Alan Titchmarsh has named seven fragrant plants he considers essential in his own garden. The BBC Gardeners' World legend and ITV's Love Your Weekend presenter shared his selections in a video on his YouTube channel, which launched earlier this year.
Throughout the video, he identified each plant, highlighted their characteristics, offered practical gardening advice, and described their scents. He also commented on which of the seven would survive the UK's summer heatwaves. Counting down from seventh to his top choice, he examined each one before declaring his favourite.
Seventh: English Lavender
English lavender secured seventh place, which Alan characterised as a "wonderful accompaniment" to roses. He advised: "Just as these are beginning to ripen in summer, you can go over with your shears, cut them all off, and make lavender bags out of them to stick among your smalls."
He added: "But there is another reason why you do that, and that is by cutting lavender back quite lightly, but just beyond the flowers in late summer, you're giving them enough time to produce new shoots from the base that will flower again next year." Referring to warmer, drier summers, he noted: "It's really well adapted to cope with high temperatures and the kind of hot summers we've been having recently."
Sixth: Choisya – Mexican Orange Blossom
Sixth place went to Choisya, commonly known as Mexican Orange Blossom. Alan noted two varieties exist, both of which he displayed. He said: "This is a double whammy of a shrub. In fact, there are two distinct kinds. There's the plain green kind, and there's the sort of lime green kind. I like both of them and I'm particularly fond of the ordinary plain green one. It has wonderful white blossom in May and again in September."
He praised its scent: "It's wonderfully fragrant, that blossom. Even the foliage is aromatic. Crush it and you'll get the aroma....It's quite fruity." He also discussed his own use: "What I've done with Choisya is replace a lot of box hedging. It grows more vigorously but I've clipped it in this great rolling sea. The leaves are shiny. It's pretty tough and in a really, really hard winter, right up north, it's a really good doer of a shrub."
Fifth: Perovskia – Russian Sage
Perovskia took fifth place. Alan highlighted its self-supporting nature and pleasant aroma. He explained: "The great thing about this is that it's self-supporting, it doesn't need a stake, until it gets older and heavier and then starts to go over."
He added: "There are dwarfer forms now which are about half the size. The fragrance, which you'll only get when you crush it, is a kind of hybrid between lavender and eucalyptus. If you feel a little bit bunged up, squeeze it."
Fourth: Salvia – Royal Bumble
Salvia, also called 'Royal Bumble', narrowly missed a podium position. Alan commended its "good range of colours" and "ability to flower form one end of the summer to the next". Regarding scent, he noted: "Crush the foliage to the aroma, or if you don't like it, don't, but it's really quite powerful and the fragrance, the aroma, does vary from species to species."
On planting, he outlined: "Again, another plant for a good British summer. Well drained soil, full sunshine. And you'll find they make plants about one and a half to two feet tall. Good fillers these for borders in between all kinds of other plants."
Third: Phlox paniculata
Third place went to Phlox paniculata, which Alan described as a border stalwart. He confirmed it was a phlox paniculata "with a panicle", clarifying: "That's the shape of the flower head."
He offered a cautionary note: "This is not a plant for poor dry soil. It likes sunshine, but it likes a bit of beef at the roots. It's very quick to wilt when the soil dries out. So, find it a spot where the soil can hold onto moisture, and then you'll get these gorgeous heads of flower, which are delectably sweetly scented. Absolutely lovely. [Aromas] come straight out into the open air."
Second: Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle claimed second place. Alan praised its powerful fragrance, noting it thrives in shaded or sunny spots. He said: "It can be quite an overpowering perfume after rain when the heat comes on it, filling the air. It's not just, 'Oh that's nice'. It's 'Oh my goodness, smell that honeysuckle'.
"It really is quite powerful. Imagine a shed that's been decorated with these glorious flowers. It's a lovely plant for sun or dappled shade. It's quite a good shade lover this. Sometimes they can be a bit tricky and decide they don't like you and take a while to settle in. When they do settle in, they'll fill the air with fragrance. I love it, a wonderfully modest plant."
First: Rosa 'Duchess of Cornwall'
Topping the list was the rose, particularly the Duchess of Cornwall Rose, which Alan described as a "special rose". He said: "This one has a particularly glorious flower, shape, and colour. This is Duchess of Cornwall, named after the present Queen's former title.
"The most powerful of fragrances. When you're looking for a rose, choose one that has really good glossy leathery leaves as well because that way it will be capable of shrugging off mildew and black spot. With Duchess of Cornwall, good foliage, beautiful flowers, with a glorious fragrance that carry on right the way through the year. I'd give her a home in my garden."
Alan's remarks come as he returns to British television with Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, broadcasting on ITV from 9.30am until 11.30am.
