Roses are timeless with their elegant appearance and stunning flowers. They are easy to grow, often bloom from spring through fall, and so many choose from. We all love fragrant plants, and what better way to create the perfect garden than growing roses that smell?
When picturing a rose garden, we often imagine structured rows of well-manicured shrubs, hardy and thorny vines, and rounded bushes covered with varying shades of multi-petaled blooms.
While roses come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors, not all of them have a strong fragrance. Some roses emit a floral scent while others have a sweet fragrance that resembles candy, and then some have little to no smell at all.
This is disappointing if you grow flowers with the sole aim of filling the summer air with a rose scent. Therefore, it’s essential to plan ahead of time to create a rose garden for the senses.

- Growing a Beautiful Garden with Fragrant Roses
- Do All Roses Smell?
- Are There Different Types of Roses?
- How Do I Pick the Right Rose for My Yard?
- Are Roses Hard to Maintain?
- Lady Emma Hamilton (‘rosa’ Lady Emma Hamilton)
- Honey Perfume (‘rosa’ Honey Perfume) – Roses that Smell Spicy
- Munstead Wood (‘rosa’ Munstead Wood)
- Claire Austin (‘rosa’ Claire Austin) – Myrrh Scented Rose
- Double Delight (‘rosa’ Double Delight)
- Scentimental (‘rosa’ Scentimental) – Spicy Rose with Splashes of Red and White
- America (‘rosa’ America)
- Graham Thomas (‘rosa’ Graham Thomas) – Yellow Rose with a Fruity Perfume
- Buff Beauty (‘rosa’ Buff Beauty)
- Fragrant Plum (‘rosa’ Fragrant Plum) – Lavender Rose with Fruity Flowers
- Radiant Perfume (‘rosa’ Radiant Perfume)
- Madame Plantier (‘rosa’ Madame Plantier) – Large Shrub with Sweet White Blooms
- Heritage (‘rosa’ Heritage)
- Fragrant Cloud (‘rosa’ Fragrant Cloud) – Coral Red Roses with a Citrus Fragrance
Growing a Beautiful Garden with Fragrant Roses
There are so many kinds of roses that picking the right one is often challenging. If you ask a group of people what plants smell good, several will likely point out roses.
We’ll help you choose the right garden roses, whether you desire a shrub with a traditional rose fragrance or a flower with an uncommon scent.
Do All Roses Smell?
Unfortunately, not all roses are fragrant. Many rose varieties lost their scent over the years due to breeding, and while they are long-lasting flowers, they often are scentless.
However, some types, such as the Gertrude Jekyll rose, have strong notes of floral, spice, or fruitiness and are an excellent choice for landscaping.
Are There Different Types of Roses?
There are many different roses available, from shrubs and bushes to climbers, and understanding their differences is key when gardening. The hybrid tea rose has long and upright stems that are popular for cut flowers.
English roses, including David Austin roses, have the best characteristics of both the modern and old rose but are not as hardy as others. Floribunda roses have clusters of large blossoms on each stem, while Grandiflora roses have large, showy flowers.
How Do I Pick the Right Rose for My Yard?
The first step in choosing which plants to grow in your yard is to determine which USDA hardiness zone you reside in and pick roses suited for your area.
If you live at the beach, you need coastal roses that can survive the salt spray. Desert areas require roses that can handle the sun and heat.
It’s also vital to ensure that your yard has enough sunlight since most roses perform best in full sun. Check the mature size of the shrub and plant them accordingly.
For yards where children play, consider thornless climbing roses that add some color to a fence or trellis.
Are Roses Hard to Maintain?
While roses need special care for optimal growth, they are relatively easy to maintain, as long as you follow a few simple steps.
It’s a good idea to spread mulch around your plant’s base to help the soil hold moisture and prevent weed growth. Give them fertilizer regularly to encourage production, and water them as needed.
Perform major pruning in early spring and lightly prune them throughout the growing season. Remove dead or damaged branches and deadhead reblooming varieties to promote more fragrant flowers.
Lady Emma Hamilton (‘rosa’ Lady Emma Hamilton)

This English rose has cupped, double blossoms with intense fruity scents and unusual colors. It opens from red buds to reveal a mix of orange, yellow, and tangerine, contrasting against the deep red, bronze, and blue-green foliage.
Lady Emma Hamilton roses have an upright and bushy habit, reaching 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It’s a repeat bloomer that enjoys full sun and is hardy in zones 5 through 9.
Honey Perfume (‘rosa’ Honey Perfume) – Roses that Smell Spicy

This rose is a prolific bloomer, producing large clusters of fully double flowers with a spicy fragrance and cinnamon and nutmeg hints. The apricot color of this Floribunda rose softens to off-white as it matures and is striking against the shiny, dark green leaves.
The Honey Perfume rose grows 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide and is well-branched and bushy. This cut flower bush of the most beautiful smelling flowers has a robust root system and grows well in hardiness zones 5 through 9.
Munstead Wood (‘rosa’ Munstead Wood)

This English old rose hybrid is delightfully fragrant with fruity notes. It is a repeat-flowering shrub with cupped, velvety crimson blooms with 74 petals and red-bronze leaves that mature to mid-green.
Munstead Wood roses are small shrubs with a mature 3 feet tall and less than 3 feet wide. They are great disease resistant rose bushes and grow well in a garden bed or containers in hardiness zones 5 through 9.
Claire Austin (‘rosa’ Claire Austin) – Myrrh Scented Rose

Claire Austin is an English rose with lemon shaded, cupped buds that develop into creamy white flat rosettes set against medium green foliage. The powerful myrrh scent of this rose has undertones of rich vanilla.
This shrub has an elegantly arching form and often grows as a climber. It repeatedly blooms from late spring through fall and grows up to 8 feet tall and 4 feet across. It flourishes in part shade or full sun and is hardy in zones 5 through 9.
Double Delight (‘rosa’ Double Delight)

Double Delight is a hybrid tea rose with spicy scented flowers with up to 30 creamy white petals, tinted with strawberry red edges. This shrub has a handsome shape and matte, medium green leaves, and flourishes from spring through fall.
This shrub rose bush grows up to 5 feet tall and wide and is suited for USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9. It has a vigorous and bushy form and desires full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.
Scentimental (‘rosa’ Scentimental) – Spicy Rose with Splashes of Red and White

This Floribunda rose has a moderate spice scent with small clusters of four-inch double, high centered blooms. They each have a distinct splash of burgundy and creamy-white swirls and flush from late spring to fall.
Scentimental roses have dark green and glossy leaves and grow 3 to 4 feet tall and wide in a compact, rounded form. They grow ideally in hardiness zones 6 through 10 and are susceptible to blackspot.
America (‘rosa’ America)

This fast-growing and glorious climbing rose has vigorous and elegant sprays of fully double coral flowers with 43 petals set against thick, leathery dark green leaves. Their prolific blooms release an intoxicating perfume from late spring to fall.
The America rose grows 10 to 15 feet tall and spreads 4 to 6 feet wide, making it a good choice for a fence or arbor. It is highly disease resistant and grows best in full sun in hardiness zones 5 through 10.
Graham Thomas (‘rosa’ Graham Thomas) – Yellow Rose with a Fruity Perfume

This flowering bush is one of the most popular English roses. It produces clusters of round yellow and red buds that open to reveal pure yellow and golden flowers with a fruity tea rose fragrance from late spring until frost.
The Graham Thomas rose is a vigorous grower with a mature shrub size of 5 feet tall and a climbing size of 10 to 12 feet. It loves partial shade or full sun and is hardy in zones 5 through 10.
Buff Beauty (‘rosa’ Buff Beauty)

The Buff Beauty rose has a delicate appearance with its large clusters of full apricot and buff-yellow blossoms of 41 petals and lustrous dark green foliage. Its strong tea scent and charming display are enticing from summer through fall.
This rose grows as a climber or arching shrub and has a mature size of 5 feet tall and wide. It is a vigorous spreader that thrives in full sun and is moderately disease resistant. Buff Beauty is hardy in zones 5 through 9.
Fragrant Plum (‘rosa’ Fragrant Plum) – Lavender Rose with Fruity Flowers

This rose produces very long stems of buds that open to display elegant shades of lavender and smoky plum-purple with a wonderful fruity perfume. The upright bush has lush deep green leaves and makes an excellent cut flower for the home.
The Fragrant Plum is hardy in zones 5 through 10 and grows up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It is a Grandiflora rose with vigorous growth and enjoys sunny locations but prefers afternoon shade.
Radiant Perfume (‘rosa’ Radiant Perfume)

This exquisite Grandiflora rose has double golden-yellow flowers five-inches in size and large, glossy dark green leaves. It is a spreading shrub that is well-branched, and its summer-long floral display fills the air with a strong fragrance.
The Radiant Perfume rose is mildew and rust resistant but susceptible to blackspot. It grows in sunny hardiness zones 6 through 9 and has a mature size of 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
Madame Plantier (‘rosa’ Madame Plantier) – Large Shrub with Sweet White Blooms

This rose has an outstanding display with its full double pom pom flowers in rich, creamy white tones and light green foliage. It has a graceful arching growth practice, and this one-time, early bloomer produces a sweet scent.
The Madame Plantier rose is a large shrub, growing to a mature size of 8 feet tall and wide. It is a hardy and vigorous plant that grows well in zones 4 through 9. It requires very little maintenance and is disease resistant and shade tolerant.
Heritage (‘rosa’ Heritage)

The perfectly cupped, fully double flowers of the Heritage rose have 40 petals that are blush-pink on the inside and pale pink to white on the outside. They emit a strong perfume that resembles musk, myrrh, and honey and flourishes from late spring until frost.
The Heritage rose grows in an upright or arching form of gray-green glossy leaves, reaching a height of 5 feet tall and a spread of 4 feet wide. It has some susceptibility to blackspot, prefers full sun, and is hardy in zones 5 through 10.
Fragrant Cloud (‘rosa’ Fragrant Cloud) – Coral Red Roses with a Citrus Fragrance

Fragrant Cloud is a hybrid tea rose with very large, high centered coral-red flowers with up to 35 petals and bright dark green leaves. The prolific blooms appear from spring to fall with a citrus, fruity, damask scent.
This upright, vigorous shrub grows up to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 11. Fragrant Cloud roses love full sun and are very hardy. However, they are prone to mildew and blackspot.
Planting a garden takes a lot of time and effort, and not getting the desired results is frustrating, to say the least.
Learning which plants are ideal for your location and which roses smell the strongest ahead of time goes a long way in creating the perfect backyard paradise.

Growing roses that smell fill your garden with heavenly scents and your home with beautiful cut flowers, so why not share our fragrant rose guide with your rose-loving friends and family on Pinterest and Facebook?