Sensory garden plants with scented flowers: warm colours
Plenty of plants, of a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, can bring a sensory feeling to your garden, so it is possible to create a full and attractive border even in our sometimes challenging UK climate
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Quick facts
- Sensory plants can help to bring back memories and help lift your mood
- Having sensory plants that have been prominent in your life can spark conversations
- Some scented plants can have calming effects
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The planting plan
This simple planting design provides a range of plants that, once established, will thrive together in your garden and provide a variety of sensory interest throughout the year.
It consists of a combination of flowering shrubs and
Plants for sensory gardens with red and yellow scented flowers
Choosing sensory plants for red and yellow fragrant flowers
These plants help to stimulate the senses within a small space. As well as fragrance, most of the plants will also attract pollinators, helping to increase garden biodiversity. With a range of flower types and shapes, these plants will also attract a variety of pollinators.
In addition to colour, the oregano helps to cover bare soil, protecting the soil surface, suppressing weeds and reducing soil moisture loss by reducing soil surface evaporation.
Consider mulching the bare soil to help this further while waiting for plants to spread, using an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.
1 - Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’
2 - Genista ‘Porlock’
3 - Buddleja ‘Royal Red’
4 - Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’
5 - Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’
6 - Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’
7 - Narcissus ‘Quail’
2 - Genista ‘Porlock’ is a semi-evergreen shrub with small green leaves on deep green stems, which become smothered in fragrant, bright yellow, broom-like flowers in spring.
3 - Buddleja davidii ‘Royal Red’ is a deciduous shrub with arching branches of lance-shaped grey-green leaves that are whitish beneath, and long panicles of rich purple-red scented flowers from midsummer to early autumn, which are a magnet for butterflies.
4 - Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’ is semi-evergreen if not cut back by frost, with aromatic, deep green leaves. LSmall bright red flowers with purple-black calyces and stems appear from late spring to autumn.
5 - Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’ is a small evergreen shrub with dark green leaves. Panicles of red buds, which are showy in late winter, open to fragrant white flowers in early spring.
6 - Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’ is a sub-shrub forming a spreading clump of wiry stems bearing aromatic, edible, bright golden green leaves and clusters of tiny light pink flowers that are loved by pollinators.
7 - Narcissus ‘Quail’ is a daffodil with each bulb bearing up to three fragrant, bright, deep yellow flowers in spring.
About sensory planting
By choosing plants that are good for senses, you can improve mood and general wellbeing. The sensory attributes allow people to engage with the environment around them in a way that is meaningful and beneficial to their mind and body.
Why choose a sustainable planting combination?
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.