Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, lavender-blue flowers — it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
New York · Zones 3–7
Fragrant Native Plants in New York
Native plants with scented flowers or foliage — the ones that make a garden smell as good as it looks. New York sits in a landscape of Adirondacks, Finger Lakes & Hudson Valley, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its humid continental character. The list below — led by Woodland Phlox and Scarlet Beebalm — is filtered to species genuinely native to New York and the wider flora of the Northeast and hardy through zones 3–7. Fragrance is easy to overlook on paper and unforgettable in person, so plant the scented natives where you will brush past them — along a path, by a door, beside a bench. Some carry it in the flowers and some in the crushed leaves, and many of the aromatic-leaved species double as deer-resistant. Site them in sun, where warmth lifts the scent into the air.
The plants
11 native species for New York
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–7 · see this collection in other states.
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, reaching 2.5–4 ft — it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, reaching 2–4 ft; it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, for clay and loam ground; it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, rose pink flowers — it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, mauve-pink flowers, flowering as it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, for clay, rocky, and loam ground — it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, hardy in zones 4–9; it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, happy in sand, clay, and loam soil, flowering as it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, creamy umbels flowers, and it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, hardy in zones 3–8.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Fall color
Sourcing
Where to find these in New York
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.