practical instructions for cultivating them in small spaces.

1. Lavender: The Calming Classic

Few scents rival the clean, herbaceous, and deeply calming aroma of lavender. The scent comes from both the small purple flower spikes and the silvery-green foliage.

For container gardening, English lavender varieties like Munstead or Hidcote perform exceptionally well because they stay compact and rarely exceed two feet in height.

Lavender demands excellent drainage; its roots will rot rapidly if left sitting in wet, heavy soil.

Plant your lavender in a porous terracotta pot filled with a gritty soil mix, and place it in a location that receives at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight every day.

Allow the soil to dry out almost completely between waterings.