Gardening Gardening By Region Gardening in the Northeast Best Fragrant Flowers for the Northeast Bring sweet scents to your northeastern landscape with these classic garden favorites. By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the digital garden editor at Better Homes & Gardens. Before moving to Des Moines, Iowa, for this position in 2019, she spent 14 years serving as an editor for The American Gardener magazine, published by the American Horticultural Society in Virginia. She holds a B.S. in horticulture from Iowa State University and an M.P.S. in plant pathology from Cornell. Viveka loves getting people excited about the botanical world and feels happiest with dirt under her nails. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on June 9, 2015 Share Tweet Pin Email A subtle shift, a scent in the air signals the true arrival of spring. The harsh, dry air of winter gives way to the soft, rich perfume of soil and rain and plants -- fragrances that evoke a different place and time. No cottage garden would be complete without a lilac (Syringa vulgaris) at the corner. Fragrant white varieties include 'Madame Lemoine' and 'Krasavitsa Moskvy'. Dark purple 'Charles Joly' and blue 'President Lincoln' add sparks of color as well as perfume. Learn more about lilacs. Learn more about dwarf, reblooming Bloomerang lilac. Discover top varieties of lilacs for your garden! Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) takes me back to my grandmother's tidy, picket-fenced garden where we picked handfuls of the emerald green stems with tiny, nodding white bells. This tough, slowly spreading groundcover thrives in sun or shade. Learn more about lily-of-the-valley. Pot up the old-fashioned scent of summer with annual stock (Matthiola) and heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens). Deep purple, vanilla-scented heliotrope 'Marine' attracts butterflies by day, while spicy clove-scented stock flowers release their heady perfume in the evening -- a welcome greeting at the end of the day. Learn more about annual stock. Learn more about heliotrope. Check out our slideshow of other fragrant flowers. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit