Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, lavender flowers, flowering as it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
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- Fragrant
North Carolina · Zones 6–8
Fragrant Native Plants in North Carolina
Native plants with scented flowers or foliage — the ones that make a garden smell as good as it looks. For North Carolina, the right natives are shaped by Blue Ridge, Piedmont & Coastal Plain and a humid subtropical to montane climate. Every species below, from Wild Bergamot and Spotted Joe-Pye Weed to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to North Carolina and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 6–8. 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
10 native species for North Carolina
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–8 · see this collection in other states.
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, mauve-pink flowers; it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, 2–3 ft wide, and it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, lavender-blue flowers; it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, rose pink flowers, flowering as it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, spreading 1.5–3 ft — it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, 6–12 ft tall, and it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, reaching 3–5 ft; it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, happy in clay and loam soil, flowering as it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Scented enough to plant where you brush past it, spreading 2–3 ft.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Fall color
Sourcing
Where to find these in North Carolina
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.