From my gardening experiences to date, that would be Gardenias at the top of my list. UT at Austin has a huge bank of gardenias planted at the front of the Tower base that when in bloom are intoxicating when you walk to classes. I used to go out of my way in gardenia season to route my campus walks by those things. My second favs would be roses, in particular, Blue Moon roses being at the top of that list. Never EVER smelled a rose with such an intense scent.

Handed said:If you exclude any other features of the plant and judged purely on the deliciousness of the fragrance, I'd like to hear peoples' absolute favourites. Mine would be Freesia, Rose, Violet, Daphne odora, Wintersweet, Lonicera fragrantissima and Sweet Osmanthus, not necessarily in that order.

Sweet olive hands down smells heavenly and frequently and strongly here in the south but it's not gorgeous. It's an evergreen though so that's nice

Confederate jasmine

Banana magnolia

The following 2 i love for their beauty as much as for their scent:
Chinese Wisteria

Roses roses roses roses

Honeysuckle. Love the early morning and late evening fragrance, so hauntingly sweet, catches me by surprise and puts a smile on my face

Lilac. Reminds me of both my mom and grandma.

Roses I guess but I have to actually stick my nose in them.

Lilacs... I miss them so...
I grew up in R.I. Lilacs were a staple there. Miss them so much!
Now that I'm in north Florida.
I've not been able to find anything that even compares.
😔

Sorry to say that honeysuckles don't even come close...

Purple petunias have a slight sweet, more spicy aroma. Nothing like it. My DH said he remembers his grandma growing them on the front porch, like 50 years ago.
I have a "corsage" orchid that is somewhat similar, but a bit more sweet than spicy.

I agree, fragrant purple petunias are wonderful. I have a container of them on the porch. I bring them in if frosty.

Another favorite scent is the Confederate Jasmine.

But my most favorite is whatever is in fragrant bloom at the moment.

pod said:I agree, fragrant purple petunias are wonderful. I have a container of them on the porch. I bring them in if frosty.

Another favorite scent is the Confederate Jasmine.

But my most favorite is whatever is in fragrant bloom at the moment.

Whatever is in fragrant bloom at the moment...
I couldn't agree more!
I don't know how many of you live in the"burbs" as I do... but for me, any, and all fragrances from plants, are a very welcome thing!
So much better than the dreaded morning smell of a neighbors diesel starting!

Handed said:If you exclude any other features of the plant and judged purely on the deliciousness of the fragrance, I'd like to hear peoples' absolute favourites. Mine would be Freesia, Rose, Violet, Daphne odora, Wintersweet, Lonicera fragrantissima and Sweet Osmanthus, not necessarily in that order.

Sweet olive hands down smells heavenly and frequently and strongly here in the south but it's not gorgeous. It's an evergreen though so that's nice

Confederate jasmine

Banana magnolia

The following 2 i love for their beauty as much as for their scent:
Chinese Wisteria

Roses roses roses roses

Oriental lilies, especially Casa Blanca. Hyacinth, many narcissus, what you would call old house or heirloom, lilacs, jasmine, lavender, and roses. Climbing America, Fragrant Cloud, Heirloom, Mr. Lincoln, Iceberg and any David Austen rose, particularly one called Guenivere, which I used to have, but which is unfortunately out of production, due I think to its poor growth habit and floppy flower stems., when my Oriental lilies are blooming I can smell them the minute I step out my front door.

I notice the Crinums here... the scent wafts on the air before I even realize they are opened in bloom.

Two mentioned above seem to have something that works on me like an allergic reaction. One is wild honeysuckle. When I first see the blooms and sniff at them, my nose feels like it is closing up. The other is narcissus. It makes my sinuses start draining and I feel like I'm getting a head cold. I love them both but only at a distance. The narcissus are in full bloom right now. I used to cut bouquets but finally figured out that wasn't a good idea.

Can you smell them from here?

Both lilies and narcissus are too cloying for my nose. Pretty blooms though.

Scented foliage I enjoy running my hands through are rosemary, sage, and southernwood.

@pod, Kristi, in answer to your question, Yes I can! Many of those we have here.I went to my back yard yesterday and saw some buds! Not the fragrant ones, but the doubles. Still exciting, anyway.

Bonehead said:

Scented foliage I enjoy running my hands through are rosemary, sage, and southernwood.

I thoroughly agree. I have one of the Artemisias which is a favorite. I have a weakness for licorice so I really like Texas tarragon (Tagetes lucida) Love the sweetness of Marjoram and a mouthwatering ginger foliage. I won't know for certain until it blooms but I believe it might be Cardamom.

Wonderful smelling foliage in the herb garden!

I grew a variety of basil last summer in my new raised bed along with my tomatoes. They got huge! When the wind was blowing I could smell the scent of them in the air.

gardenfish said:

What is the one left & front with the large, interesting bloom?

Very pretty!

Thank you! The one left and front is the regular basil , the most common one you see everywhere, sometimes called sweet basil or large leaf Italian basil. Confusing, yes? If you look at the pic second from the top you can see the difference between this one, on the top of the frame, and the lettuce leaf, which is the one the bee is on. Lettuce leaf is also listed as a sweet basil. I can't believe how many basils there are now, so many that have been bred to desist certain diseases. This also makes it difficult to identify certain cultivars; they all look alike! I prefer the taste of the sweet basils, the Thai, cinnamon, and other similar ones are too pungent for me, although I grow them for the bees and for ornamental purposes.

That is an unusually large and pretty bloom compared to the basils I have grown. Very nice...

Today at a home in Florida there were two orchid trees...sort of messy but heavenly scent carried on the breeze