Thank you Jim D. for mentioning the common milkweed - Asclepias syriaca. It grew wild on the edges of our orchard in Penticton, in the Okanagan Valley, B.C. when I was growing up. What a heavenly fragrance those pale pink flowers threw out. Another wild plant, the arrowleaf balsamroot sunflower - Balsamorhiza sagittata, covered the slopes in May. The honey-like fragrance was so strong, it felt like it could transport you to heaven. Another strong, sweet yellow blossom in spring is the Oregon Grape blossom - Mahonia aquifolium.
Lilacs are abundant with fragrance. In the mid 80's we bought a house built in 1912 with an acre and a half of land that had been a nursery, "Riverview" in the 20's, 30's 40's and 50's. There were about 20 varieties of single and double Lilacs, unnamed.There were also an assortment of "Summer" Lilacs that bloomed two weeks later than the regular Syringa vulgaris varieties with quite a different fragrance. These were the Syringa x prestoniae varieties.We looked forward to long fragrant walks through the garden in the 28 years that we lived there.
Japanese Lilac or Syringa reticulata is a wonderful tree lilac with long panicles of white fragrant blossoms in early summer, at my new home in a Seniors Co-op. I have brought many of my favourite fragrant plants along. The ones not yet mentioned in this forum would be the honey sweet smell of the blue perennial Batchelor Button, Centaurea montana; Sweet Rocket or Dames Violet - Hesperis matronalis; Phlox paniculata; and various of the fragrant Peonies.
Sorry to go on so long, but fragrance in the garden is one of my key enjoyments in life. Thank you all for your sharings.
