Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, good through zone 9, and it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
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- Massachusetts
- Fragrant
Massachusetts · Zones 5–7
Fragrant Native Plants in Massachusetts
Native plants with scented flowers or foliage — the ones that make a garden smell as good as it looks. For Massachusetts, the right natives are shaped by Northeastern Coastal Forest & Cape and a cool, humid continental climate. Every species below, from Anise Hyssop and Woodland Phlox to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to Massachusetts and the wider flora of the Northeast and hardy through zones 5–7. 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 Massachusetts
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 5–7 · see this collection in other states.
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, for loam ground, flowering as it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Short-Toothed Mountain Mint
Pycnanthemum muticum
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, happy in clay and loam soil, flowering as it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, mauve-pink flowers — it blooms Jul through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, hardy in zones 3–9 — it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, spreading 2–3 ft — it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Carries a fragrance you'll want within reach, scarlet red flowers, and it flowers in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, good through zone 9 — it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Spicebush
Lindera benzoin
Fragrant in flower or leaf — site it where you'll catch it, 6–12 ft wide; it flowers in Mar and Apr.
- Part shade
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, 6–12 ft tall, flowering as it flowers in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 6–12 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Worth a spot by a path or door for the scent, 2–3 ft tall.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Fall color
Sourcing
Where to find these in Massachusetts
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.